The Laws Of Likability And How They Affect Your CareerJuly 16, 2012 It’s a simple declarative sentence containing only seven words, but it reveals one of the most critically important secrets of business success: People like to do business with people they like. Obvious perhaps, but ignored too often in today’s high-pressure business environment. When it comes to a highly personal and sensitive service such as that provided by a veterinarian, likability can spell the difference between failure and success. So how does a veterinarian build up the kind of likability score that will help to build a successful career? In her book “The 11 Laws of Likability,” Michele Tillis Lederman, an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, provides step-by-step guidance for improving your likability quotient. Here’s a capsule review of her advice: The Law of Authenticity To be likable, you must learn to be your true self. “The real you is the best you,” says Lederman. Lederman is not alone when she suggests that trying to be someone other than who you really are is a major hurdle on the road to likability. “Authenticity is who you are-–your honest reactions, your natural energy,” she says. “Sharing what is real about you is the …
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The Facts About Non-Communicable Diseases And One HealthJune 25, 2012 Posted: June 25, 2012, 7:00 p.m. EDT The human-animal bond connects veterinarians to millions of families, communities and organizations worldwide. Each of us can play a more active role in the One Health movement. The One Health movement calls for greater cooperation and integration of human health, animal health and ecosystem health sciences. It fosters collaboration at the local, national and global levels to achieve optimal health for people, domestic and free-living animals, plants and the environment. If or when properly implemented, it will help protect and save untold millions of lives in present and future generations. You can help promote the One Health concept from your exam room, home or community. If you know the common factors that cause disease in people, companion animals, livestock and free-living animals, you can inform your clients, communities and organizations. Infectious Disease At least 60 to 75 percent of human infectious disease agents and emerging human pathogens can be acquired from other animal species. The list includes SARS, mad cow disease, Nipha virus, West Nile virus, avian influenza, Lyme disease and Bartonella (cat scratch disease), which was recently found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The U.N. …
Rabies: Still Deadly, But Antidote More PleasantMay 21, 2012 EDITORS' NOTE: This is a supplement to Veterinary Practice News magazine's June 2012 cover story, America & Rabies. Untreated, rabies virus in humans is most certainly a death sentence. The good news is the virus spreads slowly through the body and modern treatment is very effective with few unpleasant side effects, said Kristy K. Bradley, DVM, MPH, Oklahoma's state epidemiologist. “What I see a lot of times is that people think (rabies testing) is an emergency situation, and it’s not,” she said. “It travels slowly, and gives us the luxury of time so we don’t have to make hasty medical decisions.” Since rabies is strictly neurotropic, it spreads only through the nerves—not blood or lymph, said Bradley, who is president of the American Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. “That’s why there is no test you can do on a live animal. The only reliable test, still today, is euthanasia and testing of brain tissue,” she explained. While the rabies incubation period is three to six weeks, an animal is contagious only if the virus has reached its brain and is transmitted through saliva. “If you have a …
The Changing World Of Veterinary Anesthesia Guidelines And MonitoringMay 2, 2012 UPDATE: AAHA released its anesthesia guidelines in early November. The American Animal Hospital Association is poised to release the first-of-its-kind small animal anesthesia guidelines. A task force comprising six board-certified veterinary anesthesiologists and a certified technician specializing in anesthesia created the approximately 10-page document in an 11-month timeframe. The AAHA guidelines is an all-inclusive, easily digestible document created for use by the entire veterinary team. With expanding anesthesia capabilities for the profession, Jason Merrihew, associate public relations manager at AAHA, says the association recognized the need to develop guidelines for veterinary professionals. He attributes the multitude of factors to consider when sedating or anesthetizing a healthy dog or cat, as well as the pet with one or more medical conditions a leading incentive. “AAHA’s guidelines include information on pre-anesthesia bloodwork, examination, equipment, staffing recommendations, monitoring from induction through recovery, pain management, drug choices, drug combinations, what drugs to use according to patients’ age, body type and temperament,” says Richard Bednarski, DVM, Dipl. ACVA, associate professor (anesthesia) at The Ohio State University in Columbus and chair for AAHA anesthesia guidelines. “These guidelines differ from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists’ (ACVA) anesthesia monitoring guidelines because their …
Managing Concurrent Kidney And Heart DiseaseMay 1, 2012 The first step in controlling a patient’s kidney or heart condition is a reliance on the owner’s detection of a clinical problem. Cardiology and kidney specialists suggest preparing clients whose pet has a high risk of disease before symptoms begin–even running blood work or genetic testing if it applies. Information that veterinarians provide to clients will help the owners recognize disease symptoms and increase compliance with veterinary directions when managing the disease. Two-thirds of dogs and more than half of cats suffering from cardiac disease have concurrent diseases. Because a large number of kidney and heart disease patients are of an advanced age, it’s not uncommon for a patient being treated for one disease to develop the other, a situation that takes a vigilant veterinarian and dedicated owner to manage. “Once we have a diagnosis and the client understands the disease and necessity to follow up, the biggest obstacle is the owner’s financial commitment,” says Megan King, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM (cardiology) of the Center for Animal Referral and Emergency Services in Langhorne, Pa. “For much of heart disease there may not be a substantial cost, but as the pet deals with more advanced disease and congestive …
Bond And Beyond Bonus Content: A Brief History Of The Veterinary Hospice MovementApril 30, 2012 EDITORS' NOTE: This is special bonus content for Alice Villalobos' May 2012 column, Keeping Hospice in Veterinary Hands. The veterinary literature advocating for pet hospice as a professional service has been evolving since the 1990s. Two main groups have organized the pet/animal/veterinary hospice movement. Historically, the first group is the Nikki Hospice Foundation, founded in 1996 by thanatologist Kathy Marrachino, Ph.D. Nikki organized the first and second veterinary hospice symposiums in 2008 with some veterinary faculty and in 2009 with almost no veterinary faculty. I was an invited speaker at the 2008 event and Dr. Dani McVety attended the 2009 event. Our thoughts are recorded below. As of Jan. 17, none of the veterinarians listed on the website as part of Nikki’s Board of Directors are still serving. An official statement of the University of California, Davis, Veterinary School says it has severed its relationship with the Nikki group and has nothing to do with the symposiums even though they will be on the Davis campus. This begs the question: Is there any veterinary oversight for organizing the third Veterinary Hospice Symposium scheduled for July? We …
Pet Obesity: A Huge ProblemApril 27, 2012 Two-thirds of clients say nothing about their overweight pet unless the veterinarian speaks first, experts say. Initiating the conversation is the first obstacle that veterinarians face when helping patients reduce weight. The U.S. has the fattest pets in the world, and the social and psychological pressure to ignore weight problems is huge. A February 2009 report from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention shows that more than 44 percent of dogs and 57 percent of cats are overweight or obese. The figures represent an increase of 1 percentage point in dogs and 4 percentage points in cats compared with a 2007 study. “Pet obesity continues to emerge as a leading cause of preventable disease and death in dogs and cats,” says Ernie Ward, DVM, the association’s founder and chief-of-staff. “Pets are in real danger of not living as long as previous generations and developing serious and costly diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and other largely avoidable conditions. “We are afraid to offend our clients or make them feel uncomfortable about their own weight if we discuss their overweight pet, but staying quiet is risking the patients health.” One tactic is to use the body …
Feline Heartworm’s A Different AnimalApril 25, 2012 A recent study at Auburn University has shown us a new side of feline heartworms. Dillon and Blagburn, with the financial backing of Pfizer Animal Health of New York, performed an amazing study1. They infected three groups of cats with heartworm larvae. The first group was untreated to see what would happen from natural exposure. The second group was given ivermectin at the time in the life cycle that would kill the immature adults but not the adults. This group showed the pathology that occurs when the 2-inch-long immature adults die; the pathology that occurred was only due to immature adults, not to 6-inch-long adult worms. The third group was infected while receiving selamectin. This group was to demonstrate the efficacy of this drug in preventing heartworm infections; its high efficacy was clearly demonstrated. The following is a synopsis of what we now know about heartworm disease in cats. Life Cycle When a mosquito bites a cat, third-stage larvae (L3) are deposited on the cat’s skin. Within minutes they enter the subcutaneous tissue through the bite wound. The L3 molt within a couple of days to fourth-stage larvae (L4). L4 migrate …
Dermatology: Dealing With Itchy PatientsApril 25, 2012 Clinical practice guidelines from the International Task Force on Canine Atopic Dermatitis have gotten a lot of interest from primary care veterinarians. These guidelines, created by veterinary dermatologists, offer recommendations to help primary care practitioners identify and treat chronic atopic dermatitis (AD). Last June, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association endorsed the amended guidelines, which have since been translated from English into 18 additional languages. Thierry Olivry, DrVet, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVD, Dipl. ACVD, led the international task force. He is with the Department of Clinical Sciences and the Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Dr. Olivry says the team concluded that treatment of canine atopic dermatitis must be individualized for each patient. “Treatment regimens depend on the canine patient, if acute flares or chronic skin lesions of AD are presented and whether signs are localized or generalized,” Olivry says. “Chronic canine AD is a challenge and known flare factors, including food, flea and environmental allergens, Staphylococcus bacteria and Malassezia yeast, should be investigated before moving forward with a treatment plan. “In addition, optimization of skin care, reduction of skin lesions …
Bonus Content: Let’s Regard End Of Life As A Distinct StageApril 23, 2012 EDITORS' NOTE: This is special bonus content for Dr. Villalobos' article, Let's Regard End of Life as a Distinct Stage. To read the full story, click here. Here are three examples of the End of Life stage: 1) Hemangiosarcoma in dogs is often diagnosed at extremely advanced stages after acute collapse from a hemoabdomen crisis. Those with rampant metastases are advised that surgery is unhelpful. These TIPs are immediately in late EoL phase. Most terminally ill patients would be offered the gift of euthanasia at the emergency clinic. Some might be released with a belly wrap, steroids, Yunnan Paio and pain medication with a signed consent form, to go home for hospice care and farewell with home euthanasia. 2) Hemangiosarcoma dogs with hemoabdomen from ruptured splenic lesions that undergo splenectomy may go from crisis to good health following surgery. Overall survival times are 89 days and not much better with treatment. These TIPs are in the middle EoL phase. We are seeking these dogs for a clinical trial using T-Cyte. Contact me at dralicev@aol.com. 3) …
