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Archives for February 2016

Top 5 Ways Veterinarians Infuriate Front-Desk Staff

February 29, 2016 by Andy Roark DVM MS

Working at the front desk of a veterinary hospital is already a hard job. Sometimes, veterinarians do things to make it even harder. In this video from DVM360.com, Dr. Roark gets real about the top 5 things vets do that drive the front desk crazy.

5. They don’t prepare clients for the bill.

via GIPHY | Full video on DVM360.com

4. Ask them to make awkward phone calls.

via GIPHY | Full video on DVM360.com

3. Modify their job descriptions.

via GIPHY | Full video on DVM360.com

2. Complain when they do their job well.

via GIPHY | Full video on DVM360.com

1. They don’t follow their own rules.

via GIPHY | Full video on DVM360.com

Watch the full video!

Watch the full video, courtesy of DVM360.com, below to see if you can relate.

This video was originally published on DVM360.com. Re-published with permission from the content owner.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Team Culture

Are Veterinary Practices That Focus on Employee Satisfaction Misguided?

February 27, 2016 by Dr. Andy Roark Community

It might sound odd for a veterinarian who writes on how best to use consumer technology in veterinary practices to be talking about employee satisfaction, but it really isn’t.  One of my favorite B-school professors said that the focus on information technology (IT) should be much more on the information than on the technology.  Technology is a tool that people can use to be more productive and get better results…but people have to use it.  They have to work together to figure out how to take the information and create value out of it.  Which brings me to something another B-school professor said:  it’s all about the talent.

Mid section group of young doctors in a meeting at hospital

What About Employee Satisfaction?

I’ve written previously about a wonderful little book about human hospital management, but the principles espoused in the book apply equally well to veterinary practices.  It’s called, If Disney Ran Your Hospital:  9.5 Things You Would Do Differently and the penultimate chapter has a fascinating section on employee satisfaction.

The author, Fred Lee, makes a very interesting statement:

“I did not get the impression that Disney existed to satisfy employees.  Employees existed to satisfy Disney guests….There was no tolerance for employees who deviated, even slightly, from cultural norms.  Behavioral standards were exacting and strictly enforced.”

Think about that for a bit and let it sink in…this runs counter to what you hear from most human resource folks.  “Make your employees happy and they’ll make your clients happy.”  Sound familiar?

What if that’s backwards?  Don’t get me wrong; Disney spends a lot of time and money getting exactly the right people to work there.  Their interview process is demanding and they have a fantastic brand that keeps the pool of applicants full with people young and old.  But like other companies where customer satisfaction is legendary (Zappos and Amazon.com come immediately to mind), Disney doesn’t pay very well.  Nor do they have outstanding benefit packages or other lavish employee perks.  What if above average pay/benefits is not linked to job performance in customer service businesses?

A Completely Different Hiring Mindset

A better explanation for this phenomenon is that these companies focus on finding self-motivated people who are enthusiastic and enjoy taking care of their customers.  They have intrinsic motivation:  they’re not in it solely for a paycheck or benefits.  Like Disney, they’re looking for team members to truly enjoy helping people…not just saying it in an interview.  They’ve also got a training program powerful enough to allow them to TRULY hire for personality, not skills.  They also believe firmly in the HR mantra of “Hire slow, fire fast,” but that’s a topic for another blog.

Am I doing it wrong?

What if employee satisfaction is one of those fleeting goals that, like happiness, never seems to come to those who actively seek it?  What if satisfaction is a by-product of doing your job well?

Traditional thinking: “If I make my employees happy, they’ll enjoy their job and take great care of my clients.”

Disney thinking: “By building our team with people who enjoy serving clients, I’ll end up being surrounded by people who are deeply satisfied with their jobs.”

Big difference.

Client impressions should always come first because they are an important driver of client loyalty, which is another topic I’ve written on extensively.  Each member of your team has incredible power to either add or destroy value with each client interaction, but none more so than your client service representatives.

Reception Is an Area, Not a Job.

Who is the first person your clients see when they walk in your practice?  Who checks them out and is the last person they see before they walk back out the door?  Client service representatives (CSRs).  They’ve gone by a few names over the years, the most popular of which is “receptionist,” but I really prefer CSR.  It’s a more modern term that reflects the variety of jobs this person is required to do beyond merely receiving people into the building.

This is a job for which you must be an absolute zealot about client service.  These need to be nice people who genuinely like making people happy.  Serving others comes naturally to them and they’re almost always happy:  you’ll know them when you see them.  They don’t make fun of clients behind their back, don’t roll their eyes in disdain when describing a client or patient’s needs, and they make other people around them happy.

Two Funny Beagle Dogs Running

Where to Start?

Focus on hiring CSRs who come from the hospitality industry.  You can teach them what they need to know about veterinary medicine during training but someone who has worked for, say, Marriott, will be coming to you with a wealth of client-focused training.  Naturally, you should be checking references, but an applicant who worked the front desk at a high quality hotel would be definitely worth interviewing for your CSR team.

There are also consultants who specialize in HR and hiring/firing practices who can help you do your first couple interviews along the lines of “see one/do one/teach one.”

Good luck!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

[tweetthis]Great Technology Is Useless If You Neglect This One Vital Thing[/tweetthis]


MarkOlcottSurreyPicAbout the Author

Mark Olcott, DVM, MBA is a veterinarian in the Washington, DC area. He has worked in both general and emergency practice, is a published author, and holds multiple patents. He’s also the CEO and co-founder of VitusVet, a software company that is redefining the way information is shared in veterinary medicine.


Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Team Culture

How Cold is TOO Cold for My Dog to Be Outside?

February 24, 2016 by Dr. Andy Roark Community

Is your canine companion at risk of turning into a chilly dog? It is important to know how cold is TOO cold to leave your dog outside. In this episode of Ask Dr. Andy, we tackle this important pet health question!

via GIPHY

 

There are two important things to consider when deciding if the temps have dropped too low for your pet to be outdoors.

1) All dogs are not created equal.

via GIPHY

 

2) If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for your pet.

via GIPHY

 

Always exercise good judgement.

Cold temperatures can be dangerous, and even life-threatening, to pets. Watch the full episode of Ask Dr. Andy below, and be sure to via GIPHY

” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Cone of Shame


Danielle K. Lambert Archer headshotDanielle is a veterinary practice manager and the founder of SnoutSchool.com, a website dedicated to teaching veterinary hospitals to use social media effectively. You can get her 5 favorite social media tools here, or follow her on social media to see excessive photos of her Brussels Griffon. She’s @DanielleSnout on Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat!

Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: Care

Adele Parody Supports Shelter Animals

February 20, 2016 by Andy Roark DVM MS

When you have an important message, say it with Adele. The Northeast Ohio SPCA teamed up to create this parody, “Hello from the Shelter Side,” reminding us all that shelter pets need our support… And that even after you hear it 200 times, this song still gives you shivers.

[tweetthis]The best way to support #ShelterPets? Adopt! The best way to sing about them? #Adele[/tweetthis]

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Care

The 5 Technicians You Will Meet At the Clinic

February 20, 2016 by Kelsey Carpenter

Veterinary medicine is comprised of a lot of different personality types. In many ways, it is why I love my job – I am surrounded by people of varying backgrounds, plenty of whom had entire previous careers before landing in an animal hospital. I was a dance major in college, who woulda thunk! However, the very thing that makes us such a diverse and well rounded group of people also makes for some challenging working relationships. Here are a few of the common personalities we encounter among Veterinary Technicians and the ways I’ve been successful in dealing with them.

1 – The Enthusiast

via GIPHY

This person is excited about everything. They want to be involved in every thrilling case that walks (or is stretchered) through the front doors. They are often the ones to drop everything for a GDV, but then can’t be found when it comes time to do annual vaccines. They want to learn and grow, but in pursuing valuable experience, they often prioritize inefficiently, leaving others to do their less exciting work for them. This person means well. However, their intense drive to jump into interesting or exciting cases doesn’t allow them to see things in a bigger picture.

How to deal with an Enthusiast: Remind yourself that this person means no harm. They see things as an opportunity and don’t necessarily realize how they are inconveniencing or overshadowing others. In my experience, the Enthusiast has two basic needs: to feel that they are learning, and to feel that they are important. Find productive ways to harness that energy: Get them involved in hospital projects, put them in charge of training a new employee, have them create training workshops. Enthusiasm is a very valuable trait, and it is something we never want to smother.

[tweetthis]The 5 Technicians You Will Meet at the Clinic[/tweetthis]

2 – The Know-It-All

via GIPHY

This person asks no questions and knows all answers. Some of their favorite pastimes are butting into conversations, answering questions not directed at them, and spewing out phrases like, “That’s what I was going to say”. This person has experienced everything and wants you to know it.

How to deal with a Know-It-All: This person doesn’t always realize what they’re doing. When they butt into your conversation, they aren’t trying to be disrespectful. When they cut someone off to answer your question, it’s just because they are so eager to show you they know the answer. The Know-It-All has an intense need to prove themselves, and it often stems from a place of insecurity.

Give the Know-It-All appropriate venues in which to demonstrate their knowledge, and create scenarios in which it is comfortable for them to admit to actually not knowing something. Know-It-Alls do great with new hire training. Let them show your new employees how to use the computer system and how things function on a day-to-day setting in your hospital. Know-It-Alls LOVE to be asked questions, so while this kind of basic training can be dull and repetitive to others, the Know-It-All will absolutely thrive in this kind of position.

Try to also set the stage to allow the Know-It-All to ask questions in a comfortable way. The Know-It-All needs to know they will not be looked at as inferior if they don’t know something, so make it common and acceptable. For example, let’s say my Know-It-All has no experience with IO catheters, but I know he/she is ready to learn. I would approach the concept by saying something like “Hey, I have no idea how to place an IO catheter, and Susie said she would teach me. Do you want to come with me?” The Know-It-All is given an invitation to learn without being given the invitation to teach, and by admitting your own technical deficits, the Know-It-All may feel more comfortable in acknowledging their own without ever having to feel inferior.

3 – The Bully

via GIPHY

This person will try to intimidate you. This is often someone you encounter within the first week at a new job – they will make an effort to throw you into an uncomfortable situation to see if you will sink or swim. They will test you. The Bully often has a temper and can be unpredictable. Their goal is to be the Alpha, and to establish a certain level of fear among their peers so as to put them in a dominant position. The Bully will point fingers at anyone but themselves – they can often be found blaming a failed blood draw on the holder or pointing out flaws in a client who refuses to work with them. Nothing is their fault, and they will try to intimidate you into agreeing.

How to deal with a Bully: Be secure in yourself. Do not cave to a Bully’s intimidation efforts, but also do not fight back. Do not engage with a Bully, and most of all, do not apologize if you have done no wrong. As humans, we have a tendency to overuse the phrase “I’m sorry”, and a Bully sees that as weakness and submission.

With Bullies, I keep it all business. I will give you an example: It was my first day at a job, and a Bully had me restrain a dog for her. She couldn’t hit the vein for the life of her, and I saw her quickly becoming frustrated and trying to blame her own failures on my restraint technique. I knew it had nothing to do with my restraint, so I said “I’d be happy to find someone else to help you.” I did not apologize or acknowledge her accusations. A few days later, she asked me for help again. She recognized that I wasn’t going to fight and I wasn’t going to apologize. I was confident in my ability and secure in myself, and that’s all it took. They say you teach people how to treat you, and I think that is especially true when it comes to working with a Bully.

4 – The Doubter

via GIPHY

The Doubter is a wonderful and talented person who doesn’t know it. They are often incredibly skilled and natural at what they do. They are fast learners and hard workers, well-liked, compassionate and dedicated. Their only flaw is their lack of confidence in themselves. The Doubter is the person who will give up too soon, or not even try at all. They often do not take advantage of practice opportunities because they do not trust in their own ability. The Doubters are the ones often overshadowed by the Enthusiasts. While the Enthusiasts jump into situations they may not be ready for, the Doubters hand off opportunities to others even when they are perfectly capable.

How to handle a Doubter: Encouragement! Doubters need to be cheered on and acknowledged and reminded of why they are great. They are not fishing for compliments, but truly need their confidence to come from an outside source. Every good technician or doctor has a healthy level of fear. However, Doubters take their fear too far, and allow it to slow their growth.

Doubters need extra motivation to jump into scenarios and try new things, so sometimes pairing an Enthusiast with a Doubter is actually a match made in heaven. Give the Enthusiast the job of helping the Doubter learn a new skill, and the Enthusiast will provide them with the encouragement and the extra little push that the Doubter needs.

Another thing I try to do with Doubters is to relate. I talk to them about my failures, and let them know how normal they are. Often times, Doubters see everyone around them as amazing and talented and incredible. Letting a Doubter see your weaknesses or hear about your failures helps to bridge the gap between themselves and what they see as superior, letting them know that they are not so far behind after all.

5 – The Perfectionist

via GIPHY

We are all perfectionists in Veterinary Medicine, but there are some who take it to an unhealthy level. These people cannot stand to fail. A Perfectionist may miss one blood draw and question their ability to hit a vein for the next two weeks. A Perfectionist may miss a low grade heart murmur and dwell on it for the next three months. These people carry their shortcomings with them for much longer than the average person. They are generally quite supportive and understanding of the failures of those around them, but are unable to rationalize their own. They have trouble moving on and are known to beat themselves up over the littlest things.

How to deal with a Perfectionist: A Perfectionist needs things to be put into perspective for them. Their failures are all they can remember after a day full of successes. The one thing a Perfectionist needs is a reason to forgive themselves. Often times, relating to a peer is difficult, but relating to a role model can be helpful. Placing focus on successes and strengths is also key when dealing with a Perfectionist – let them know that you still rely on them and their strong skills even after their failure. The key in working with a Perfectionist is patience – you cannot make them feel better about their failures, but you can give them reasons to start to forgive themselves.

Each of us has elements of all five of these personalities within us. Some of us have a healthy level of each, while others lean way too far into one specific category. The key in working with anyone in any field is to find a way to relate without sacrificing oneself, and I think that rings very true for the veterinary field. In the end, if we take the extra time to interact with coworkers in the way that is most comfortable and supportive for their personality, it makes for a more positive and efficient workplace, and that reflects on the care our patients receive. Regardless of personality, that is one goal we all share – to take care of the animals and the people who love them in the best possible way.

[tweetthis]The key in working with anyone in any field is to find a way to relate without sacrificing oneself.[/tweetthis]

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Vet Tech Life

There, I Said It: Your Medical Records Stink

February 18, 2016 by Anonymous

Welcome to There, I Said It- a column where we give you, the reader, a chance to get something off your chest in an anonymous fashion. Be it embarrassing, frustrating, or just something you didn’t want to admit out loud, it still might make someone else having a bad day feel just a bit better. If you have a story of your own, unburden yourself at TISI@drandyroark.com.

“Your medical records stink.”

Yep, I just said that. Right now you may be thinking, “Who is this person and where do they get off being so self-righteous?” Well, have I got news for you. If you are the one thinking these things, then your medical records probably do stink.

You know who you are. You are the one that is two weeks behind on medical records and somehow has the uncanny ability to extract from the nether regions of your brain accurate details of each pet’s comprehensive exam. You are the one that writes a two line history for a pet that presents for vomiting and lethargy for a week. Or maybe you are the one that frequently uses “PE = WNL” for the main body of your medical record.

[tweetthis]If you are the one thinking these things, then your medical records probably do stink.[/tweetthis]

By now, some of you are rolling with laughter and others are just rolling their eyes. You’re part of the problem too, even if you are one who does it right. This type of medical record keeping is so common that everyone shrugs it off. How many times have you been to a veterinary conference and people joke about medical record keeping when really it is not that funny? It is actually shameful.

Think about this for a moment. Everyone learned proper medical record writing in veterinary school. The state VMAs have been recommending and in some cases borderline begging us for almost two decades to put more effort into our medical records and have pretty much waved the white flag.

Businessman Preparing Checklist

Uh oh, I know what’s coming. I just heard someone use the most common excuses: “We are still much better than the human side”, “My boss complains that I take too much time”, “I do not get paid enough to stay and finish my records”, or “I am the only one that is ever going to read it”. Any of those sound familiar? They probably do.

So, who is to blame? You are. I am. We all are. Why? Because as individuals, we should have enough pride in our education and skill set to strive to maintain a higher written standard. Because as business managers and owners, we should have enough intestinal fortitude to enforce a standard and lead by example. Because as veterinary medical governing bodies, we should hold businesses and individuals accountable for egregious medical record keeping.

It would not be fair to end this editorial without proposing some solutions. If you are an individual that truly believes in writing thorough medical records and maintaining a standard, do not sacrifice your ethics for others. Ask for time to finish your medical records during your shift. Ask for more “warm bodies” so you can spend less time “doc-teching” and more time completing your medical records. This isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

If you are a business manager or owner, you need to have enough respect for medical record standards to enforce them with your veterinarians and hold them accountable. Value your doctors enough to provide them with sufficient staff for them to be able to spend more time on their medical records. Recognize that you may need to sacrifice on your bottom line in order to hire another doctor to create more time for all your doctors to be able to finish their medical records without each one working 60 hour weeks in four days. And, if you are part of a veterinary governing body, please start holding accountable those who blatantly disregard the written standards of our profession. Our integrity depends on it.

[tweetthis]We should have enough pride in our education and skill set to maintain a higher written standard.[/tweetthis]
TISI bannerThe views and opinions featured on There, I Said It are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the DrAndyRoark.com editorial team.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: There I Said It, Vet Tech Life

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