Dr. Bonnie Beaver Receives Bustad AwardApril 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVB, a professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the 2001 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. Dr. Beaver also chairs the American Veterinary Medical Association's executive board. The award was presented at the Tufts Animal Expo in Boston last month. The award is sponsored by the AVMA, Delta Society and Hill's Pet Nutrition. Veterinary Practice News spoke with Beaver a few days before the award. Following are some of her thoughts on Leo K. Bustad, DVM, Ph.D.; leadership; the state of animal behavior medicine; the human-animal bond; and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. VPN: You consider Dr. Bustad as a friend and a mentor. Can you tell us about what he meant to you? Beaver: Dr. Bustad was a special person for many, many reasons. First of all, as a relatively new veterinarian and a new faculty member, I would idolize those who had succeeded in academics and in our profession, and he certainly was a person who would have to be viewed as a success. But he never felt …
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What Staff Should Know About Blood Typing And Cross-matchingApril 17, 2009Canine Blood Types DEA System (Dog Erythrocyte Antigen) Dogs currently have 13 known erythrocyte antigens, nine of which are listed below. Dogs do not have naturally occurring antibodies to DEA 1.1, and 1.2, the most antigenic subgroup, but studies do show they do have naturally occurring antibodies to 3, 5, and 7. Because of the lack of antibodies to DEA 1.1 or 1.2 it is often said that the “first transfusion is safe no matter the type,” but this practice should be abandoned as typing materials are inexpensive and readily available, and the patient may require additional transfusion later in his lifetime. Antigen Incidence of positive in Population Reaction Seen w/ Mismatch DEA 1.1 33%-45% Acute Hemolytic Rxn DEA 1.2 7%-20% Acute Hemolytic Rxn DEA 1.3 Unknown Delayed Hemolytic Rxn DEA 3 5%-10% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 4 87%-98% None DEA 5 12%-22% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 6 99% Unknown DEA 7 8%-45% Delayed Rxn, RBC removal DEA 8 40% Unknown Current blood typing identifies the six most significant antigens: 1.1, 1.2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. A universal donor is one that is negative for DEA 1.1, 1.2, 3, 5, and 7 …
Running From Reviews? Performance Appraisals Don't Have To Be Dreadful.April 17, 2009 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The very thought of an annual employee review makes most people’s stomachs turn. But performance reviews can be a time to boost employee morale and make your practice more efficient and successful. “Performance reviews have a bad reputation because of the way they have traditionally been handled,” said Lorraine Monheiser List, CPA, MEd, co-owner of Summit Veterinary Advisors LLC in Littleton, Colo. The old-school methods of delivering performance reviews were based on a few generic questions and discussing failures over the previous 12-month period. “The result was that the reviewer dredged up the things he or she remembered, which tended to be those events that were especially memorable, often because something bad happened,” List said. This can do more harm than good. “If employees feel admonished for the two things they did wrong and not appreciated for all the things they did right, then [reviews] may be causing more harm,” said Karen Gendron, DVM, author of “A Practical Guide to Performance Appraisals,” published by the American Animal Hospital Association Press. In a progressive practice, problems are addressed immediately, experts …
Seven Steps To A Successful Succession PlanApril 17, 2009 One of the most important business decisions a practice owner can make is developing a succession plan. Just as it is vital to have a clear and thoughtful business plan with specific goals and objectives to develop a profitable practice, it is just as important to develop a strategy for that departure to run smoothly and profitably. A succession plan assures that one of your most valuable professional and financial assets will continue on successfully after your retirement and also provide you the maximum financial benefits. The general economy has grown at a strong rate during the past 10 years. However, overall veterinary income has not. The income of individual veterinarians seriously lags behind that of similar professions. In addition, veterinarians now pay a considerably higher percentage of their monthly income to pay off educational debt than their dentist or physician counterparts (10 percent versus 8.6 percent for dentists and 5.3 percent for physicians)[1]. The average debt load per new graduate now exceeds $60,000 and continues to grow annually.[3] The role of women within the profession has and will continue to change the veterinary economy. Women now make up nearly 70 percent of veterinary …
How To Avoid Being Clobbered By The RecessionApril 17, 20091. Look outside the profession for new ideas. It is always wise to look outside the profession to see what others are doing. Identify their strengths, and then adopt them. For example, the dental profession places great emphasis on staff training, including outside trainers. They also like to find out what patients really want. The dental profession has benefited from this, and so can we. 2. Focus on your practice’s three dimensions, not just one. Your practice’s three dimensions are clinical skills, managerial skills and marketing skills. In the past, administration was the only decision-maker for practice policies. These days the model is changing. Staff members know from working with clients what clients really want. Therefore, consult with your staff members about what they think really gets clients to want your service, and you can build a better business model. Become a student of direct response marketing. In many cases, practices allot 2 percent to 3 percent of their gross production to marketing. In the case of direct marketing, though, the formula is re-engineered: The budget is based on the annual revenue from a top client ($700 a year, for example) times the number of …
How to Design a Safe OfficeApril 17, 2009Mark Crootof, DVM, has more than 30 years of practical veterinary experience and has brought his expertise to the business of consulting. With Strategic Veterinary Consulting of Asheville, N.C., Dr. Crootof walks veterinarians through all aspects of the veterinary business, from practice startup to expansion. He says his clients often call on him for office planning to ensure a less hazardous work environment for staff, pet owners and patients alike. Crootof provides some basic tips to keep your practice accident-free. Traffic Flow Crootof says efficient traffic flow throughout the practice decreases injury. Many veterinary facilities segregate dog and cat waiting areas. “Most separate cat owners from dog owners,” Crootof says. Separation keeps animals calmer and helps prevent biting and scratching behavior problems during examination. Crootof recommends using “entrance” doors for moving clients from waiting areas to exam rooms and using different “exit” doors for moving clients back out to the reception and bill-pay areas. “Eliminate congestion by going in and out of different doors,” Crootof says. He explains that some facilities have even started cashing clients out in exam rooms to further reduce reception-area congestion. Less reception-area traffic significantly reduces the likelihood of animals interfacing with one another and ultimately …
Small Animals Benefit On Whole Foods DietApril 17, 2009 1. Liu H.R., "Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003; Vol. 78, No. 3, 517S-520S 2. Raghavan M., et al, “Evaluation of the effect of dietary vegetable consumption on reducing risk of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in Scottish Terriers.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2005; Vol. 227, 94-100 3. Remillard R.L., Paragon B.M., Crane S.W., et al: “Making pet foods at home,” in Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard RL, Roudebush P (eds): Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, ed 4. Topeka, KS, Mark Morris Institute, Walsworth Publishing Company, 2000; 163–182. 4. Angelino PD et al, “Residual alkaline phosphatase activity in pasteurized milk heated at various temperatures-measurement with the fluorophos and Scharer rapid phosphatase tests.” Journal of Food Protection, 1999; 62(1):81-85 5. Severi S., et al, “Effects of home-based food preparation practices on micronutrient content of foods.” European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 1998; 7(4): 331-335 6. Yadav SK and Sehgal S, “Effect of home processing on ascorbic acid and beta-carotine content of spinach (Spinacia oleracia) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves.” Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 1995; 47(2): 125-131 …
What's Your Diagnosis?Evaluating The VasculatureApril 17, 2009Click here to claim one hour of continuing education credit with this article. Signalment: 11-year-old male, castrated Chinese crested dog History: Patient presented on emergency for labored breathing and a wet cough. He had been coughing for about a week. Thoracic radiographs were obtained. Questions to Answer: What are the primary findings? What do you think is the primary reason for the clinical signs? Radiographic Findings: The heart is enlarged and measures just over 3 intercostal spaces wide. The vertebral heart score is approximately 11.5. There is dorsal displacement of the entire trachea, suggestive of ventriculomegaly. There is straightening of the caudal cardiac waist, consistent with left atrial enlargement. The pulmonary vein to the cranial lung lobe is larger than the corresponding artery. A diffuse, interstitial pattern is noted in the caudal dorsal lung fields. Radiographic interpretation: Enlarged heart, particularly the left side, consistent with chronic valvular disease. Enlarged pulmonary veins and an interstitial pattern in the caudal lungs are most consistent with pulmonary edema from congestive left-sided heart failure. The first step …
Ease Of Use And Training Smooths Transition To DRApril 17, 2009 George Myatich, VMD, doesn’t claim to be a technological wizard. But, then, he has found he doesn’t have to be, even as he vaults into the digital age of veterinary medicine. In November, when Dr. Myatich converted his Hidden Valley Animal Clinic of McMurray, Penn., to digital radiography, he ditched his wet system and film cassettes without trepidation, he says. “I’ve been in practice for 34 years, so I’m an old-school veterinarian,” Myatich says. “But since I was first introduced to digital radiography about five years ago, I’ve been rolling around the idea and wanting to take advantage of the benefits.” Getting an image in five to eight seconds was a key benefit that helped hook Myatich on digital. So was the chance to manipulate images to improve the quality or to focus on an area of highest concern. However, he says, it was the ease of the transition to digital radiography that cemented his appreciation for the new technology. “Our technicians were eager to make the change, and it turned out it wasn’t that big of a challenge for any of us. I’m not an Einstein, but everything was fairly straightforward.” Like …
What’s Your Diagnosis? Identifying Peritoneal AirApril 17, 2009 Signalment: 15–year-old female, spayed domestic shorthair with history of gastrointestinal lymphoma. History: Patient presented for labored breathing and lethargy. Thoracic radiographs were obtained. Questions: What are the primary findings? What do you think is the primary reason for the clinical signs? Radiographic Findings: The heart is mildly enlarged and the atria are prominent, suggestive of cardiomyopathy. The pulmonary parenchyma and pulmonary vessels are normal. In the viewable cranial abdomen, there are multiple, free, round gas bubbles noted. Of particular note is the bubble of air noted in the vicinity of the liver on the left lateral view adjacent to the diaphragm. There are other accumulations of air noted as small gas bubbles that are not conforming to the GI tract in the cranial ventral abdomen. The right side of the abdominal side of the diaphragm is visible on the VD view. There is also loss of surface detail noted in the midventral abdomen around the small bowel. Radiographic Interpretation: Free peritoneal air. Possible effusion in the mid-abdomen. Possible mild cardiomyopathy without evidence of heart failure. Visceral Surface Detail: Visualization of structures in the abdominal cavity is due to the differential radiopacity of the …
