Veterinary team - Firstline

Pearls of Practice

Share your tried-and-true tips

FIRSTLINE

Save that date!

FIRSTLINE

That old line

FIRSTLINE

Fish for ways to wow veterinary clients

FIRSTLINE

3 tips for chronic ear infections

FIRSTLINE

Our Current Issue

Team Building

My tonic for a healthy veterinary hire
Before you choose your interviewees for a job, you'll want to develop criteria to sort the r?sum?s you receive.

Ask the Experts

Refocusing attitudes in veterinary practice
Q: I manage a team of good workers who have a bad habit of focusing on the negative. How can I push them to put a positive spin on their bad attitudes?

My veterinary team looks shabby, not chic
I'm a practice manager at a hospital where several team members, including a doctor, come to work looking like they just rolled out of bed. When I hired all of these people I went over the dress code, which includes professional attire, clean scrubs, doctors in white coats, and neat hair. I want our practice to present a well-put-together, professional appearance. Our clients are judging us from the minute they walk in the front door. I've addressed workplace attire at staff meetings and in the employee handbook, but it doesn't seem to stick. What's the next step?—Dressed for Success

Patient care

How to lick Lyme disease
Consider these seven common myths clients believe about Lyme disease. Then learn how to respond to pet owners and protect their pets' health.

Communication Strategies

3 tips to connect with clients
By: Bash Halow, CVPM, LVT
It's time to cut the cord on your old ways of communicating with clients. Get in sync with pet owners with this advice.

Professional Growth

Heal your fractured veterinary team
By: Shawn McVey, MA, MSW
Constant conflict creates a wedge between you and your co-workers and shatters teamwork. Learn to fill in the crevices you've created and repair your broken team.

Pearls of Practice

The 3 times rule helps lock in stools
In addition to educating clients about zoonoses and sending parasite prevention reminders, Nancy Potter, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and practice manager at Olathe Animal Hospital in Olathe, Kan., says her practice uses the "three times" rule to make sure pets get fecal exams.

Vaccinations: what's your role?
To make sure vaccinations don't slip through the cracks, consider this advice from Firstline board member Pam Weakley:

Sample script: when veterinary clients complain about the doctor
In a client service industry like veterinary medicine, you will eventually face a customer who's dissatisfied—even when you've done your best. But what should you say when clients complain about the doctor?

Our Previous Issue

Communication Strategies

The incredible vanishing veterinary visit
By: Steve Dale, CABC
When clients start disappearing from your practice, pets don't get the care they need and the business you work for suffers. Learn the steps you can take to pull more visits out of your proverbial hat and preserve pets' health with your near-magical medical prowess.

Client Relations

Veterinary dermatology dos and don'ts
Lisa Petty, BS, RVT, a technician at Animal Dermatology Clinic in Indianapolis, offers these tips to keep communication lines open when you're guiding clients through their pet's dermatology diagnosis.

Mystery dermatology diagnosis at your veterinary clinic
By: Portia Stewart
Dermatology cases can mean heavy detective work for your clinical team. Use these tips to keep clients calm and comforted as your veterinarian unravels the evidence to reveal the culprit of the pet's distress.

Ask the Experts

Which learning path should I pursue to benefit my veterinary career?
Q: I'm a veterinary practice manager trying to decide between pursuing an MBA or a CVPM. What do I need to consider to choose the right program for me?

Must we guard our speech at work?
By: Shawn McVey, MA, MSW
A team member at our veterinary practice has controversial decorations on her car, and our practice manager is worried that the materials will offend clients when they see the car parked in front of the veterinary practice. Does it violate the employee's right to freedom of speech if the manager asks her to remove the potentially offensive material?—Caught in the Middle

Patient care

Open the door to senior care at your veterinary clinic
By: Oriana D. Scislowicz, BS, LVT
Those soft, white muzzles and wise eyes beg for your attention and compassion. Use these easy adaptations to offer a gentle veterinary experience to aging pets.

Osteoarthritis: What's your role in the veterinary practice?
Follow the tools here and on the next pages to see how each team member can improve your client education.

Pearls of Practice

Dental corner: A goldendoodle with masticatory myositis
A veterinary team worked together to correct an autoimmune disorder that limits this dog's ability to open its mouth.

Veterinary practice manager script: Asking for more responsibility
Ready for more responsibility? Ask for it!

Never forget blood in the centrifuge again
Busy day at the veterinary clinic? Use this tip to stay on track.

Tag—you're it!
Get a chisel tool to help out in the veterinary clinic

Part 1: Raise clients' awareness of pet weight problems

dvm360

Part 1 of a six-part online learning course about making successful pet weight loss recommendations.

Part 2: Prepare your team

dvm360

Part 2 of a six-part online learning course about making successful pet weight loss recommendations.

Part 3: The perfect weight-loss appointment

dvm360

Part 3 of a six-part online learning course about making successful pet weight loss recommendations.

Be in Firstline

Share your tried-and-true tips

FIRSTLINE

Hindsight is 20-20: What can you see now?

FIRSTLINE

Tell us about your best days at work

FIRSTLINE

Have you made yourself an essential employee?

FIRSTLINE

Canine Colors

BizQuiz: Test the true color of your temperament at work

FIRSTLINE

See what shade your—and your team members'—work temperament is with this short quiz. Then learn how to best blend with other shades by checking out a few colorful examples.

4 true colors: Why your personal hue matters

Sometimes veterinary team members clash. Decrease the collisions and their effects by gaining a better understanding of your team members' temperaments.

FIRSTLINE

A new profiling program adapted specifically for veterinary use recognizes veterinarians and team members' temperaments by color: blue, green, gold, and orange. Find out which one you are.

What colors are your clients?

FIRSTLINE

The color-based profiling program isn't just for building more effective team relationships. You can also use it to improve your interactions with clients.

2 case studies: Canine Colors in action

FIRSTLINE

Two examples show how understanding team members' temperaments can head off conflict and encourage goodwill.

Resources for senior weight loss

Teach clients about canine weight loss

FIRSTLINE

Give this form to clients with overweight dogs to help them understand the ins and outs of weight loss.

Teach clients about feline weight loss

FIRSTLINE

Give this form to clients with overweight cats to help them understand the ins and outs of weight loss.

Age and obesity go hand in hand

FIRSTLINE

Study shows extra pet pounds add up with old age.

The perfect weight-loss visit

Team members must start fighting obesity the minute an overweight pet waddles in the practice door.

FIRSTLINE

Start fighting obesity the minute an overweight pet waddles in the practice door.

Fight the giant

Pet obesity is a big problem, but that doesn't mean you should throw in the towel. By educating clients—and your team members—you can knock out this debilitating condition.

FIRSTLINE

Pet obesity is a big problem, but you can knock out this debilitating condition.