The Personal And Professional Roles We PlayJuly 6, 2012 We’re likely all familiar with the saying “don’t bring your work home” and the opposite remark, “leave your personal problems at the door when you come to work.” These phrases, or some facsimile of them, assume that we can compartmentalize our lives and only live one “role” at a time. What are the roles we play? They vary from person to person, but consider these for starters: husband, wife, partner, mother, father, sister, brother, child...those are pretty easy. What about these: pet owner, neighbor, volunteer, friend, caretaker and more. Last but not least, those roles we play at work: employee (veterinary technician, front office team member, etc.), supervisor, manager, owner, veterinarian, best at putting in catheters, best at dealing with difficult clients, good with grieving clients, and sometimes, the owner’s wife, husband, child, nephew, etc. Is it fair to think we can slip into just one of those roles when doing a specific task? Hardly. We are an accumulation of all our experiences, past and present, and how we react to life is determined by this shaping. There may have been a time when someone at …
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Protect Your Online ReputationJuly 6, 2012 It’s difficult enough to build your veterinary hospital’s brand without having to worry about rock-throwers attacking your reputation on the Web. The growth of online communities means anyone can undermine your hard work to build a positive practice brand. Many pet owners look online for veterinary hospitals and rely on others’ opinions when deciding where to take their pets. Satisfied clients rarely go out of their way to let others know they’re happy. Those with a bone to pick, no matter how small, tend to make an effort to share their dissatisfaction and they usually use high-profile online forums. Key people who can hurt your online reputation include: • Customers who feel poorly treated; • Disgruntled employees seeking to publicly air their grievances; • Unhappy vendors with unresolved disputes. Negative reviews and comments about a hospital are likely to turn up on websites such as Yelp.com, AngiesList.com, InsiderPages.com, and many more. They also can be found on blogs, Facebook, and a host of other social media websites. According to Yelp.com, as of December 41 million visitors browsed 15 million reviews, on which readers can comment, in just 30 days. That’s a …
Watch Your MouthJuly 5, 2012 I am often stunned by what veterinary clients tell me about their experiences with colleagues, general practitioners or specialists. And the same situation seems to occur in human medicine. People, friends, family members often come back from their physicians and they don’t have a clue what they were told. All they heard were fancy, long, difficult-to-pronounce medical terms. One smart, educated client recently told me that she didn’t want to have her dog have a TPLO with another surgeon because she didn’t understand a word of what he said. He apparently used expressions like “cranial tibial thrust,” “rotational deformity” and even the seemingly benign “cranial cruciate ligament.” She wasn’t impressed. (Note: I stubbornly refuse to call said ligament the cranial cruciate ligament [CCL]. I will continue to call it the ACL until pet owners know what the CCL is. Most client has heard of the ACL, or the “typical football player injury.” Very few know what the cranial cruciate ligament. So why mention it?) So I went over my TPLO “spiel,” using everyday words and a simple explanation, plastic model in hand. There is no need to be condescending, but we do have an obligation to …
Watch Your Mouth, Part 2July 5, 2012 Following our first installment on the vitally important topic of client communication (Watch Your Mouth, Part 1), here are some more thoughts about things to say and things to ban. Never say, “Don’t worry” to a nervous client. Murphy’s Law says that if you ever use those fateful words with a veterinary client who is fearful of anesthesia, anxious because her pet is being hospitalized all day, or worried that her pet will be fasted all morning, something bad will happen. It never fails. A colleague who worked at an MRI facility was always peeved when her radiologist called a disc hernia “moderate.” To her, moderate is a tricky word. Think about it: In politics, a moderate is kind of stuck in the middle. So our colleague’s concern is that neither the referring vet nor the client might be encouraged to act on a moderate disc hernia or a spinal cord that is moderately compressed. She prefers the word “significant.” So she believes a disc hernia should be described as mild, significant or severe. “Moderate doesn’t lead to action. Significant usually does.” Thanks to this wise colleague, now I actually …
The Veterinary Clinic In The Digital WorldJuly 3, 2012 It’s a digital world. Every day, there seems to be some new gadget out there that promises to make your life better. For most of us, it’s overwhelming. Which devices are actually useful? Which will end up in next year’s garage sale? Here are my top picks that will save you time and headache, and let you focus on what you need to get done, rather than wrestling with the technology. Samsung Galaxy Note These days, tablets are all the rage. When you mention the word “tablet,” most people think of Apple’s iPad, or one of the many Android models that are on the market (Asus Transformer, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc.). Tablets are great, but they tend to be quite expensive—the new iPad ranges from $499 to $829—and they’re just a little too big to be convenient. Just try to fit one in your lab coat pocket. Luckily, there’s a new product on the market that brings together the best parts of your smartphone with tablet functionality to create a whole new genre. Enter the Samsung Galaxy Note, which is being called a “Phablet.” I first experienced this creature at the …
On The ‘Fairness To Pet Owners Act’ And Other Prickly Access-to-Pet-Med IssuesJune 29, 2012 Ever thought you were getting the shaft when it comes to selling drugs and supplies? If so, you’re not alone. Rx flea-and-tick supplies, monthly heartworm meds, must-stock anti-inflammatories and antibiotics (among others)? If you’re like a lot of us, you’re caught between a rock and a hard place. Not only is it getting tougher to turn a profit on drugs based on the big-hit financial outlays, spooky interest rates, skyrocketing shipping charges and creeping inventory management costs, but we’re expected to stock them. If we didn’t, the grumbling would reach an uncomfortable crescendo, as happened to us recently when we temporarily decided to outsource many of our ophthalmology drugs. Moreover, most of us are in no position to dismiss a profit center, no matter how minimal the margins. This economy is taking no prisoners and few of us can afford the luxury of discarding any source of income—minuscule and headachy though it may be. Caught in the Act Enter the “Fairness to Pet Owners Act” proposed by Congress. This bill is being touted by its backers as a necessary bit of consumer protection legislation that would require us to inform our clients of …
Drawing The Line At WorkJune 29, 2012 There’s a saying goes something like “no good deed goes unpunished.” This seems like a cruel twist of fate, doesn’t it? Yet it’s interesting to see how often this really does happen in life. For example, you step up to help at the cake walk at your child’s school, and now you’re being asked to join the PTA. Or you step in and help a volunteer organization for an event, and now they want you to become part of the leadership. Or, you go out of your way to clean up another team member’s mess at work, and it’s assumed that you “like cleaning” and are expected to do it more often. Or, you complete a project above and beyond your typical job description, so the boss comes to you for the next project. Or, you agree to come in on short notice when a colleague calls out sick, and it’s assumed you would consider it next time it comes around. In short, when we succeed or go above and beyond the typical employee, mother, or supporter of a cause, you increase others’ expectations of you. They now know that you are capable, willing, and likely available …
Are We Being Fair In What We Charge?June 26, 2012 Late one night, one of my patients weaseled out of her E-collar and licked her spay incision until it was raw but thankfully not yet dehisced. Alarmed and too far away to bring her in, the owner sent a picture of the site via text. To be safe, I suggested that she might want to see her local ER doc. She took my advice and went to the ER, whereupon, $700 later, ground zero was declared acceptably cleansed and a neat new row of staples applied. The bill included preanesthetic lab work, anesthetics, antibiotics and a surgical fee. But $700 worth of it? Now, it’s true there will always be financial tensions between after-hours facilities and referring veterinarians. I once ran an ER facility, so I should know. And while I never would have risked dissing a referring vet by racking up a big bill on one of their post-op cases, I accept that steep invoices are common in emergency medicine. But $700 for uncomplicated wound care? Business Theory In case you think me overly partisan in this case, I’ll posit that intervet politics are beside the point. As is the issue of …
Systematic Approach To Buying A Digital Radiography SystemJune 26, 2012 Purchasing a digital radiography system can be a daunting task. Considerations such as service and support, detector technology, image quality, software functionality, PACS, DICOM, backup and practice management integration are topics that must be considered at some point in the purchase. The trick is to avoid becoming overwhelmed and to approach the purchase systematically. In my pre-purchase consultation service with veterinarians, the starting point for discussion is which type of detector technology is appropriate for their practices. The two main types of detector technology are computed radiography [CR] and direct digital radiography [DR]. Step 1: Is CR appropriate for your practice? CR uses imaging plates to generate a digital image. These imaging plates are placed in a CR reader, which generates a digital image. The workflow has a similar feel to film-based systems. Despite claims to the contrary made by some DR vendors, most veterinarians choosing CR will see some degree of time savings and increased efficiency in radiology. The image quality from CR systems is equal to or superior to many DR systems. It is this author’s opinion that for pocket pets and exotics, CR systems may perform better than many DR systems. …
In-House Blood Work Pays OffJune 26, 2012 Just a few years ago, many veterinarians couldn’t imagine having in-house blood analyzers. But now, those who took the plunge can’t imagine working without them. Potential purchasers face a growing number of equipment options, service agreements and prices. Manufacturers are typically flexible with clients, allowing products to be tested in the clinic before a final decision is made. Some companies offer refurbished equipment for practices easing their way into the financial commitment of $10,000 to $30,000 worth of new machinery. “About 40 percent of veterinarians have in-house hematology, chemistry and blood gas equipment,” says Cheryl Roge, DVM, director of professional services for scil animal care co. in Gurnee, Ill. “When this equipment started picking up momentum for in-house use, vets were getting the majority of their income from other avenues and were uncertain if the equipment would prove to be profitable. But now vets are using their equipment 10 times a day or more.” Advancements in veterinary medicine allow for care that parallels human medicine and in some cases supersedes what’s available in a typical MD’s office. A Key Time-Saver Clients privy to the speed of in-house diagnostics often expect their veterinarian to offer the …
