Offering to put them in contact with a financial planner may just be the ticket for some new grads.
Mark Opperman, BS, CVPM
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Veterinary Economics
Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman is a certified veterinary practice manager and owner of VMC Inc., a veterinary consulting firm based in Evergreen Colo. Through his firm, he has consulted with more than 800 veterinary hospitals throughout North America, providing assistance in associate hiring, partnership formation, exit strategies, employee issues, profitability, efficiency, and more. He has lectured worldwide at meetings such as Fetch dvm360 conference (formerly CVC), the North American Veterinary Conference, the World Small Animal Veterinary Conference, the Denmark Annual Congress, and the London Veterinary Forum. Opperman founded the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association and served as president until 1993. Through his VMC School of Veterinary Practice Management, he has trained more than 250 practice managers.
Articles by Mark Opperman, BS, CVPM
I'm a senior clinician getting a straight salary. My boss is changing my pay structure to base plus percentage. I'm nervous because often someone else does a workup and I'm stuck with a no-charge recheck, and sometimes we accept low-cost certificates, resulting in a lower charge.
Clients judge the quality and value your practice offers during the first three minutes of contact.
Is your practice losing ground compared to its past performance? If so, it's not necessarily cause for panic. Often you can get back on track by making some simple changes. To get started, dot the i's and cross the t's in these five areas:
How do you determine expected yearly production for veterinarians? How should it change based on years of experience?
Don't settle for just-OK visits anymore. Use these service strategies to take your team's performance up a notch
Take these steps, and find that new person who fits with your team perfectly.
Work better with goal planning.
This goal planning form helps you think through the steps you'll take to achieve your objective and spot potential obstacles. (PDF)
They're here to stay. And the sites that target consumers are making heavy-duty media buys. Are you often doing enough to explain why clients should buy medications from you?
Follow this step-by-step guide to figure your current value to your practice. Then adopt four key strategies to make sure you're worth your weight in gold.
Your staff members devote a third of their waking lives to your practice. Working at your practice isn't just a job for you--don't let it become just a job for them. Share your vision for the practice and then give them the support and tools they need to make your vision a reality.
Of course, companies of every size are striving to attract and retain great people. Could you adapt any strategies from these giants in the realm of great employers?
Recently, a veterinarian in the process of hiring a new practice manager asked me "What are the 10 things a practice manager needs to know to be effective?" What a great question! It took a little thinking to narrow the "must-know" list to just 10 items. But whether you're an owner-veterinarian, a practice manager, or the owner's managing spouse, I think you need to apply these strategies to manage the practice effectively.
Keep money in your hospital by adopting this subtle marketing strategy--and give clients the service they expect and pets the care they need.
These proven strategies will help your practice make more money--and offer better client and patient care
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