Technicians

Dr. Ward weighs in on current and future veterinary technology for monitoring pet?s health.

Violent incidents can happen anywhere, but there are things a practice team can do to be less vulnerable.

Continue to contribute to the practice's-and your own-well being.

New study finds the bond between mother and child is similar to puppy and owner relationship

Rate yourself with this quiz. Team members, guess your boss's responses, then read "Who's steering your practice?" in July 2013 Firstline for advice on how to work better with your boss.

Avoid blowups and miscommunication by teaching your team to offer pointed information about your vaccination protocols.

Educate pet owners about how to use topical parasite prevention and other steps they need to take in their household.

Q: A team member hangs out in the kennel area on her phone and spends all her work time texting her boyfriend and Facebooking with friends. Some of the other team members and I end up working harder to pick up the slack. How can I tell the manager without sounding like I'm tattling?-Tempted to tattle

This toolkit delivers team training, free client handouts, exam room education strategies and more, all designed to make it as easy as possible for veterinarians and their teams to explain behavior issues to pet owners. (With an educational grant provided by Ceva)

Full mouth extractions offer hope for a cat with widespread oral inflammation.

Be clear when assigning tasks.

Don't be shy-show clients the value of your invaluable team.

Have an awful boss at your veterinary practice? Learn how Rachael Simmons dealt with hers.

It's your chance to play Sherlock-look for the clues and see if you can crack the veterinary case of the wailing basset hound.

Your terrible, horrible, no-good manager may not be as bad as you think. Consider these eight secrets that help explain why they do the seemingly crazy things they do.

Take this quiz to find out if you're looking up to par for practice!

Have a Google+ account but rarely use it? Check out these pages for some inspiration.

Who needs a functional staff anyway?

A clinic 'family' rides out the storm relying on each other.

Stand up straight and send a message.

Grab some laughs between veterinary client visits!

It's time to adjust your cat-titude to make way for service that leaves pet owners purring. Consider this advice to come up to scratch when clients visit your practice.

Use this advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wash your hands the right way every time:

Consider this advice to stay positive when you're being reviewed at your veterinary practice.

Dr. Andrew Roark says despite all the advances in technology, until pets can talk, the physical exam is still essential.

Editor's note: Practice Life is a new column designed to offer tools to help your practice manage daily challenges, big or small, more efficiently

Help make sure you're spreading the microchip message and improve the chances lost pets will find their way home:

Q: Sometimes when we mention a pet needs to lose weight, clients blame the animals. How do we keep these conversations positive?