Practice Manager

The new owner changed my duties, and I don't like my job anymore. What can I do?

My husband's cat, Chelsea, is a gorgeous creature. She has long, silky fur you'd just love to sink your fingers into. She's also got a look in her round, yellow eyes that says, "Don't even try it buster." Like a Venus fly trap, she lures in our defenseless friends who can't resist the idea of sneaking in just one pet. She's eager to respond with a warning growl and a quick swipe that clearly says, "back off!"

Drive down the dead-end road to Donna Rivers' house and you might get the feeling Hurricane Rita happened yesterday, not nearly a year ago.

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. - 6/6/06 - First-year students tracking toward food animal careers report the human-animal bond does not drive their interest in veterinary medicine. They're also less concerned about working nights and weekends or having frequent vacation time than their classmates planning for small animal practice.

Make sure your benefits stack up well against the other options team members could find in your area-and give employees more reasons to stick around.

Let's say you could forget "receptionist" or "technician" and pick any title you wanted-something that really reflects your skills and goals. So you could be "chatty chief greeter in charge of great visits" or "superwoman for sensational care." Would you think about your job differently? What title would you choose for yourself?

Q. I've recently been promoted to a supervisory position. What's the best way to ease into my new responsibilities without offending co-workers?

Let others know how much you care with these simple steps.

Help! One of our veterinarians always says we have a zero-tolerance policy for gossip, but she's the worst! She talks about clients and staff members all the time. What should we do?

I'm a receptionist and I only earn $1 above minimum wage. Should I ask for a raise?

How should we control our consumables, such as bandage and suture materials and other hospital supplies that we use but seldom charge for?

Debt, relationship problems, illness--it can be hard to cope with the issues life throws at you. And sometimes pesky problems cling so tightly that they follow you to work. Here's how to shake loose.

The world is full of contradictions. One person will say you need to do more saving for a rainy day, and the next will say you need to live in the moment and relish the joys each day brings. They may both be right. Which makes it your job to steer a path between the two.

We asked new grad Dr. W. Andrew Rollo to team up with experienced practitioner Dr. Philip VanVranken to talk about the worries practitioners face in that first year—and what owners and associates can do to smooth the transition to practice.

As graduation approaches, my mind is a whirlwind of questions, concerns, and hopes. I'm ready to practice?mostly. Yet there's one topic that leaves me wary: salary. While production-based compensation and traditional salary historically have been the only two options, they each have room for improvement. But there's a third choice: the ProSal formula, developed by Hospital Management Editor Mark Opperman, CVPM. To understand why I think ProSal is right for me and other new associates, consider these pros and cons.

No one likes to feel ignored. So if your great ideas are flowing in one of your boss's ears and streaming right out the other, use these solutions to get yourself heard.

I'm feeling overwhelmed and ready to quit. How can I renew my love for veterinary medicine?

Q: I'm a recent graduate, and I find that the clients I see have no preference for which doctor examines their pet. How can I develop my own clientele?

Standards of care set the stage for you and your clients so you can work together to help pets stay sleek, strong, and full of energy.

A co-worker told me in confidence that he was looking for a new job. I encouraged my friend to tell the doctor he wasn't happy and to try to work things out, but he quit instead and took a job at a rival practice. Now the doctor is mad at me. He says I'm not loyal. I disagree. Who's right?

No one follows our time schedules—I regularly work at least 30 minutes after my shift was supposed to end. Is this fair?

Sometimes I am just so completely right. And yet, the world doesn't notice. That's when it's hardest for me to stay cool under pressure. And that's when I'm most likely to blow it-and blow my top. Identify? And yet, these touchy moments are the times when I most need to find a way to stay calm, cool, and collected.

A few ill-chosen words can leave your message garbled. So if you see confusion or anger when you expected a smile, rewind your conversation and look for these verbal miscues.

I'm a manager, but the doctor won't give me the authority to discipline employees when necessary. What do I do?

The doctor won't fire a problem employee. What can I do?

It?s easy to overlook the problems that come with making clients wait. We think, ?Hey, it comes with the territory.? We make excuses. And we hedge our bets, knowing most clients only grow dissatisfied when they wait more than 30 minutes. But that approach won?t wow clients. In fact, even a short wait may leave clients disgruntled. So it?s an issue you should aim to manage.

In 56 percent of practices, team members begin educating clients about geriatric care when their pets are 7 to 9 years old, according to a recent survey by VetMedTeam.com.

The veterinarian I work for has anger-control problems. He can be verbally abusive to staff members and sometimes clients. What can I do?