Unfiltered Vet Discussions

Transparency and collaboration can be transformative to a working environment. However, collaboration must be looked at as a multi-headed effort. By supplementing meetings with team collaboration tools to take over those housekeeping communications, topics like culture, communication, and team bonding become natural during the meetings.

What does convention season mean to veterinary practices? With VMX completed and WVC almost here, it can be challenging to prioritize how to spend your time, resources, and social battery. Today, we discuss how to spend your limited time at the conferences in order to maximize value for your practice and your career.

A month into the new year, have your resolutions begun to slide off? Perhaps being present and "in the now" is more important than lofty dreams.  By narrowing our focuses and freeing ourselves from distractions (which is a hard task in and of itself), we can ensure we are living with more intent.

Being unhappy, even being miserable, is a choice we consciously make. Most of the time, this can be caused by fear of the unknown or fear of change. Today, we explore what causes us to make the definitive choice to be miserable.

The veterinary industry is wrought with unpredictable evolutions and developments!  No one could have predicted COVID or how it would have affected the vet space, nor could anyone predict the ever-changing landscape in which we now find ourselves.  The pandemic (pre, during, and post) challenged the veterinary space from every angle.

The ever-changing silver bullet in veterinary practices.  What is the “quick fix” or “silver bullet?”  There’s a delicate strategic balance between handling immediate problems with quick solutions and applying long-term strategic relief.  “Easy button” solutions often come at a huge cost to veterinary practices.

Change can be frightening and uncomfortable in any capacity.  But, as vets, we are groomed from the first days of our education to be perfectionists and change works counter to that.  Paralysis and risk aversion are huge obstacles to change.  Accepting failure is absolutely critical to the growth process.

Pulled levers in veterinary!  Everyone practice or hospital has a set list of KPIs and monitoring points that need to be looked at regularly (or constantly) whether in the startup phase or well-established business phase.  When do you need to grow, solidify your defenses, and restructure?  HINT: Strategic planning plays a critical role!

VC (Venture Capital) and PE (Private Equity) are two of many new acronyms that have become part of the veterinary vocabulary. Unlike acronyms like TPR, ADR, VCPR, these initials are a direct reflection on the economic environment impacting companion animal veterinary practices. Never in the history of the veterinary profession has so much money been invested by NOT-veterinarians in the ownership of veterinary practices. Both US and International investors have identified the small animal clinical practice as a target for acquisition and consolidation. Starting about 35 years and peaking recently, this marketplace has taken off. For the sellers it has been a huge payday. For the PE and VC buyers, has it exceeded expectations? Or has it created challenges to meet reporting targets? What impact does selling a practice have on the seller, the team, the community? We are just starting to learn more and more about the intended AND UN-intended consequences of the influx of outside money. What does the Magic 8 Ball say about corporate buyers? CHECK BACK LATER

Uncertainty has become the new normal. We have gone from the uncertainty of the pandemic to a world of uncertainty from an economic standpoint, world wars standpoint, and even within the veterinary profession, there is a great level of discomfort. The economics of the veterinary profession which had been pretty dependable and predictable has been tested by elevated costs; more revenue; lower profitability; national corporations; employee expectations; and the list goes on. Listen to learn what is causing the discomfort of the group of guests and their thoughts on where we are and where we might be headed. Falling apart is a matter of opinion as it is all about how you deal with adversity and change that determines the ultimate outcome.