Business

Do you see yourself-or your boss-in these findings about male and female owners of family businesses?

"Pet owners don't want their pets to suffer, so we rarely encounter resistance to our pain management recommendations," says Robin Downing, DVM, Dipl. AAPM, owner of Windsor Veterinary Clinic and The Downing Center for Animal Pain Management in Windsor, Colo.

Do you ever get frustrated or annoyed when clients come to your practice loaded with medical information they found on the Internet-especially when it's wrong? Do you find yourself grumbling about the misinformation the client is spewing? Who's the doctor here, anyway? Heck, if people can find instructions for building a bomb online, maybe your clients can just whip up some Otomax or Tresaderm too. Then they can buy themselves an ultrasound machine and a textbook. Who needs a veterinarian?

Merrimack, N.H. - A music slide show can be a unique and impressive marketing tool for a veterinary practice.

His motto? No team member will leave his practice feeling unchallenged, concede to a lack of direction, or have professional growth hindered.

Firstline Editorial Advisory Board members share the secrets you didn't know you didn't know about the veterinary business.

The tales clients tell can poison or profit your practice.

As veterinarians, we often find ourselves unable to determine the nature and cause of the problem case. So, who pays for our time?

Limit on write-offs for equipment outlays raised, bonus depreciation for '08 purchases added

Communication failures between facilities lead to disconnect and tension.

Lead with the big picture and use it as a reference point for practice success.

The psychic said to work on the horse's left front ankle and treat it with a plant extract only Granny Clampet had in stock.

Clients just might feel spoiled with the attention they receive during Client Appreciation Week at VCA University Veterinary Clinic in Fairfax, Va.

Do you yearn to learn and enlighten clients with your know-how? If you're passionate about client education, consider hosting educational classes for clients.

Veterinary graduates acquire many diagnostic and therapeutic skills during four or more years of study and are eager to apply their new knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of complicated diseases like diabetes, hyperadrenocorticism, congestive heart failure and other medical or surgical challenges.

Weigh your options before constructing a new clinic.

He's watching you. You can't concentrate, you're afraid to be alone with him, and the comments won't stop. Sexual harassment can be relentless, consuming your work and your life. It happened to these women-and it could happen to you. Here's what every woman (and man) should know about sexual harassment.

The big dog cringed under the bench in the reception area. "He hates to come in here," the old man said. "But he's got this skin problem, and it stinks something terrible."

Los Angeles - A television station investigative reporter used a hidden-camera approach to raise questions about the legitimacy of diagnoses and fees at several veterinary practices in the Los Angeles area.

United Kingdom - Veterinarians' suicide rate is proportionally four times that of the general population and twice that of other health professionals, studies show. Photo: Kristofer Dan-Bergman/Getty Images

Q. How should we handle a client who seems obsessed with repeating diagnostic tests?

I remember the summer days of my youth. My dad's veterinary practice, within walking distance of the local high school, was always fully staffed with local adolescents who just loved to be around animals. True, they didn't know anything about animal restraint or when to use gloves or pretty much anything else, but they were eager and willing and looking for a chance to get some experience with a veterinarian.

Dr. Dan Lorimer, DACVO, wanted his specialty practice to look professional. For that, he needed respectable neighbors. To attract those neighbors, he bought six acres and built a 40,000-square-foot building-which was not his hospital.

"For everything there is an appointed time. ... A time to listen and a time to speak."

Check out this video from the concert.

Everyone on a veterinary team wants to know where you're headed and how your team is doing. Answer those questions by giving your team a clear vision and identifying your first goals along the path.

The strongest practice teams work on their business, not just in it. Use this approach to give structure to your conversations about what paths to pursue.

Guide dogs, search-and-rescue dogs also to receive free blood work, wellness reports.

Data points to disturbing trend, say researchers

Twenty-five percent of Ohioans feed free-roamers, but a fraction get them spayed, neutered.