• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Upcoming dvm360 Conferences
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
Veterinary Heroes
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

What's your role?

April 1, 2009
Liz Nartowicz

Your patient care position.

Receptionists

Advertisement

Listen to clients. Patient care begins and ends at the front desk. From the client's initial phone call to your follow-up e-mail, you set the tone. "At the front desk in particular, we get in the bad habit of 'diagnosing' the patient after hearing the first one or two symptoms," says Rachael Hume, receptionist at Southway Animal Clinic in Lewiston, Idaho, and Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member. "We tune out the rest because we 'know' what's going on." But when that happens, you could tell an owner his dog has a bladder infection when it's really going into labor—true story! So ask questions and get the complete picture because clients are your key to communicating with patients.

Technicians and assistants

Pursue your passion. Patient care grows most when you enjoy what you're doing. A happy team provides better service to the patient and client. So go ahead and take over tasks you naturally gravitate toward. For instance, if you enjoy telling a concerned pet owner that Snuggles is making a fast recovery from surgery, investigate becoming a surgery patient care liaison. Are you a bit of a germaphobe? Embrace your inner neat freak by offering to periodically culture cages to ensure patients aren't exposed to nonscominal infections.

Practice managers

Champion CE. Keep your team up to date on the ever-evolving veterinary field by providing staff training, says Pamela Stevenson, CVPM, management consultant and owner of Veterinary Results Management in Durham, N.C. Contact a local veterinary specialty hospital and invite experts in different fields to lecture or present a wet lab. Or, if you're qualified, lead CE yourself.

Research and share trends and techniques with co-workers as you come across them, and encourage others to do the same. For example, did you hear about a new pain drug at a seminar? Tell your team about it. Did someone just read a new way to wrap catheters that he or she thinks is more efficient? Suggest that he or she hold a demonstration for the staff.

Veterinarians

Delegate. "Doctors should diagnose, prescribe, and cut," Stevenson says. If your doctor is spending a significant amount of time on patient care, suggest ways that you could take the lead and free him or her up for more examinations and procedures.

Related Content:

AnesthesiaTechniciansPractice Operations
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets joins forces with AVMF
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets joins forces with AVMF
Exploring telehealth opportunities in veterinary medicine
Exploring telehealth opportunities in veterinary medicine
5 ways to work smarter, not harder
5 ways to work smarter, not harder

Advertisement

Latest News

New technology and products for veterinary genealogy

Reduce your veterinary teams’ stress with financial wellness

Cuban crocodiles receive surgery to extract foreign items

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets joins forces with AVMF

View More Latest News
Advertisement