Handling Adverse Client Interactions With Grace And Aplomb...or BurnoutJanuary 28, 2013 Last month one of my veterinary school colleagues took an early leap into semi-retirement. Though he offered many reasons—including his partner’s enviably well-paying position at an investment bank—the soul-sucking stress of practice had clinched it. While he relished the challenges of patient care, he admitted that daily exposure to adverse client interactions had killed his commitment to veterinary medicine. Client communication, he claimed, was to blame for his burned-out brain. Depending on where you work, your practice style and your personality’s fundamental makeup, you, too, may be at high risk for the same. Altercations with clients lead to bad moods, sleepless nights and doubtless contribute to depression. The stress of this kind of interpersonal strife surely helps explain our high burnout rate—not to mention our well-documented suicidal tendencies. It’s one of the most glaringly inconvenient ironies of our profession: Many of us honed in on vet med because dealing with humans … well … it kinda sucks at times. And yet helping animals, by and large, cannot be accomplished without them. So what’s a stressed-out, would-be-misanthropic veterinarian to do? While I can’t claim to have any …
SPONSORED CONTENTProtect your patients from the start.Simparica Trio (sarolaner, moxidectin, and pyrantel chewable tablets) is the first monthly preventative of its kind. Combining three ingredients for month-long protection. + Learn more
8 (More) Things Vets Do That Make No SenseDecember 20, 2012Last January, I wrote about the strange things that veterinarians do in everyday practice. I’ve compiled eight more strange things along with suggestions to improve patient care and make practice life easier. 1) Placing the E-collar after extubation Trying to place an Elizabethan collar on a recently extubated patient may go smoothly, or it may be an exercise in frustration for the technician—and utter terror for the patient. Lee, a technician in Pennsylvania, learned this tip the hard way. “I was asked to place an E-collar before extubation,” Lee said. “Since I had never heard this request, and because I had 10 other things to do to recover my patient, the request never really registered. “Once my patient was awake, I tried to place the cone, but he started thrashing around,” Lee continued. “After multiple attempts, the only way we were able to place the E-collar was by giving him propofol. I felt really bad that we had to do this, so now I always place the E-collar on my patient’s neck before extubation, while he’s still sleeping on the surgery table. There is no downside, and it makes everybody happier.” 2) Speaking of E–collars… As a surgeon, I see E-collars as …
Giving Patients The Royal Treatment When It Comes To PrivacyDecember 19, 2012 So the big news lately is the pregnancy of Kate Middleton, and her subsequent health issues. But then a different story flooded the airwaves when two radio DJ’s posing as the Queen herself asked for an update on Kate’s condition via phone. I won’t even pretend to know exactly how this all happened, but suffice it to say that the screening process of phone calls was not present or sufficient, and the update on Kate’s personal condition went out on the radio waves. This leads me to wonder, how are WE doing with screening who is hearing what, and upholding basic privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ and clients’ information. Hang out in any veterinary practice lobby, and you can get a good idea of how to answer this question…likely not too well. It’s not difficult for the front office staff to sense an invisible barricade between what gets said behind the counter and what can be heard in the lobby. Guess what, if you’re up front, you are ALWAYS “on stage,” as Disney would say! Other people can hear you, and what you say …
Two Giants Died This YearDecember 18, 2012 Besides splurging on silly gifts and empty calories, December is often a month to reflect. As I look back at 2012, I regret the loss of two giants, two legends, two geniuses. They may not be “mainstream” in the veterinary world, but they are national heroes to the rest of the (business) world. I am referring to Stephen Covey and Zig Ziglar. Stephen Covey was an 80-year-old best-selling author, businessman, professor and motivational speaker who wrote several must-read, life-altering, world-wide best-sellers. Sadly, Covey died on July 16, 2012, from consequences of a bicycle accident that occurred in April. Covey had nine children and 52 grandchildren! His most famous book is the classic “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” which sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages. Amazingly, the book was written in 1989, or 23 years ago, but it is still very up to date. Nobody ever listened, but I’ve always said that the book should have been entitled “The Seven Habits of Highly Happy People.” The book presents several principles critical for success in our professional and personal lives. Covey tackles time management, …
The Power Of A Caregiver's Tone Of VoiceNovember 28, 2012 I bet you didn’t realize that everything you say matters...it does, to whoever hears it. As caregivers, our words are even more powerful than “regular” words, especially to those we are caring for at the time. Here’s an example. Before I became pregnant, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I needed day-patient laparoscopy to “clear out the cobwebs,” so to speak (I know, this story borders on TMI, but I’m OK if you’re OK!). While the doctor ensured me that complications were “rare,” of course I had to be one of the rare few who ended up back in the emergency room that night because of my inability to urinate (thanks for an irritated urethra from the indwelling catheter during surgery). Let me tell you, those blocked Tom’s that we see, they are most certainly in pain…I know from personal experience! So I was admitted and catheterized, and put on some type of muscle relaxer, to get me “going” again. That next night, I was frustrated. I had not been able to urinate much on my own still, so I had to get catheterized a couple of times. At 11 p.m., with my spirits low, the nurse came …
Therapy Lasers Improve Patient CareNovember 27, 2012 Therapeutic lasers’ popularity continues to grow as pet owners seek out alternative healing and pain control techniques for their animals, laser therapy manufacturers say. Kristen Grady, director of sales for Grady Medical Systems of Temecula, Calif., said that while it’s difficult to estimate, about 10 percent of clinics practice with laser light therapy, in general. And approximately 5,000 Class IV laser machines have been purchased in the veterinary market in just the last three years, said Phil Harrington, DC, CMLSO, manager of training and clinical support for K-Laser USA of Franklin, Tenn. It’s interesting to note that although some specialty clinics and certain universities are investing in the modality, most clinics adding therapeutic laser therapy to their regimens are general practices. “These clinics are seeing wounds, dermatology cases and animals experiencing osteoarthritic pain—all conditions the laser can greatly improve,” said Grady. “The use of the laser can also be tied in to post-operative healing. For these reasons, laser is definitely not just for specialty hospitals.” Carl Bennett, marketing director for Companion Therapy Laser by Lite Cure based in Newark, Del., and James D. Shanks, veterinary …
The Pros And Cons Of Lauching A Mobile PracticeNovember 19, 2012 The lure of going mobile is strong for many veterinary practitioners who have had a taste of a traditional brick-and-mortar practice and long for a change. Launching a mobile practice comes with a few drawbacks to consider and plan for, but mobile veterinarians say it also has a long list of benefits. Andrew Dibbern, DVM, is an equine practitioner at The Equine Center in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., where he works in-clinic occasionally, but spends about 60 percent of his time in mobile practice, which he appreciates. “San Luis Obispo County is amazingly beautiful, and it is great to be able to see the sights,” he said. He also said that he loves experiencing the environments and atmospheres in which his patients live. “Farm calls make for closer relationships with patients, and [help me] develop a better clinical picture of the problems I try to help.” Small-animal practitioner Ben Brown, DVM, owns The Travel Vet mobile veterinary clinic in Davis County, Utah. He spent 10 years in traditional practice and made the leap to mobile eight months ago when he purchased a 26-foot fully equipped Ford E450 chassis by LaBoit Specialty Vehicles. “It …
The Deadly Flea BathNovember 13, 2012 You may have seen it: the news story that came out recently about a cat that was dropped off for a flea bath and was euthanized instead. Of course that is a terrible tragedy, and for those of us in the veterinary profession, it is particularly difficult to hear. We give our lives, often to the exclusion of our own personal needs, to care for those animals that need us; to see one destroyed by accidental euthanasia is unthinkable for most of us. So where do we go from here, given this awful news and the blemish it makes on our profession? Nothing will bring Lady back. Knowing that Lady had been given to this woman by her daughter, who is no longer living, only deepens the wound. There is no consolation … but perhaps for those of us in the profession, there can be knowledge to gain. Lady’s life doesn’t have to be in vain. We often scoff at “protocols,” which are time-consuming to write, oftentimes difficult to implement, and even more challenging to maintain, but it is “protocols” that would have prevented this mistake. In fact, the woman who owned Lady commented, “I’m sure there …
Consumer Demand For Vet Payment Options IncreasesOctober 31, 2012 Veterinary healthcare credit cards, in-house financing and pet insurance all provide financing options for veterinarians who want to help owners care for their pets and manage their own bottom lines. At the same time, providing different ways to help clients pay for veterinary services is an important way practices can bring options that help clients plan and budget for recommended treatment. “As technology and choices for care have evolved, so have the choices for how to pay for care,” says David Fasoli, CEO and president of CareCredit of Costa Mesa, Calif., a leading healthcare credit card provider for more than 25 years. “CareCredit was created to give people options to finance veterinary procedures and treatments they increasingly want access to for their pets. It is one option among many a provider may accept.” This payment method may allow the client to choose from special financing options such as deferred interest or extended terms, with no upfront costs and no prepayment penalties, and enables the veterinary practice to focus on diagnosing and delivering care, and less on administrative billing. Consumer demand for payment options continues to increase. Because CareCredit provides a revolving line of credit that can …
Teaching Work Ethics To The Younger GenerationsOctober 30, 2012 Many of us are familiar with the “younger generation,” which means a lot of us are middle-aged! At times we notice a general lack of work ethics in this generation, and we wonder where does that work ethic get taught in the first place…home? School? Once you’re literally “on the job”? I know one way the even younger generation is learning, at least as seventh graders in my daughter’s middle school. She’s in a Wisconsin charter school, with a focus on technology and fine arts. She attends a class on technology and engineering, which we hope will serve her well as she continues to learn and focus her studies on what she may want to be someday. But there’s an added plus to her being in this particular classroom, one that surprised me and warmed the cockles of my little human-resources heart: The students had to sign an employee contract! Check it out, here’s what it says at the top of this contract: “Behaviors and attitudes developed in school are a key indicator of work ethics that will be repeated on the job later in life. Ask any employer what they look for in an employee and …
