Practice Management

Train: To make proficient with specialized instruction and practice. This DVM Newsmagazine exclusive series on Training includes stories on "How to train your staff to deal with grief-striken clients", "What to look for beforing hiring a person to help ensure employing an individual willing to learn and embrace continuing education", "Ways to retain good employees" and more.

"Where were you when the terrorist attacks occurred in September?" I imagine that question will come up often in the years to come, much as it does regarding the assassination of JFK or Pearl Harbor for previous generations. I think I will always remember being in the fitness room of my hotel in Vancouver, B.C., while attending the annual meeting of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.

Gauging training benefits isn't simple task; gut feelings rather than numbers sometimes best tack for measuring outcomes

Medical lawsuits might be a declining trend if communications were strengthened between practitioner and client, says Thomas E. Harris, Ph.D., veterinary consultant and professor at the University of Alabama.

Editor's Note: The following companies and organizations are now offering some form of staff training in a specific area of veterinary medicine. (This is by no means meant to be an inclusive list, but rather a starting point for practices in need of training information.)

Violence in the workplace is a much greater threat to your hospital than most practitioners realize, experts say.

Employment manuals: Are they the glue that bonds the relationship between employer and employee? Or are they the grim reaper of future litigation?

Washington - Of the nation's 114 licensed veterinary laboratories, only two house anthrax cultures and both microbes are harmless, federal officials report. In the wake of the Florida anthrax-induced death, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandated that all laboratories provide an inventory of their anthrax cultures. USDA officials add the sources of anthrax that have infected people in Florida, New York and Washington could not have been from the labs.

Milwaukee - Republican veterinarian J.A. "Doc" Hines, DVM, who is running for the 42nd Assembly District of the Wisconsin legislature, says, let the debates begin.

Cleveland - Miami's tropical locale is a hot spot for tourists, but when it comes to overall pet health it's a much chillier place according to consortium ranking "pet-friendly" cities.

Everything you read today indicates an overwhelming opinion consensus that veterinarians are paid abysmally as compared to other professions and even occupations.

Title familiar? O.K. Maybe you have a life. For the rest of our readers, this Swahili mistranslation says basically no worries!

Minnesota and Wisconsin state organizations are in the preliminary stages of teaming with dairy veterinarians to better define the best role and best practices dairy veterinarians should follow in dairy practice, following the recent passage of a Minnesota resolution.

Lexington, Ky.-In mid-June, equine practitioners say cases of pericarditis and unilateral eye problems are still impacting a wide range of horse breeds.

Relationships fascinate me. They contribute much to the satisfaction and happiness we derive from life. They are also the source of much pain and sadness.

"It seems like he gets shot out of a cannon every morning, and then just starts running from that spot. He's a great vet, but he's just so busy it's hard to get him to do anything that's not an emergency."

"It doesn't make any difference. I'll soon be out of business anyway."?This statement came in response to a suggestion I made to a client while still in practice. I was surprised. The person speaking was a friend as well as a client, and I knew he ran a profitable operation. He was usually upbeat and optimistic, but this morning there was irritation in his voice.

When veterinarians opt to leave private practice, they often cite frustrations dealing with staff training and retention.

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