Roles

"Happiness is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it."

Use these thought-starters to take a close look at your progress and plot a successful future.

Buying into a practice could bring great opportunities or heartache. The key: Know what you're getting into.

Use these thought-starters to take a close look at your progress and plot a successful future.

I want to hire a veterinarian who's board-certified in internal medicine. How should I compensate this person? Should I pay based on production or a split rate, or should I rent space to the practitioner? If I pay based on production, would the percent be different than with a non-board-certified veterinarian?

I know that an associate veterinarian who's juggling a hectic schedule, a crazy personal life, and pressure-packed workdays can easily get lost in the minutia of the moment. Before you realize it, weeks, months, and even years can float by. At the same time, critical decisions?about your career, your cash flow, and your potential?can get pushed to the back burner, or worse, never even considered.

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The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 created billions of dollars of tax breaks.

Hiring employees is the single most important management task in a practice.

Worried that your employees aren't working effectively? Try a tip from Ethics4Everyone, by Eric Harvey and Scott Airitam (Performance Systems Corp., 2002).

Facing a big change in your role? The resources can help!

If you're thinking of pulling up the stakes and moving to another practice in another state, do some number crunching first. Yes, the salary offered looks great, but have you considered how much more you'll have to earn to live the life you want in that city?

Of course, you use keys and locks to keep valuables secure, but you lose some of the benefits if you don't control the keys. Think about these questions to decide whether you need to tighten up security:

Veterinary medicine is a calling almost always heard at a young age. Consequently, a young, aspiring doctor often subjects his or her parents to a litany of trials, involving stray dogs, injured cats and at least one or two wild creatures.

Bit & Spur Animal Hospital in Mobile, Ala., was about to begin a senior pet care plan. But hospital manager Kelley Wilbur knew they needed a better system to recognize senior pets.

Every year, practice owners review their employees, telling them what they did well and how they could improve. But have you ever taken time to give yourself a year-end review? Whether you're the boss, an associate, or a support staff member, you can benefit from evaluating your year, says Jinny Ditzler, author of Your Best Year Yet! A Proven Method for Making the Next Twelve Months the Most Successful Ever (Warner Books, 2000).

Follow this step-by-step guide to figure your current value to your practice. Then adopt four key strategies to make sure you're worth your weight in gold.

Follow this step-by-step guide to figure your current value to your practice. Then adopt four key strategies to make sure you're worth your weight in gold.

The leader's role changes at each stage of team development. Are you doing the right things to help your team grow and go?

If you're thinking of pulling up the stakes and moving to another practice in another state, do some number crunching first. Yes, the salary offered looks great, but have you considered how much more you'll have to earn to live the life you want in that city?

Growing up in the South, I quickly learned that there were certain subjects one simply should not talk about in mixed company--religion, politics, and money. There are similar touchy topics in business, such as pay raises and compensation plans, staff disagreements, a desire to make important changes in the practice, and disagreement about management styles. Although we'd like to avoid these topics, they need to be discussed.

I'm thinking of paying my associate based on her production. If I do, how would I handle vacation days and holidays? She wouldn't automatically receive compensation for those days off, would she?

The No. 1 characteristic of companies that move from good to great is finding and keeping the right people, says consultant Jim Collins in Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don't (HarperCollins, 2001). But finding the right people isn't easy. To avoid costly hiring mistakes, take these hard-learned lessons to heart.

Making money doesn't guarantee a successful and rewarding career or an enjoyable retirement. What you do with the money's far more important.

What's fair compensation one year out of veterinary school? I'm currently working at a two-doctor practice. What do I need to know to make an educated decision about whether to renew my contract?

2005 Ad Planning Calendar

"Man, I just totally don't get it," Dr. Tad Klewless grumbled as he picked at the mustard stain on his scrub top. "Old Rex really needed a culture to clear up that gnarly ear problem I've been messing with for the past six months. And, jeez, those teeth! But, every time I bring up the procedures he needs, his owner just stares at me, totally blank, like she can't understand English. Man, what's up with her?"

Engaged employees are productive, profitable, customer-focused, safer, and more likely to stay with you. The Gallup Organization measures employee engagement levels by asking employees the following 12 questions:

To help you think about why team members stick around, we asked Blythe Addington, RVT, why she enjoys her work and why she returned to Broad Ripple Animal Clinic in Indianapolis, where she completed an externship, after she finished her degree. Here's what she says:

Your staff members devote a third of their waking lives to your practice. Working at your practice isn't just a job for you--don't let it become just a job for them. Share your vision for the practice and then give them the support and tools they need to make your vision a reality.