Hire The Smile

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Tracy Walker of Allegheny Equine Veterinary Service at the European Oculus Business Management Summit last fall. Over the three days of the Summit, I became more and more impressed at the incredible business she has built in a rural part of the USA. Typically, we hear of struggling rural practices that face so many challenges. It was a breath of fresh air hearing how Dr. Walker has built a growing practice that would be the envy of any practice owner.

I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with Cal Lai of My Pet Doc and Ask.Vet on the subject of Artificial Intelligence in veterinary medicine. I was very impressed in his vision and creativity in terms of how technology and vet med meet. I knew I had to chat with him and I’m so glad I did. I am sure you will enjoy our conversation. We discuss his company Ask.Vet, as well as being an entrepreneur in the vet space and his thoughts on the future of veterinary medicine.

In today's episode, I sit down with Katie Adeline to discuss a topic that is near and dear to both of us.... the hiring process.

Katie Ardeline is a Human Resources professional with over 10 years’ experience in the Equine and Small Animal veterinary industry. Katie graduated from the University of Toronto in with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2003, and then completed a post-degree Human Resources Management certificate program at Mohawk College, culminating in the acquisition of her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation.

Katie’s role at Oculus sees her working with a wide variety of clients and audiences in various capacities. She presents and conducts workshops on numerous aspects of HR Management including Employee Engagement in a variety of venues, including numerous Equine Business Management Summits in both North America and Europe. Katie is skilled providing HR support in various capacities, from consulting and customized support of targeted stand-alone initiatives to building entire HR programs for clients from the ground up.

Prior to working with Oculus, Katie was the Operations Manager at McKee-Pownall Equine Services, an equine veterinary practice that employs over 30 people, including 10+ veterinarians, across three practices in the Greater Toronto, Ontario and Wellington, Florida area that is recognized in the equine veterinary industry for its emphasis on employee care and work-life balance. Before working at McKee-Pownall, Katie was the Human Resources Administrator for a large accounting firm in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

While Katie is involved with all functional areas of Human Resources, her true passion lies in helping employees develop the tools they need to grow and flourish through a structured and collaborative system of coaching and goal-setting.

In today's episode I talk with a good friend,  Dr. Karen Bolten. Today, Karen shares her story of selling her equine practice to pursue her degree in business.

Dr. Bolten is a large animal veterinarian, with a main focus on equine, especially equine dentistry. She founded Myrtle Beach Equine Clinic in 2010, and during that time discovered that she truly enjoyed the business management side of  the field, that it spoke to many of her strengths and interests. She chose to sell her practice in 2018 to pursue a full education in business and is currently double majoring in Business Management and Marketing.

On the business side, she is interested in finding solutions for small-scale large animal practices that have difficulties in producing a reasonable profit, which is the situation she found herself in as a practice owner in a rural area.

In this episode Dr. Mike Pownall talks to Dr. Robert Magnus about the Negotiation Workshop coming up in Chicago next month from July 28-31.

You negotiate all the time, but you probably know very little about the strategy and psychology of effective negotiation.

This 3-day workshop will draw on current research in management and leadership to give you a deep understanding of negotiations and will help you master the processes and strategies to excel at them.

Your Instructors

Gail Berger MEd, PhD

Robert P. Magnus DVM, MBA

Learning Outcomes Include: 

• Confidence in making deals

Visit the website for more information OCULUS NEGOTIATION WORKSHOP

Dr. Joop Loomans and Dr. Mike Pownall of Oculus Insights discuss Reinventing Your Veterinary Business Strategy. 

Go on a journey to reinvent your veterinary business!

The veterinary marketplace is quickly being disrupted by large veterinary corporates that own an increasing number of practices. Working for one of these companies in a more traditional 8 – 5 job seems appealing to a lot of young veterinarians.

Can your business continue to be veterinary owned in a way that is appealing and sustainable for the next generation of veterinarians?

This full-day workshop will give you a strong and evidence-based understanding of how to update the clunky old-school business models that drive many existing practices.

Learn more by viewing the event information sheet here, or click here to sign up today