VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: Is your clinic a toxic work environment?August 11, 2023By Jamie Rauscher, LVTThere are also those who are determined to bring others down with them, contributing to a toxic workplace. Additionally, they always point out what is going wrong and openly sharing their unhappiness with everything in general in the clinic. Are negative team members really “team members?” Is the management at your hospital being held hostage by people with bad attitudes? Do some employees get away with bad behavior? Let’s discuss why this happens and what you can do to address it.
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VPN Plus+ ExclusiveUnleashing the truth: challenging veterinary industry norms and embracing new opportunitiesJuly 6, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAIt is high time I wrote a post on what you are doing all wrong and how we can all do better. However, before you come at me for my unspeakable hubris, please understand I speak from a place of love for animals on the planet of unflinching self-recrimination. In other words, if I tell you you’re doing something misguided and stupid, it’s because I figured it out after screwing it up first—and continually do.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: Interviewing tips for techniciansJune 30, 2023By Jamie Rauscher, LVTNAVTA president, Jamie Raucsher, LVT, on job hunting and interviewing tips and guidelines you may not have learned as part of your veterinary education.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveHow ChatGPT technology will change your lifeMay 18, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAChatGPT has been available since November, but it’s just now starting to hit its stride outside the nerdiest of circles. Now that it has been proclaimed a game-changer among mainstream users such as physicians, accountants, and attorneys, there’s no reason veterinarians should not be using it, too.
VPN Plus+ Exclusive12 good ways to combat bad online reviews; or worse – a targeted attackApril 28, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAOngoing legal action hasn’t yet stopped her. Though we have successfully barred her from the premises, she has pledged to wage war online—indefinitely. It would be piteous were it not so damaging. I keep trying to put it into perspective (this is a sick person, etc.) and offer emotional support to my associate, who is bearing the brunt of it, but it is a hard thing to have to handle amid all the other stresses of life in the veterinary trenches; and handle them we must!
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveIs it time for the U.S. to go Dutch?March 16, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAAs veterinary professionals, we’re on the front lines of this debate. We know exactly how certain physical traits translate physiology to pathology. Of course, it is not just the brachycephalics. We see the influence of breed-related genetic disease multiple times every single day, often many times per patient. We see it so often that, like frogs in a pot, we have become mostly inured to it.
VPN Plus+ Exclusive'Radical transparency' in vet med: embracing a new era of closeness with clientsFebruary 15, 2023By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAInstead of becoming correspondingly friendly, open, candid, and clear, we have erected barriers to these. Artfully constructed, tech-centric walls may well suit the science, but I would argue they ill-become most modern client-patient relationships.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveOur tacit pact with the purebred pet industryDecember 28, 2022By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAAs one of our path professors used to say, “If you want to start a successful practice, try befriending some boxer and Shar-pei breeders.” Although I date myself with this reference to currently less fashionable breeds (today we might rely more on our über allergy-prone doodles and everything-prone Frenchies), the core truth remains: We rely on our purebreds for profitability.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveThe clash of commerce and cultureNovember 10, 2022By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBAThe culture of veterinary medicine has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. While the dedication displayed by veterinary school applicants seeking entry to programs seems not to have diminished, the emerging work ethos is arguably less enthusiastic than it once was. This shift in mentality, should you subscribe to this assessment, is often explained in terms of the dueling axioms describing our younger workforce’s approach to work-life balance: “working to live” rather than “living to work.”
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveTech Talk: Promoting wellbeing in veterinary technology programsOctober 6, 2022By Jennifer Serling, CVT, RVT, VTES While there are many studies relating to veterinarians and the mental health crisis they are experiencing, the same cannot be said for the veterinary support staff, particularly credentialed veterinary technicians. Many of the same characteristics that draw students to veterinary medicine are also the same characteristics that contribute to burnout and compassion fatigue. Appalachian State University has become the first veterinary technology program to employ a full-time wellbeing coordinator on their team. The sole purpose of this position is to provide support for the students and faculty, and also develop best practice models for other veterinary technology programs to follow.
