Beginning this month, Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT, and Caitlin Keat, BS, MS, will contribute their perspectives from their work with veterinary teams. Throughout the pandemic and through their business, Empowering Veterinary Teams (EVT), Mages and Keat have worked to support and inspire veterinary team members taxed with myriad changes in how work and life are transpiring. We’re … [Read more...]
What workers’ attire communicates to customers
Research found that shoppers were almost twice as likely to interact with a formally dressed employee as one who was informally dressed, believing that the more formally dressed employees had more expertise than their casually dressed peers. This raised their expectations of getting better service. Dust off the lab coats and sport jackets.” Source: Harvard Business Review, … [Read more...]
Learning from curbside care
Dan Holland shares curbside care tips that are standing the test of time. He says for most clients, patients and veterinarians, this new treatment model has been a win-win-win. It also forced veterinary practices to rethink certain areas of their workflow to accommodate curbside care appointments. He shares recommendations for practices in the crucial areas of communication, … [Read more...]
The effects of incivility on people
In this science-backed talk, Christine Borath shares surprising insights about the costs of rudeness and shows how little acts of respect can boost your professional success and your company's bottom line. She shares the main reason incivility exists is stress. People feel overwhelmed. An additional reason is skepticism about appearing too nice. Incivility is a contagious bug. … [Read more...]
Refocus: 6 growing issues
The first trimester of 2021 is now behind us. Our industry continues to feel more complicated and changing at break-neck speed. In December 2020, Karen E. Felsted, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, CVA, and Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA, reviewed Pew Research Center’s “Future Directions for Veterinary Medicine” (1989), and KPMG’s “The Current and Future Market for Veterinarians and Veterinary … [Read more...]
Antioxidant use is growing. Do they work?
Marilyn Iturri discussed antioxidants with several veterinarians to better understand if antioxidants are viable options for supporting animal health. There is no clear-cut answer except a complete and balanced pet food should supply a healthy amount of antioxidants, unless supplementation could potentially help. Everyone wants to group antioxidants together as … [Read more...]
Dog parks and parasites
Sharing key points from the DOGPARCs study, Donato Traversa, DVM, PhD, DipEVPC, EBVS, reminds us of the importance of keeping clients informed of the parasite risks at off-leash dog parks. He shares key pearls to put into practice with pet owners. Source: Clinician’s Brief, January/February 2021. Link. Key pearls for your clients: Intestinal parasites may be a constant … [Read more...]
Triaging vehicular trauma
There are very few ambulances and EMTs in animal health. That role is handed to veterinary teams for an animal that has been hurt in an automobile encounter. Cassandra Gilday, DVM, and Adesola Odunayo, DVM, MS, DACVECC, provide an extensive decision tree resource for animal patients who have experienced vehicular trauma. Source: Clinician’s Brief, March 2021. … [Read more...]
VetWatch Commentary thru April 17, 2021, Week 15
Complimentary Sponsored Content For the week ending April 17, 2021, the canine and feline core vaccine indices combined and expanded with the inclusion of the lifestyle vaccines for Lyme, Lepto, and FeLV shot up to a robust +29.3 percent YTD across the more than 32,000 practices and shelter locations in the Animalytix Marketplace. The growth in unique patients was up at … [Read more...]
Do you really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day?
A one-size-fits-all fluid replacement strategy, such as drinking eight glasses of eight ounces of water per day, is inappropriate for everyone, writes Tamara Hew-Butler. How much water each person needs to drink mainly depends on three factors: Body weight Environmental temperature Physical activity levels Source: The Conversation, April 21, 2021. Link. Unless … [Read more...]
Beyond wellness plans, bundling can work
Wendy Hauser, DVM, and Lucas Pantaleon, DVM, MS, DACVIM, MBA, tackle the challenge of chronic illnesses that frequently fall outside of wellness plan coverage. The authors position bundling beginning with common bundles already in place in veterinary practices. By leveraging bundling, treatment packages offer four major advantages: Bundling helps clients understand the … [Read more...]
Getting clients to opt for treatment
Phil Zeltman, DVM, shares 10 common reasons clients decline treatment for their animals and how to avoid the situation. Confidence and the development of trust is critical to handling most situations he says. Ultimately, our job is not to convince a client to do the right thing. We are not in the arm-twisting business. All we can do is educate them objectively, be their pet’s … [Read more...]
Medical community telehealth concerns are opps for DVM community
OPINION Two articles outline some of the challenges medical entities and doctors see as telehealth capacity expands. With human medicine already a few years into telehealth development, it is important to monitor the progress, challenges and perceptions. In this era of tele-everything, it is likely animal health pros can integrate telehealth more effectively, efficiently … [Read more...]
IAMS launches first-of-its-kind NOSEiD app
Complimentary Content In honor of National Pet ID Week, April 17 through 23, IAMS is launching the beta version of the new NOSEiD mobile app, available throughout Nashville and the surrounding area. The NOSEiD app uses first-of-its-kind nose-scanning smartphone technology to help identify lost dogs by their unique nose print. Source: PR Newswire, April 19, 2021. Link. The … [Read more...]
National Pet Week is May 2 through 8
National Pet Week takes place the first week of May and there is a lot to celebrate. From cats, dogs and fish to lizards, snakes and tarantulas, there’s room for all. Enjoy! Source: National Pet Week 2021. Link. No matter how tough things may seem, pets eagerly provide comfort, sympathy and unquestioned understanding when we most need it. … [Read more...]
World Veterinary Day is April 24
World Veterinary Day is this Saturday! This year’s theme is The Veterinarian Response to the Covid-19 Crisis. Thrown into the pandemic, veterinarians worldwide stepped up to receive animals differently and still treat them according to proven protocols. Click the link below and you’ll find nine ways to celebrate World Veterinary Day. Source: World Veterinary Day 2021. Link. … [Read more...]
Lest we forget . . . productive inactivity
The 2021 return to something considered more normal threatens some of what society has learned during pandemic challenges, WFH and forced pauses. In a recent blog post, Cal Newport contrasts our current states where ambition is intertwined with overload against how John Steinbeck embraced a sort of heroic inactivity. Source: Cal Newport, February 21, 2021. Link. Steinbeck … [Read more...]
Rural broadband plagued by poor mapping, high costs
Weaknesses in broadband coverage in rural areas were highly evident in 2020. House Agriculture Committee members heard from those who expressed the need to update maps on areas that remain underserved, as well as offer flexible funding to spread out costs to extend broadband coverage. Extended broadband coverage is important to extend the value of telehealth for all species, … [Read more...]
How to generate more clients at your veterinary practice
Opinion We held this article to position it now, one year post-Covid-19 shutdowns and the anniversary of the first wave of pet adoptions that followed. Robert Sanchez is no stranger to veterinary practices and his article is purposeful and valuable. He applies sales terminology to new customer acquisition tactics. Considering the timing, we believe it is important to … [Read more...]
Engage sales reps as resources
The great reps that call on your clinic are first interested in your success because they know it will aid their success. In my most recent column for Vet-Advantage magazine, I suggest ways reps can be of further help during this pandemic. You can start the process by engaging your rep in this conversation. Source: Vet-Advantage, February 2021 Digital. Link. They (Engaged … [Read more...]
4 things Gen Z and millennials expect from their workplace
To develop the next generation of organizational leaders, Ed Boyle says every employer needs to ask, “What do our younger workers want from the workplace?” Above all, Gen Z and millennials want an employer who cares about their wellbeing Gen Z and millennials want their leaders to be ethical Older millennials want open, transparent leaders Gen Z and younger … [Read more...]
Environmental decontamination important to control ringworm
Dermatophytosis affects adoptable populations of animals, primarily puppies and kittens, writes Alison Diesel, DVM, DACVD. She shares results from a retrospective study of feline foster homes including cleaning processes for the location and multimodal therapies for the cats. Source: Clinician’s Brief, September 2020. Link. Positive Wood’s lamp fluorescence results will only … [Read more...]
How to stop doing everything yourself
A lot of business owners aren't skilled at the art of delegation. They may struggle with knowing when to hand off a project to a team member, how much or how little supervision is needed, and when and how to close the loop on a project that they have handed over. David Finkel shares a proven method for delegating things the right way. Source: Inc, April 2, 2021. Link. … [Read more...]
Stop chasing success and start enjoying the little things in life
We’re always striving for more, never satisfied with where we are, writes Mercy Torres. More is always better. Happiness and fulfillment are always just out of reach. When we’re growing up, we strive to finish high school. Then the goal is college, then grad school. We have a family, and we live through the challenges of life, but we never stop to realize the grace in each … [Read more...]
Handling angry clients
Handling angry clients is less of a science and more of an art form, writes Jamie Rauscher, RVT. It takes thick skin and years of experience to master. She reminds us to identify and address the problem and also to consider the source. Source: Today’s Veterinary Nurse, Spring 2021. Link. INSIGHTS: Rausher provides good guidance for facing angry clients. It is important to … [Read more...]
Border Collies are wonderful dogs, but they make poor CEOs
Todd Ordal uses sheep dogs nipping at heels as a poor example of leadership. Sheep require constant nipping, he says. And the only people who’ll work for a Border Collie for an extended period are sheep! Running to-and-fro and nipping at heels (OK, barking orders) creates a lot of movement, but it’s mostly wasted movement. And the moment the barking stops, all hell breaks … [Read more...]
Buzz On B2B: Email is tops for acquisition and retention
Email remains the top tool for retention and acquisition in B2B, but search may be coming up on the inside, judging by MeritB2B’s Q1 2021 Marketing Trends Report. Ray Schultz presents trends and shifts in business communications. Source: Media Post, April 7, 2021. Link. The focus is always on audience, and email is a proven vehicle for optimized messaging to highly … [Read more...]
Chameleon-like ambiverts make better leaders
Bryan Lufkin says blending extrovert and introvert personality types can make you indispensable in the office. Finding the right balance is a skill we can all master. Ambiverts naturally engage in a flexible pattern of talking and listening. They are likely to express sufficient assertiveness and enthusiasm to persuade and close a sale. They are also more inclined to listen to … [Read more...]
The rise of reptiles and what it means for veterinary medicine
Mike Corcoran, DVM, DABVP, CertAqV, says the number of reptiles as pets has more than doubled since 2007. The pet trade is marketing more products to reptile owners directed at enrichment and the human-animal bond. He expects veterinarians will see reptiles more frequently as their owners seek diagnostics and treatments recommended for their pets. Source: Pet Vet Magazine, … [Read more...]
April is heartworm awareness month
Heartworms are in every U.S. state and other countries. In fact, heartworm disease is on the rise throughout the U.S. and areas that were once non-endemic. The American Heartworm Society offers multiple resources for veterinarians and pet owners at heartwormsociety.org. They include: Heartworm incidence map: updated every three years to highlight the average number of … [Read more...]