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Are Veterinary Diets Really Too Expensive? Effective Cost Conversations

This session by Jackie Parr, BScH, DVM, MSc, DACVIM (Nutrition), includes how to customize the client conversations about veterinary diets to the individual pet, which is critical, by focusing on the value to the pet. Veterinary teams can be trained to utilize existing resources to ease those cost conversations and to apply these learnings to common scenarios in small animal veterinary practice, including elimination diet trials and effective weight loss plans.

The importance of veterinary social work

Veterinary social work addresses human needs where veterinary medicine and social work meet. For decades, social workers have worked with needs in pet loss, animal-assisted therapy, companion animals and well-being, the importance of pets to the elderly, the link between interpersonal violence and animal abuse, social work implications of animal hoarding, and in veterinary hospital settings.

End of Life e-book — VPN Plus+ exclusive

VPN Plus+ is pleased to present our members with the following complimentary End of Life e-book dedicated to offering a focused look at this very challenging time for both staff and clients. It also includes a webinar broadcast and an infographic for clients.

End of Life e-book — VPN Plus+ exclusive

VPN Plus+ is pleased to present our members with the following complimentary End of Life e-book dedicated to offering a focused look at this very challenging time for both staff and clients. It also includes a webinar broadcast and an infographic for clients.

The ABCs behind the challenges of TPLO

For dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease, this kind of activity is likely the “good old days.” Bigstock/chrisukphoto
Ask any small animal veterinarians what they consider the “gold standard” approach for cranial cruciate ligament disease in dogs, and you will most likely hear, the “TPLO.”1-7 From veterinary school forward, we hear from surgeons that the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) delivers a more rapid recovery and return to normal function, even when compared …

Battling the Bulge: Strategies for Managing Obesity in Veterinary Patients

In this session, attendees will review current statistics of obesity in dogs and cats including prevalence, contributing factors, and comorbidities. Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ, will review the endocrine and inflammatory components of obesity, as well as how to use tools to diagnose obesity. Attendees will also learn how to estimate ideal body weight, calculate RER and amount to feed to achieve ideal weight. We will also cover, important factors in weight loss diets, how to choose the right food, and how to prevent obesity in the first place. Lastly, attendees will be given a 6-step process to easily guide your clients through a successful weight loss program.

Creative ways to schedule your teams

One more consideration could be a game changer when looking at the team, efficiencies, and effectiveness when it comes to staffing: creative scheduling. Effective scheduling and staffing don’t have to be rigid. Rigidity in staffing is a cultural norm within veterinary medicine that we have all come to adopt as gospel. As managers and owners, we can step “outside of the box” we have built for ourselves and approach hiring, job descriptions, and scheduling creatively to meet the needs of both the practice and team members.  

Managing Canine Atopic Dermatitis With More Joy and Less Frustration

Valerie Fadok, DVM, PhD, Dipl ACVD, focuses on the keys to success in managing atopic dermatitis. They are developing a proactive treatment plan and providing tools to empower clients. Atopic dermatitis is a forever disease; while we can’t cure it, we can manage it well. We need to set realistic expectations with our clients, and partner with them to improve quality of life for themselves and their pets.

Unleashing the truth: challenging veterinary industry norms and embracing new opportunities

It is high time I wrote a post on what you are doing all wrong and how we can all do better. However, before you come at me for my unspeakable hubris, please understand I speak from a place of love for animals on the planet of unflinching self-recrimination. In other words, if I tell you you’re doing something misguided and stupid, it’s because I figured it out after screwing it up first—and continually do.

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