2016 Western Veterinary Conference: Day 1March 7, 2016One of the largest veterinary continuing education events is held every year in Las Vegas: The Western Veterinary Conference (WVC). The annual event attracts thousands of veterinary professionals to Sin City for a week of hands-on labs, seminars, workshops, lectures, networking and much more in six topic areas: small animal, equine, veterinary technician, practice management, food animal, and avian and exotics. Once you're done for the day, you can head out and check out all Las Vegas has to offer, from casinos to live shows. The WVC, as they write on their website, is "dedicated to providing quality continuing education to the veterinary community through an array of learning styles and environments. Our courses provide comprehensive, progressive and practical knowledge that can be applied immediately to the veterinary practice." More than 1,000 CEs are available to participants. Have you never been to a WVC event? Here are a few highlights on what to look forward to below. (Click on each photo for explanation.) Next year’s conference will take place March 5 through 9, 2017.
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How Do Veterinary Clients Drive You Insane?March 3, 2016It’s no secret that sometimes clients drive you insane. Thousand of words have been written about the struggle. Just check out Dr. Phil Zeltzman’s Marketing 101: Open Letter To New (and Existing) Clients, and bathe in the sarcasm. One highlight? “[Feel free to] insist that we follow your breeder’s recommendations, especially about anesthesia or vaccine protocols. Our schooling and veterinary journals really don't teach us anything of value, so we appreciate the guidance.” Andy Roark, DVM, DS, host of the YouTube show Cone of Shame, along with VetStreet.com decided to turn the tables on clients with the video, “Tips to Help Vets Lose Their Minds.” Watch it below: Dr. Roark's five tips for his clients to drive him insane? "No matter what, it's an emergency." "The best time to be seen is closing time." "No matter what, answer your phone." "Have the doctor talk to everyone you know." "Don't do anything the vet recommends and tell him." It’s no secret we can drive our clients insane too, as Wendy S. Myer’s points out in her article, “5 Statements That Secretly Irritate …
5 Qualities of an Amazing Veterinary ReceptionistMarch 1, 2016A good receptionist in veterinary medicine must realize that there is a host of names for his or her position besides “receptionist.” You could be a client service representative, client advocate, front office personnel and many more, including “the girls up front.” Yes, you will hear that also, and none of these position titles mean any disrespect whatsoever, despite any personal connotations you may assume. So what is a veterinary receptionist? As Wendy S. Myer's writes in her article "How to Support Your Veterinary Receptionist:" “Receptionists are the face of your veterinary hospital. They play the starring role in every client experience — from scheduling exams to check-in and checkout.” No one in the veterinary practice has anything but respect for the guys and gals that work the frontlines in veterinary medicine. How do we know? Because not one of them thinks that THEY would be able to do YOUR job — it is the toughest on the team, and everyone knows it. Why? Because you must possess a blend of qualities that are almost not humanly possible. What are those …
Why It's Important to Be YourselfFebruary 25, 2016Another sad story has rocked my world this past week. It made me think of all the people out there that feel they cannot BE who they want to BE. I do not think this relates just to personal lifestyles, but also to what we want to become as a professional and the type of work we choose to affiliate ourselves with. But the message came to me by way of a personal lifestyle tragedy. School shootings are, unfortunately, becoming commonplace in the news. That is sad enough, but this one captured my heart even before we knew the details. At an Arizona high school, two 15-year-old girls were found shot, with the weapon between them. It didn’t take the story unraveling to put together what kind of shooting this was. A murderer doesn’t often leave the weapon at the scene of the crime. As you probably know by now, this sad story was deemed a murder-suicide, and it was released that the girls were good friends, even a “couple” perhaps. Gay and lesbian youth commit suicide at an alarming rate. What struck me in this story, though, was knowing they made this decision together. Likely, they were forbidden, or …
Vet Confessions: I Lied When a Pet DiedFebruary 16, 2016Along with my passionate belief in the “good” of veterinary medicine, I’ve shared with you in this column my faith in God, and many colleagues responded with their own testimonies. Now it’s time for a confession. While many times in the past I’ve asked God for forgiveness for my sins and have been very open with my family and friends about egregious fraternity pranks, too many times drinking and driving when younger, and not being respectful enough of women when I was in “lust” and not in “love,” I’ve never opened up about the serious mistakes in my veterinary past. Some deadly. One of the most, if not the most popular column I’ve ever written for Veterinary Economics was titled “My Biggest Practice Mistakes … and the Lessons I Learned.” I literally had hundreds of colleagues over the years come up to me and tell me how they appreciated my honesty in that piece, that it was good to admit mistakes rather than always pretend as a communicator/ expert that your, pardon, “feces don’t stink.” They said they felt better about themselves, their careers and more open to admit mistakes. But …
How to Work With MillennialsFebruary 12, 2016Have you given up on understanding millennials, a.k.a. Gen Y? Do you believe they feel entitled, lazy and selfish? Here are some key insights to help you better understand them and work with them. Sure enough, this “largest generation” (80 million Americans) is very different from its predecessors. First, who is a Millennial? Exact ages and definitions vary, but here is how the Center for Generational Kinetics1 defines the five generations currently making up our society: iGen or Gen Z: Born 1996 and later Millennials or Gen Y: Born 1977 to 1995 Generation X: Born 1965 to 1976 Baby boomers: Born 1946 to 1964 Traditionalists: Born 1945 or before The Center for Generational Kinetics recently published a white paper2 that compiled data on Millennial employment and provided five insights. The insights pertain to employment in general and apply to veterinary medicine as well. Insight No. 1: What Motivates Millennials? The first insight is the five motivators for Millennial employees, ages 19 to 37, to engage with their jobs: They must feel valued within the organization (by far the most important driver). They must have confidence …
Why You Need to Take Care of YourselfFebruary 11, 2016If I asked you, “do you take good care of yourself?” how would you answer? Probably a half-hearted “Sure I do…” OK, let’s try another, more direct, question. The last time you were sick, did you go to the doctor? Hmm, I sense a pause. It seems that since we're in the medical field, we would not need to have explained to us the benefit of seeing a trained professional when we are sick. However, being the TYPE of medical work we do, we also do not have a lot of extra cash lying around to go spend at the doctor — let’s face it, it’s expensive! In fact, MUCH more expensive than veterinary care! So why do it, especially if we think it’s a simple illness that will pass with time? I have a cousin, who felt much the same way about spending money at the doctor. So despite some bad headaches, she didn’t go. She tried all sorts of over-the-counter stuff, to no avail. Then, her eye became infected. She couldn’t avoid it any longer, she popped into one of those 24-hour care marts that you see everywhere …
15 Tweets About the #VetTechLife You'll Understand IntimatelyFebruary 10, 20161) Not the worse thing you've gotten on you, let's be real. Just found a dog's crusty eye booger inside my bra. #vettechlife #vettech — ❁ Bambi ❁ (@mermaidpewp) February 3, 2016 2) Your life in six words. Vet Tech: bites, butts, shots, mutts, dishes, and poop. #specialtiesin6words #vettech — FutureMrsAdcock (@VetTechian) January 21, 2016 3) But can you spell it? I never imagined I would have a career in which the word "diarrhea" would be in my vocabulary. Daily. #vettech #RVT #veterinary — karen k (@ohh_kk) November 28, 2015 4) AKA PWNAGE. The feeling you get after 3 people try and fail to get blood from a cat, then you try and get it first try and perfect stick! ???????? #vettech — [DOLL] SaucyxLewis (@saucyxlewis) November 25, 2015 5) Just another day at the office.
Fear Factors: What Are You Afraid Of?February 4, 2016The popular TV show didn’t invent fear factors. Humans did. We struggle with fear of change, fear of failure, fear of success and many others. I understand fear of change — I observe it among colleagues and technicians almost daily. I understand fear of failure, it’s a common human trait. But I have a harder time understanding fear of success. Let’s explore these three fear factors.* Fear of Change People fear change for a number of reasons, yet they are rarely aware of it. Fear of having their old beliefs shattered. Fear of being proven wrong. Fear of having to learn a new skill. Fear of technology. Fear of leaving their comfort zone. Fear of having their authority questioned or challenged. For higher ups, the fear is often disguised as a medical (or business) decision. Some people stay in the same position for years or decades, and come up with all kinds of excuses. They rationalize and convince themselves why they cannot leave a job that is clearly making them (and everyone around them) miserable. People who embrace change recognize that medicine and technology (and business) keep evolving. Not everything has to change, not everything new is beneficial, but adaptable people are …
Studying Veterinary ScienceFebruary 3, 2016The first of the year is an anxious time for many hopeful veterinarians, as some of them will find out where and whether they have been accepted to one of the 30 veterinary schools in the United States. Some of those students have had vet school in mind from the beginning of their undergraduate careers, while others have arrived at the goal after a few years in the work force and perhaps even after getting a degree in a different field. While schools are open to both types of candidates, there are certain guidelines that hopeful veterinarians should follow to maximize their chances of getting a coveted spot in their school of choice. Pre-Veterinary Science Degree Not Always Required Perhaps surprisingly, admissions experts say that a major in pre-veterinary science, or even in the biology or agricultural science departments, is not necessary. As long as students have finished the necessary pre-requisites, they are equally qualified regardless of major. Requirements can vary slightly from school to school, but basically, vet schools are looking for one year each of chemistry, biology, and physics with associated laboratory classes, organic chemistry, biochemistry, calculus, and statistics. The American Veterinary Association …
