Brendan Howard, Business Channel Director

Theyll tell you, Virginia is for lovers, but thats not what I saw in the exhibit hall at CVC Virginia Beach. Well, maybe lovers of veterinary products.

You can't stop your veterinary practice systems, your equipment, your team or even yourself from breaking sometimes. CVC educator Dave Nicol says its how you plan for and deal with the breakages that makes all the difference.

CVC Virginia Beach speaker John Volk saw preventive-care plans as the future more than 15 years ago. Today, he sees their eventual adoption in most, if not all, private practices over time as inevitable.

CVC rock star Bash Halow ran the microphone around the room to get attendees' brilliant ideas this week in Virginia Beach. Here's a few of the best. Wanna try 'em and see if they shine?

Yes, theres a gender wage gap and yes, its prevalent in the veterinary world. Whats there to do? These CVC experts have a few tricks up their sleeves.

You don't need to FISH for a reason to promote microchips to veterinary clients. Here are some quick thoughts to score a slew of new pets protected from abandonment.

The classes and labs guarantee education at a conference like CVC, but don't count out the exhibit hall when it comes learning about new technology at your own pace.

A customizable letter brought an average of 128 lapsed clients per veterinary practice in six monthsand they spent around $20,000. Could the free tool work for your veterinary hospital too?

DEK Don't get discouraged by confessions like these. Sympathize, realize you're not alone, and know you have choices. You can "go your own way" ...

A medical waste compactor that's been in the market for years now is an answer to the question, "Do I need to keep paying this company to pick up my medical waste?" The answer may be "no."

OK, maybe that's strong language. But parasites are on pet owners' minds, and for the health of your patients and business, they should be on yours, says this multi-practice owner.

Pet owners every day are asking that questionor thinking itwhen it comes to your veterinary practice. Consider this new survey from a veterinary smartphone app company.

New KPI trackers. Funny client education materials. Better ways to manage medical records. All this and more in our business-focused roundup of stuff we heard about in meetings, saw on the show floor or caught word of at this year's February show in Florida.

Footage of Animal Planets Jeff Young, DVM, performing surgery with bare arms, no gown and no mask is "getting in the way of his message" of the importance of high-quality, high-volume veterinary care, say AVMA president and CEO.

Practice owner and newly published memoirist Dr. Laurie Hess sat down with us at CVC San Diego for an exclusive Q&A about her new book, a big sugar glider mystery, her take on practice managementand managing nosy neighbors.

Companies can get burned online when employees accidentally post personal comments on company accounts or on company websites or accidentally expose customer information. Here's a tip to keep your work social media device free and clear.

Three choices for the killer (literally) cat in your life.

Frequent hand washing to protect yourself, your team and your patients also means painful hands with dry, cracked skin. Don't just live with it ... lotion up.

Better vaccinations, kinder physical exams and taking time to relax and reward pets in the veterinary practice are all crucial parts of creating a lower-stress visit. But if you don't tell pet owners why you're doing and why, you're leaving it to them to guess.

This Missouri native, Georgia transplant and firm believer in education and mentoring is this year's winner of the elite dvm360/Veterinary Hospital Managers Association award.

Feline heartworm has been diagnosed in all 50 states, and it was important enough the American Association of Feline Practitioners crafted an entire campaign about it. So why don't veterinary technicians talk about preventive care as much as we could?

Make your day in veterinary practice and life easier. Get your urgent work reminders, big life projects and personal #goals out of your head and into a reminder and task management system.

Some veterinary hospitals build hospitality stations with pleasant-smelling extras, and others skip the design and go straight for the smell. Take your pick, just do it. We can smell your hospital from over here ...

The American Royal, begun as the National Hereford Show in 1899, will hop state lines for a bigger, better facility for its horse and livestock shows, rodeos and agricultural education center.

Experts weigh in on whether a future where people care for furry wards would be better than one where pets are owned.

Squeeze, roll and punch your way to a calmer day in veterinary practice with these toys.

Shawn McVey's Pathway Partners is just the latest in a line of outside investors seeing value in the work of America's veterinary hospitals.

Three diagnostic devices that bring sexy back to the in-house veterinary lab.

I scribbled down some good advice for practice managers and practice owners from a past Veterinary Economics article contest winner at a Kansas City practice manager association meeting.