Technicians

Vaccination recommendations can be confusing to pet owners. This toolkit delivers team training, free client handouts, exam room education strategies and more, all designed to make it as easy as possible for veterinarians and their teams to explain vaccinations to pet owners. (With an educational grant provided by Zoetis)

A veterinary team tames excessive gingival tissue in a boxer.

It's time to cut the cord on your old ways of communicating with clients. Get in sync with pet owners with this advice.

Resistance may play a small role in efficacy failures, but evidence suggests lack of education is the real reason preventives don't work.

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.

In the right forum, your veterinary clients can be your best defense.

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?

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

When there's poison in your practice, teams sicken and fail to thrive. Consider this step-by-step approach to involve the whole team in hiring and take your team from toxic to terrific.

To make sure vaccinations don't slip through the cracks, consider this advice from Firstline board member Pam Weakley:

Enter to win an autographed copy of Dr. Nick Trout's new novel inspired by real veterinary patients.

To keep pet owners in the know, take the next step with these tick tips.

Follow the tools here and on the next pages to see how each team member can improve your client education.

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.

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.

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.

Busy day at the veterinary clinic? Use this tip to stay on track.

Get a chisel tool to help out in the veterinary clinic

A veterinary team worked together to correct an autoimmune disorder that limits this dog's ability to open its mouth.

Veterinarian's end-of-life guide softens the sting of pet loss for pint-sized clients.

Plus more animal health state by state.

A veterinary team works together to help a police dog with two fractured maxillary canine teeth.

When you're fighting pets' persistent parasite problems, don't give up! Here's a look at how each team member can help:

Whether you're a veterinary team member counseling a client or a pet owner struggling with a euthanasia decision, listening is key.

Use these seven tips to offer support for pet owners when they face the pressure of a beloved pet's cancer diagnosis.

In a service profession like veterinary medicine, it's important to avoid the two-letter word "no" to keep clients focused on the service you can offer.

Our veterinary practice has a list of duties all team members are responsible for, but not everyone helps out. A few of us always get stuck doing all the work and staying late, and the manager chooses to ignore the issue because the team members who don't help are her cronies who always suck up and tell her she's right. There are many reasons I love my practice, and changing jobs just isn't an option right now. What can I do? -Cinderella

Consider these 10 tips to make dentistry urgent for your team members and for clients.

Sometimes you must say these two critical words to pet owners-"I'm sorry." Use this advice to sound sincere at your veterinary practice.

Keep the flea control conversation going year-round with these simple tips.