The parasitic New World screwworm has an interesting history in the United States, and the USDA has developed a series of interactive graphics to illustrate past and present eradication efforts. Source: Drovers CattleNetwork, February 15, 2016. The USDA interactive website illustrates the biology of the screwworm fly and uses maps to illustrate past and present eradication … [Read more...]
Involve dog owners to screen for cancer
The “Big C” often strikes fear in humans. When it involves their pets, the results can be devastating. Rodney Page, DVM, says owners must take responsibility for prevention of cancer. Annual physical exams, screening bloodwork and urinalysis are recommended for dogs more than seven years of age or from breeds prone to develop cancer. Source: Modern Dog, February 16, … [Read more...]
Measure what matters to your clients
Ed Blach, DVM, hits the nail on the head with this short post. He reminds veterinary teams that a small number of measures can have a dramatic impact on how your team serves your clients. Measure what matters to clients and you will deliver exemplary service. Source: Is My Practice Healthy?, February 19, 2017. Measure what matters to your clients. Measure: how long it … [Read more...]
Guide helps eliminate busywork
“Busywork has a double negative impact," Renee Cullinan says. "It consumes time that could be better spent on other things, and it drains energy. Longer term, it breeds a work culture that values activity over results and busyness over effectiveness." Source: Fast Company, January 27, 2017. Cullinan says busywork often fits one of these three scenarios: You don’t know … [Read more...]
Generation X more addicted to social media than millennials
A Nielsen report released last week shows that Americans from 18 to 34 are less obsessed with social media than some of their older peers are. Smartphones are driving activity in all age groups. Source: New York Times, January 27, 2017. The report also broke out which social networks were most popular on smartphones, finding that Facebook still dominated on mobile, with … [Read more...]
Violence in veterinary practices – be prepared
Since 2006, news outlets have reported dozens of violent crimes against veterinary professionals in their workplaces in the United States, ranging from simple assault to homicide, murder–suicide, and rape, followed by murder. The offender may be a client, a stranger, a team member, or an outsider in a volatile relationship with a team member. Source: Veterinary Team Brief, … [Read more...]
Dealing with a bossy coworker
Sara McCord offers suggestions to deal with a coworker who has a hard time keeping their leadership (i.e. bossy) tendencies in check. Source: the muse, February 12, 2017. While it’s super-frustrating to deal with a bossy coworker day in and day out, there are steps you can take to address the situation. Speak up in the moment Schedule a chat Nominate coworkers … [Read more...]
Walmart working on high-tech food safety initiatives
A technique from the financial industry, blockchain technology, may help improve food chain safety. The initiative is being deployed in China to improve the transparency and traceability in pork production and in the U.S. on a produce project. Source: Meat + Poultry, February 2017, page 66. Pilot projects developed by Wal-Mart, IBM and Tsinghua University will use … [Read more...]
Make emails give the right impression
Every email you send affects your professional reputation. Avoid these all-too-common mistakes in your communication: emails too long for anyone to digest including way too many people dashing off incomplete thoughts burying the lede Source: Harvard Business Review, February 6, 2017. Take a close look at your sent folder. Everything you need to know about your … [Read more...]
Pet medicines are a poison risk for kids
Children five-years-old and under account for 88 percent of calls to poison control centers for exposure to veterinary medicines, researchers report in Pediatrics. In almost all of these cases, kids consumed drugs intended for the family pet. While this is a limited study, the action items are clear. Educate animal owners about keeping animal medications out of reach of … [Read more...]
Quiz: Surgical Instruments
Challenge yourself and your knowledge of instrumentation using this fun quiz. Consider choosing sides and starting a veterinary team or sales meeting with it as a game or contest. Source: Veterinary Team Brief, November/December 2016. How many of these commonly used surgical instruments can you correctly identify on sight? … [Read more...]
Updates from Is My Practice Healthy
Drs. Blach and Clark developed IMPH to fulfill these objectives: To provide an interactive and educational venue to improve practice management for veterinary practices. To educate veterinary practice owners, associates, and managers regarding how to focus on a small number of key data points to improve practice profitability and value. To provide the necessary … [Read more...]
Coaching is the key to success
With society's inward focus, the concept of helping others succeed may not seem to be the answer to the perennial question, "What's in it for me?" Yet, when one stops long enough to contemplate the commonality of the success around us, we begin to see how coaching others to succeed plays a central role in our individual success. Source: Evan Carmichael 2014. If you want to … [Read more...]
Top 5 genetic diseases of cats
The most frequent conditions are complexly inherited and involve combinations of multiple genes and environmental factors. Jerold S. Bell, DVM, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, discusses: Feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) Diabetes mellitus Lymphocytic or plasmacytic inflammatory disease Polycystic kidney disease Hypertrophic … [Read more...]
Joining an organization can help animal health pros
Multiple organizations advocate for the animal health profession and provide an array of services and benefits to members. Keith Loria sorts out the acronym alphabet soup and explains who is who and who does what. Source: Veterinary Practice News, January 31, 2017. Veterinary professionals, regardless of specialty or job path, can join an association—or multiple … [Read more...]
10 secrets to keep your veterinary nurses happy
Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, went behind the scenes and has deep, confidential conversations with veterinary surgery and anesthesia nurses. From these discussions he developed a list of behaviors that will keep them smiling. Source: Veterinary Practice News, January 27, 2016. How to keep your surgery and anesthesia nurses happy during the new year and beyond: Get … [Read more...]
AHD welcomes the NAVTA membership
We are excited to announce that Animal Health Digest will now be made available to veterinary technicians/nurses each week by the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA). NAVTA executive board president Mary Berg and executive director Julie Legred will forward AHD’s weekly BULLETIN to its 15,000-plus members as a value-added service starting February … [Read more...]
Support for Leptospirosis vaccination increasing
Not every DVM is on board with the need for a leptospirosis vaccine, but the numbers are growing. The FIRSTLINE staff finds consensus among some DVMs that lepto vaccination should not be ignored. Source: Firstline, January 18, 2017. Some vets used to try to keep vaccine frequencies lower for small-breed dogs. But general-practice Dr. Jeff Rothstein says that's less of a … [Read more...]
Get over phone anxiety
For some, answering or making a phone call requires a big effort. They rehearse what to say 1,000 times, dial with shaky hands and often get a panicky feeling in their chest when the ring rings. Digital tools we have now may help phone shy people avoid calls. But calls are still necessary. Hating the phone doesn’t necessarily mean a social anxiety condition, although the two … [Read more...]
Cut through the BS during interviews
Finding and hiring new team members is not easy. It is important to find candidates that mesh with your current team and that don’t spell team with an “I.” Betsy Mikel discusses givers and takers, plus how to determine if a candidate is one or the other. Source: Inc, January 4, 2017. Givers are often sacrificing themselves, but they make their organizations better," says … [Read more...]
Take a stand, compete
If Super Bowl LI taught us anything, it was to persevere and stay focused. Often, the best defense is a good offense, even when you don’t get rolling until the fourth quarter. The same principles are applicable when confronted with a low-cost or low-price competitor. Laura Patterson discusses five ways to have a fighting chance: Differentiate Be customer-centric … [Read more...]
Swine Health Information Center helps producers and veterinarians
The four main categories of the Swine Health Information Center mission are: Preparedness, Response, Monitoring, and Analysis. “Education is key to preparedness,” said Dr. Paul Sundberg, executive director of the SHIC. In 2016, SHIC produced nine additional swine disease fact sheets, bringing the total number of fact sheets to 33. Source: Pork Network, January 30, … [Read more...]
Sponsored Content – AAHA Resources for dental month
Improve dentistry at your practice and help clients understand the value of proper dental care with a variety of resources from AAHA Press. It is easy to let the month of February go by without acknowledging Nation Pet Dental Health Month. Fortunately, animal health pros understand the importance of promoting dental care for our animals. The resources available help enable … [Read more...]
New perspective helps cull dairy heifers
Elanco’s John Lee offers catchy insight about replacement dairy heifer management from beef industry practices. “After three to four unsuccessful services and a maximum of six, 21-day cycles, stop breeding those heifers. In most herds, 95 percent of heifers will be pregnant by the third or fourth service and only 5 percent of heifers will be culled. However, these infertile … [Read more...]
Sheep Yoda makes heart surgery history
Yoda, a therapy sheep at the Ranch Hand Rescue Counseling Center and Animal Sanctuary, has made history by undergoing Patent Ductus Arteriosus ligation. Sometimes observed in humans after birth, PDA is a heart problem in which the ductus arteriosus blood vessel remains open, which allows blood to recirculate into the lungs. Surgical repair has been done on children, dogs and … [Read more...]
15 life hacks that could help you
Sara Todd writes, small, seemingly mundane changes you make to your daily routine can deliver returns. They can work for busy veterinary practices and seven-day-a-week retail employees. Source: Quartz, December 2, 2016. Here is a sample of the hacks Ms. Todd shares: I started planning my outfits for the week on Sundays I stopped mindlessly scrolling through my … [Read more...]
Editorial – It may be time for vendor-managed inventory
Dr. Blach presses the thinking envelope again. He asserts that vendor-managed and potentially vendor-owned inventory may be closer than we think. It is hard to imagine how this could happen since most practices and retailers cannot replenish inventory today based on a running forecast. Vendor-managed inventory would theoretically eliminate stock-outs, but integrating … [Read more...]
Thinking offensively or defensively matters
Kevin Eikenberry offers several contrasting statements that you can use to determine if you're attacking opportunities or reacting to situations. If you don’t challenge yourself with it, you will operate from your habits now and in the long-term. This may not give you the results you want most. Source: Leadership and Learning, January 2, 2017. If you choose to focus on … [Read more...]
3 hard words. “I don’t know.”
The best leaders use these three hard words, “I don’t know!” Lisa Kohn suggests we expect our leaders and ourselves to be infallible. It’s a huge – and impossible – mantle to carry. Instead we need to: Admit when we don’t have the answer Surround ourselves with smart people Be open to other perspectives Find people who’ve walked this road before But remember … [Read more...]
Editorial – They say we don’t care
Critics and non-agricultural lobbyists often criticize animal health pros for not caring about the environment, odors or greenhouse gases. This article flies in the faces of such critics. Source: WATTAgNet, January 20, 2017. Perdue Farms has expanded its $68 million investment in nutrient recycling on the Delmarva Peninsula with the addition of a $12 million capital … [Read more...]