It was about this time last month that I was heading to Spain with my family. It wasn’t your everyday family vacation, though—-I had been invited to speak at the VI Foro Pfizer Animales De Compania 2011 in Valencia, Spain. My topic? Social media for veterinary professionals. When I published my book earlier this year, I had no idea it would take me to Europe a few months later.

The speaking venue happened to be the Oceanografic aquarium; the largest aquarium in Europe and just one component of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) in Valencia. My daughter, who happens to be an “aquarium-freak”, began begging to go with me when she found out about the invitation. Luckily, we were able to make it work and the three of us (my husband, daughter and myself) headed off to Spain without much more than very rudimentary Spanish phrases to rely upon. Our most frequently used phrase ended up being: “Anglais, por favore?” Read the rest of this entry »

One of my newest “promoted-from-within” managers just experienced the dreaded sound of silence. You know the one…..it’s where you walk into a busy room at the clinic (like the treatment area) and the room falls to a hush. Everyone stops what they were talking about because “someone in charge” just walked through the door. This used to really, really bother me. It was actually one of those things that made me question whether or not I truly wanted to continue down the path of management. Read the rest of this entry »

On the road again….it seems like I just got home from a whirlwind trip to Sacramento and Reno in less than 48 hours, just last week. Oh yes, that was just last week! Here I am on the road again, and I find myself in Washington, DC attending BlogPaws 2011. This is my third BlogPaws experience and this time, I am a speaker and panel member for the VetTrack. This trip began with a call from United airlines canceling my flight as I was driving to the airport….not a good start to anyone’s travel plans. Their solution was to get me to my destination a day late….which doesn’t work when you are scheduled to speak first thing in the morning! Read the rest of this entry »

Coleen Ellis opened the first standalone pet funeral home in the United States, Pet Angel Memorial Center, here in Indianapolis. I met Coleen several years ago when she visited Broad Ripple Animal Clinic to discuss her new business. Right away, I felt that Coleen was doing something very special, and that she herself was unique. Not only was she bringing a new way of looking at pet loss and grief counseling to us, but she truly cared about our thoughts, as well as our struggles as veterinarians and pet caregivers. Read the rest of this entry »

Opening your practice up to the idea of social media is like opening up a can of worms. You’ve started your practice’s Facebook page, you’re using Twitter and things seem to be running smoothly. The next thing you know, you’re opening a “friend request” from a client….now what? Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s take a peek at Typical Animal Clinic to see the day-to-day operations from an owner/manager/leader perspective! Dr. Control spends his days doing what he loves….caring for pets. But, he’s got a lot on his mind because he also happens to be the practice owner. To help him run the practice, he has a Practice Manager, Frustrated Frieda. Frieda spends her days putting out fires and running every decision by Dr. Control for fear of making a mistake and/or to make sure he approves. Meanwhile, Typical Animal Care continues to wallow in the throws of constant staff turn-over, searching for the next “perfect Associate”, and the person who appears to be running the show is Gossiping Gail from the front desk. How do we inject a little leadership into this practice? Read the rest of this entry »

This spring, I took the plunge and bought my ten-year-old papillon, Kobe a Thundershirt. It wasn’t exactly an impulse purchase, as I’d researched it before, just never taken any steps towards purchasing one of these “anxiety-wrap” shirts. His thunderstorm phobia has gotten progressively worse each spring, and I had been dreading this year’s onslaught of storms. I wandered into Moochie & Co. one day, on my way to see a movie and saw a display of Thundershirts with a sign exclaiming “money-back guarantee”. I figured, what did I have to lose?

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If you could work really, really hard at something you absolutely LOVE for 20 or 25 years, then could put people in place to keep things growing and prospering without you there, would you do it? I think it’s something we all work towards, but very few people achieve early enough in their lives to truly start a second chapter and enjoy it to its fullest. Today, my boss made that leap all the way to the west coast of the country. He moved to California, leaving me and my right-hand Medical Director, along with an aspiring group of leaders at the helm of his 30-year-old veterinary practice. I believe he has taken “long distance management” to a completely different level.

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As managers and team leaders, we’ve all been faced with “no call/no show” situations with our team. So, how do you respond when this happens? Are you kept in the loop, or do you hear about it hours or days after the fact?

A year ago, a close friend and colleague shared a very scary situation with me. She experienced a “no call/no show” from a dependable team member who had been with the practice a few months. Her instincts kicked in and she had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. She got in her car and drove to the home of the team member, only to find she had passed away sometime over the weekend. It was a horrible, but very real situation that made me realize….if something happens to a team member, who will miss them and find out what has happened? Read the rest of this entry »

Today is Administrative Professionals’ Day! Yes….I know, I know….another Hallmark holiday, right? Not so fast! In today’s world, it is all too easy to forget to show your appreciation to those that mean so much to you, on a regular basis. I appreciate these little “holidays” as a simple reminder to honor those around me and say a simple “Thank You!” at the very least.

Some veterinary practices use this day to recognize their office manager and receptionists (or client service representatives). In our practices, we do things a little bit differently. In October, we always participate in National Veterinary Technician Week and use the entire week to recognize and thank our eleven Registered Veterinary Technicians for everything they do. The week prior, we celebrate Client Service Appreciation Week and do a similar “Thank You” and recognition program for our Veterinary Assistants and Client Service Representatives. Somewhere in the middle of all that hoopla is “Bosses’ Day”, where the staff have a tradition of sharing their thanks and appreciation for me (Hospital Administrator) and the Practice Owner.

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