As different as associates' experiences are, they generally enter practice with four concerns. Dr. Philip VanVranken, the managing partner at Dickman Road Veterinary Clinic, a seven-doctor practice in Battle Creek, Mich., offers his insight from 30 years of experience and provides some quick mentoring. Here are his answers to four common questions.
It's difficult to really know what a job offers until you've been there a while (Catch-22!), but a little astute questioning can help. Use these questions as aids. Don't read them to prospective employers as a list of demands--gently work them into interviews when appropriate.
Use these thought-starters to take a close look at your progress and plot a successful future.
Use these thought-starters to take a close look at your progress and plot a successful future.
I know that an associate veterinarian who's juggling a hectic schedule, a crazy personal life, and pressure-packed workdays can easily get lost in the minutia of the moment. Before you realize it, weeks, months, and even years can float by. At the same time, critical decisions?about your career, your cash flow, and your potential?can get pushed to the back burner, or worse, never even considered.
Worried that your employees aren't working effectively? Try a tip from Ethics4Everyone, by Eric Harvey and Scott Airitam (Performance Systems Corp., 2002).
If you're thinking of pulling up the stakes and moving to another practice in another state, do some number crunching first. Yes, the salary offered looks great, but have you considered how much more you'll have to earn to live the life you want in that city?
Veterinary medicine is a calling almost always heard at a young age. Consequently, a young, aspiring doctor often subjects his or her parents to a litany of trials, involving stray dogs, injured cats and at least one or two wild creatures.
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.
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.
What's fair compensation one year out of veterinary school? I'm currently working at a two-doctor practice. What do I need to know to make an educated decision about whether to renew my contract?
"Man, I just totally don't get it," Dr. Tad Klewless grumbled as he picked at the mustard stain on his scrub top. "Old Rex really needed a culture to clear up that gnarly ear problem I've been messing with for the past six months. And, jeez, those teeth! But, every time I bring up the procedures he needs, his owner just stares at me, totally blank, like she can't understand English. Man, what's up with her?"
You're a dedicated doctor. You spent eight years preparing for and enduring veterinary medical school. For the past six years as an associate, you've lived your dream.
Owners in Well-Managed Practices look for the same talents and competencies in a long-term associate as those they seek in an associate who will become an owner. The difference lies in the focus of those talents and competencies.
You're a dedicated doctor. You spent eight years preparing for and enduring veterinary medical school. For the past six years as an associate, you've lived your dream.
You know that finding the right associate is an investment in the future. After all, the associate will represent you in the exam room and in the community, will reflect your practice philosophy, and may eventually be a candidate for co-ownership. But we regularly hear practice owners say it's not that easy to find a great associate.
The hard truth: You've been your own worst enemies when it comes to vaccinations. (And the only reason we can say that is that we lived those days in practice, too.) In the 1970s and '80s many veterinarians derived a substantial percent of their total incomes from vaccinating dogs and cats. They marked vaccinations up tremendously over their costs and, at the same time, didn't charge clients a separate exam or office call fee. Practices told clients that the exam or office call was "included in the cost of the vaccines."
As a management consultant, Dr. Karen Felsted is no stranger to controversy. Yet, even she was surprised by the emotion owners and associates showed during a discussion about the role associates should play in attracting clients. Dr. Felsted, CPA, MS, CVPM, was one of four moderators for the session, which took place during the Central Veterinary Conference last August.
Looking to get more out of your veterinary practice experience? I know I once dreamed of becoming board certified in surgery, internal medicine, or another specialty. But somehow my plans changed when I entered the real world. Happily, I learned that the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) rewards committed practitioners who wish to attain a new level of patient care and professional satisfaction by giving them an avenue to attain board certification that doesn't involve the traditional residency programs.
The conflict over who should develop an associate's client base runs deep. To find a solution, you'll need to discuss the issues openly, clarify your expectations, and find the middle ground.
Your top priority is to give pets the care they need, right? So one of the first questions to ask yourself is, does your record-keeping system reflect your practice's standards of care?
For more than a decade, I've practiced emergency medicine in small metropolitan emergency clinics. According to several colleagues, I practice good medicine and am a competent surgeon. Although I haven't reached a point in my career where I feel like I am an excellent veterinarian, I'm usually competent. Despite all this, I messed up. But, under the same circumstances, I believe this episode could have happened to almost anyone. Here's how my story unfolded:
Seven years ago my mother and I saddled our horses for a relaxing trail ride. But as I swung my leg up to mount, something spooked my horse. He reared, threw me, flipped backwards, and crashed on top of me. My horse got up, but I didn't. My pelvis was broken in five places, I had ruptured blood vessels in my leg, and I would later sustain a life-threatening blood clot. In just an instant my life changed; doctor became patient.
Some of your clients see their pets as children. Citizens in some areas have pushed for a legal change that retracts pet ownership in favor of pet guardianship. And other people say, "It's just a dog." Yet when conflict arises over the suffering or death of a pet, our court system has to stick to one set of rules that defines the relationship between people and animals. What's the right definition?
The first year in practice can feel like a mountain climb at 70 miles per hour to a recent graduate who suddenly needs to deal with all manner of practice chaos and the patient that presents with lameness or disease. An associate who joins the practice in mid-career still likely feels that the highway runs uphill as he or she adapts to the new team. But with more experience under the belt, he or she faces fewer unexpected twists and turns. For both doctors, the road eventually levels out, their careers kick into fourth gear, and practice life begins to roll smoothly toward the horizon.
Several years ago, some colleagues and I began a support group for veterinarians. We met for almost two years and discussed a broad range of topics. I soon noticed that the solutions to almost all of the problems raised included setting limits with other people. For example, we brainstormed the best way to handle an unreasonably demanding client, how to approach recurrent staff problems, and why staff members honor some policies and violate others.
