Owners

Do you give this critical player the respect and responsibility she deserves?

Use this sample as a starting point to develop your own survey.

As the captain of your practice, it's your job to set the course and take advantage of the wind, urging the ship toward your destination. But you can't maneuver this behemoth alone. You need a crew. When they're truly onboard, your team members will have one eye on the horizon and another peeled for potential problems, and they'll help keep the practice on course.

Solid business ethics can help you establish a profitable, successful practice. And your clients will see your good side, too. Here are seven principles of admirable business ethics:

Learn the potential legal ramifications of terminating an employee.

Q: How can I protect my nonveterinarian significant other's investments in the practice—both monetary and sweat equity—in the case of my death?

Lester Crawford, DVM, Ph.D., who was the highest-ranking veterinarian serving in public office, has resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

A veterinarian I don't know that well offered me an opportunity to work for a clinic she's purchasing, promising that if we're compatible, she'll allow me to buy in. How do I formalize our agreement?

Many veterinarians donated their time and expertise after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. You, too, may have considered volunteering.

There's never enough time in your day—so make every moment in the exam room count. And remember, even small improvements in exam-room procedures can dramatically improve your whole team's efficiency.

Every member of your practice team can help increase security.

How do I know how much I need to save for retirement?

You can enhance your professional career every time you step up to the lectern—provided you've mastered the all-important basics of public speaking.

Find out what parting staff members really think about your practice-and use that information to make it a great place to work.

In July, the AVMA held a diversity symposium to address ongoing racial and gender issues impacting the veterinary profession.

A new federal rule requires you to properly dispose of sensitive information derived from credit reports. Effective June 1, The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act disposal rule says you must burn, shred, pulverize, erase, or otherwise destroy electronic and hard-copy files you've obtained from a consumer-reporting company for employment reasons.

Prescribing the medicine is easier than taking it, but if you want to uphold your standard of care, you need to ditch your excuses.

The Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005, introduced in the Senate (S. 1139) and House of Representatives (H.R. 2669), is designed to strengthen the regulation of the pet industry.

Starting in October, it'll be harder for people to file for personal bankruptcy under Chapter 7, says Veterinary Economics Personal Finance Editor Fritz Wood, CPA, CFP. Under Chapter 7, debtors can wipe away unsecured debts such as credit card bills after certain assets are liquidated.

How do you know whether a newly hired team member is right for his or her job and, equally important, right for your practice? Many practice owners evaluate a new hire's job performance during a probationary period, which can last from 30 to 90 days.

Use this form to get meaningful feedback when team members leave your practice.

Preanesthetic testing helps protect your patients' health--and decreases your practice's liability. Use this form to help educate clients.

In general, the right of confidentiality belongs to the client, and you can't release information about your client or the care of a patient until your client provides written authorization or waives that right, says Dr. John Scott, attorney.

How should I handle a chronically sick employee who calls in at the last minute or struggles to come in ill? I previously switched her from hourly- to salary-based pay, and I'm considering changing her back.

"Never practice without liability insurance," says Dr. Karl Salzsieder, JD, a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and a consultant in Kelso, Wash. "I know of one veterinarian who inadvertently let his insurance expire. Within two weeks, he had a suit that cost him $7,000 to settle."

I'm a full-time veterinarian, and my employer pays for my health insurance, which costs about $4,000 a year. I recently got married, and my husband's insurance is better. If I join my husband's policy, should I get that $4,000 benefit somewhere else in my package? Is it fair to ask my boss to add it to my salary or to add more paid vacation days in equivalent to the benefit money?

"It can be difficult for any practice to retain good employees," says Beth Montoya, hospital administrator at Pembroke Veterinary Clinic and Sajo Farm Veterinary Hospital in Virginia Beach, Va., and Great Bridge Veterinary Hospital in Chesapeake, Va. "But in areas with many strong veterinary hospitals, we have to work even harder."

Occasionally, even the best employee has a lapse in judgment. And lapses have consequences. For example, you may have reached into an empty tray of distemper vaccines on a busy Saturday, or found the practice shorthanded one afternoon.

The AVMA has released a white paper detailing its stance on using "guardian" to describe the pet owner's relationship to his or her pet.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), you must treat maternity leave the same way you do any other temporary medical leave—if you meet the following FMLA requirements: