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Go hard on soft skills: Top 10 nonclinical content of 2017
Veterinary medicine isn't all about science, diagnosis and treatment. Some of your day is taken up with the soft skills. Find out which nonclinical articles your peers loved the most this year in 2017 and resolve to try out some of these tricks in 2018.
Most veternarians love the science and the veterinary medicine, but what about those soft skills?
Soothing clients? Managing tough talks about money? Keeping team members happy?
Not so much.
So, whether you're a soft-skills nerd always looking for a new technique or a veterinarian who needs to earn a little more money, live with a little less stress and fight with clients a little less in 2018, here's a tip from the top 10 nonclinical articles on dvm360.com in 2017.
Dive in with No. 10 ...
No. 10: Personal wellness-Not my circus, not my monkeys
Let's start off with the funny from the high-energy, hilarious Fetch dvm360 educator Dr. Sarah Wooten showing off her simple advice that almost any veterinarian or veterinary team member can use: Don't take everyone's problems onto your crowded shoulders. Don't miss the end of the video, with inspiration and advice from Dr. Wooten and her fellow soft-skill-loving guru Dr. Kimberly Pope-Robinson.
No. 9: Personal finance-True tales of veterinary spending
This new series debuted just a few months ago, but dvm360 users have been clicking ever since. If you want to see how your veterinary peers are coping with their personal finances in a world that doesn't value veterinary medicine as highly as we'd all like, look no further. Take sway from inspiration for frugality, or feel a little better about how you're managing your own money.
No. 8: Better service-5 weeks to increased client visits
Number eight on our list of most-clicked articles, videos and resources is this sign-up page for a free multiweek email program to help veterinary professionals pick something to fix in their practice, fix it, and evaluate whether they saw results. Try it right now. It's free!
No. 7: End-of-life communication-'I am an angel of death'
Better euthanasia and end-of-life care and veterinary visits is a place where better care dovetails with better client communication. Especially check out page two of this article, where Dr. Melanie Santspree spells out best practices for her home visits.
No. 6: Low-stress care-'I've never been a fan of forcing pets'
Call it Fear Free. Call it low-stress. Call it "nice and friendly." Call it anything you like, but our sixth-most-clicked piece of nonclinical content in 2017 looked at the process of developing and building a hospital to match a passionate practitioner's vision for calmer visits, healthier pets and happier clients. Find out what you could learn from Dr. Vicki Petsche.
No. 5: Personnel management-Toxic teams
It's one thing to face a dangerous disease outbreak. It's quite another when the reason you want a hazmat suit is your awful coworkers. Visitors to dvm360.com wanted answers to diagnose their staff problems and find these ways to face and fix them.
No. 4: Better management-Why technicians leave and what you can do about it
Low wages, high stress and an inability to use the skills they went to school-all sure to send veterinary technicians to another practice or out of veterinary medicine entirely. Licensed techs and those who love the ones they have should read this now.
No. 3: Practice management-9 (neon) signs your practice is in trouble
We crack the top three with an article you need to look at, but you might be a little afraid to. You know something's wrong at your hospital, but you can't put your finger on it. Let veterinary CPA guru Tom McFerson try.
No. 2: Scheduling-How to improve veterinary surgery day flow
Fitting in appointments is like some horrible Tetris game where you get all the weird colored blocks you don't want and never any you need. Could this Practice Manager of the Year's advice for planning scheduling blocks help you stack the blocks for maximum points, err, patient visits?
No. 1: Personal wellness-The myth of compassion fatigue in veterinary medicine
The No. 1 article that doesn't deal with brass-tacks clinical medicine in 2017 is timely and controversial. Compassion fatigue, burnout and mental health issues related to work in veterinary medicine are a real thing. But Dr. Dani McVety wants you to consider every angle on your difficult feelings before self-diagnosing.
