Posts Tagged ‘Veterinary Economics’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Coming Soon on Riley and James…

Friday, April 8th, 2011

See full size image

Skills for Communicating with Patients – Five Stars! This may be the most helpful book I have read from the  Veterinary Economics 25 Books List.  It is an excellent communication book written for MD’s, though the authors have worked with veterinarians too, which I thought was cool.  It is a medical school textbook and is taking me FOREVER to read!  SO worth it though.  I will review it for you as soon as I finish it!

See full size image

Summary of my Favorites from the Veterinary Economics 25 Books List – Very fun project…I am finishing the last two books.

See full size image

Anesthesia for the Pet Practitioner – Five Stars! This will be a two part review, the first part here and the second part on Wagging Tail.  Anesthesia for the Pet Practitioner is a wonderful veterinary anesthesia book that I have used for years.  The third edition was recently published by Banfield Pet Hospital, and that is the one I am reviewing.  It is also the best one yet!

See full size image

The Complete Cat’s Meow by Darlene Arden – Five Stars! OK, I just started this book, but it has a gorgeous Max the Cat cat on the cover and is written by one of my Very Favorite People AND Darlene mentioned me in the acknowledgements.  (Thank you Darlene!!)  What’s not to love??  Even though I am only a few pages in, I can tell it is also an EXCELLENT resource for cat lovers.  See, I can be objective! : )

See full size image

Love Wins by Rob Bell – Just kidding!  Different blog!  I do love it though.  The topics covered in this book are ones I have been struggling with and studying Scripture about for the past few years.  Just reading the intro sitting with Abby in the bookstore allowed me to breathe a deep cosmic sigh of relief.  Not that Rob Bell is the end-all authority on truth, or even claims to be.  He IS, however, very good at making a person think, and tackling Ideas That Shall Not Be Mentioned head on.  At least one Christian leader has been fired over saying he liked the book.  But I am a vet.  I like the book.  And now…back to pets!

See full size image

Why all the book reviews?

Life is still sad.  I miss Ebony Dog and Wuzzy Rat terribly.  I also miss Fuzzy Rat, Piggy Pig and Princess Gerbil.

Max the Cat is in the beginning stages of Chronic Kidney Disease.  Not always a big deal for an old cat, actually.  (You know, unless he or she is your cat, or…unless it is.)

But then, when Ebony first got sick, I was hoping that if and when we found the underlying cause of her Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia it would not be awful, but it was.  So I am still in a pretty rough season and having a sick cat is freaking me out a bit.  I am writing about all that, but trying hard to keep it upbeat here.

Even so, a Princess Gerbil Memorial is in the works.  She deserves one as much as the other four!  It is not her fault she passed away when I was too exhausted to write One More.  And she was super cute and kind of quirky, so I think you will like it!

See full size image

And finally…

Happy Heartworm-Free May!

And then…

I dunno!  A happier season maybe?  Just an idea…

See full size image

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Pet Blogger Hop, pet loss, Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | 8 Comments »

Recommending a High Level Standard of Care

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
—–
I wrote this because I felt as though we as veterinarians were getting stuck between “Do we charge dink and give crummy service or charge millions and treat pets appropriately?”  OK, no one was really stuck at either of those two extremes, but I think any time we are looking for a “happy medium” we may be looking at the situation inaccurately.  Rarely is the best option found in the middle of two bad options…When you are considering that compromise, it is time for a whole new viewpoint…
—–
Besides reaching a larger veterinarian audience, I figured reposting it here would help Normal People…
  • Who also have careers in which they charge for their services
  • Who want reassurance that veterinarians are the kind, honest people they hope we are
  • Who are curious what we think about…
Recommending a High Level Standard of Care is Still the Best Idea
Shawn Finch, DVM

The present economic climate provides a challenge for veterinarians.  We strive to provide the absolute best medical care to our patients, and we also strive be sensitive about the affordability of that care.  Kristi Reimer, the editor of Veterinary Economics, wrote an excellent piece on the matter: Affordability vs. Excellence, Do Veterinarians Have to Choose? She asks, “Is there a way to maintain excellent medical standards, charge appropriately for them, and still be a compassionate veterinarian who’s accessible to the majority of Pet owners in the community?”

The answer is “Of course!”  We need to be offering the very best we have to every client and every patient at every visit.

The veterinary team and the pet’s family have the same goal of restoring or maintaining the health of the pet.  I believe we even have the same financial goals.  We want our clients in sound financial health so they are able to return again, and they want us in sound financial health so we are here when they need us.

Instead of offering “good/better/best” medical plans and “bargaining” with our client until we meet in the middle, consider offering the very best and using the treatment plan as an open dialogue.  Be transparent about what is absolutely mandatory and what is optional for your patient’s well-being and return to health and why each component is important.  You may be surprised with what your client will allow you to do when they understand why each portion of the treatment plan is important.  However, even a gazillionaire is not going to toss money at you for stuff they think you threw in just for the heck of it.

This is where your relationship with your client becomes important.  Clients who trust your integrity and medical expertise will know when you say something is mandatory or even ideal, that you really believe it and that you are probably right.

Sometimes, clients ask for help finding ways to afford the treatment their pets need.  We may have payment plan options, charity information or other helpful resources available.  However, keep in mind that our clients’ financial situations are none of our business unless they choose to make them our business.  We are no more equipped to guess about the level of care they can afford than we are to guess about the strength of the bond they have with their pet.  If we are focusing on the financial aspects of a case at the cost of focusing on patient care, we will convey that to the client whether we mean to or not.

Recommend the very best for your patient.  Explain to your client why the components of the treatment plan you propose are important.  You know your patient is getting the best care you have to offer, your client is well cared for and you are being fairly compensated.  Win-win-win situations are possible for the patient, the client and the veterinary team, and are worth striving for with every case.

—–

This was first published on The Wagging Tail for Veterinary Professionals on December 1, 2009.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Thoughts, Written for Vets...Now Available for Normal Pe | 4 Comments »

Good to Great

Monday, January 24th, 2011

“My grandfather said that if you read too many books, your head would fall off.”  -Peppermint Patty

Five more books to read from the 2010 Veterinary Economics Summer Reading List!  I have three on my nightstand, one ordered and one on the way through interlibrary loan with Omaha Public Libraries.  Woo!  Can you think of ANYTHING more exciting?  Um…well, I am very excited.  Here is a review of the latest one I finished…

Good to Great

Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t

by

Jim Collins

Five Stars!

✩✩✩✩✩

First I will cover…the cover. It is beautiful – red with black and white text, and the faintest upward-trending graph in light red, not pink, more of a contrasting-the-background shiny red that you can see if you shift the book in the light.  I carried Good to Great with me everywhere I went, and it looked lovely with my purple tennies and red mittens.

On to content…well, not yet.  On to context. This book has TONS of research behind it.  A research team of twenty people spent an estimated fifteen thousand hours gathering and analyzing data for the book.  Who am I to say Phillip Morris is not a great company?  By the very rigid, exacting and well-studied parameters of the Good to Great Research Team and the definition they agreed upon in order to study greatness from a common vantage point, it is.  And we all have much to learn from the companies, the book, and the team behind it.

And now the book itself… When I finished arguing with the book about the definition of greatness, I settled in and learned things that have been integrated as permanent components of my own definition of greatness.  The concepts that are stuck in my head and going onto my vision board today are the Hedgehog Concept and the Flywheel.

The Hedgehog Concept: Hedgehogs are focused on what is important to them.  (Here is my veterinary summary:  Danger!  Roll!)  If we are similarly focused, we will invest our energy into what we are passionate about, what we can be best at, and what drives our economic engine – the Hedgehog Concept.  I love it.

The Flywheel: The Flywheel is a visual picture of the process of continuing forward, making the right decisions, doing the right things, until you have built momentum, and you are successful.  Awesome.  Explained much better in the book.

The book is extremely detailed and profiles several companies that have successfully moved from “good to great” over many years.  It has many other concepts that are relevant to veterinary medicine and life in general.  I honestly can not think of a color of mitten that would not look nice with this book, so now would be a great time to start it.

Bunny Trails: Before Good to Great, Jim Collins wrote Built to Last, which I have often heard is worth reading.  In Good to Great, the author says that after finishing both books, he actually thinks Built to Last works better as a sequel to Good to Great.  Awesome!  I am right on track!  I will definitely be reading Built to Last soon.

Mr. Bean, my constant reminder of the Hedgehog Concept

If you need a reminder too, his handmade friends are available from Artists for Hope, and bonus, you would be helping kids in Haiti!

Coming Soon to Riley and James!

“The Farmer, A True (Short) Story”

“Happy Heartworm Free February”

“You Say It’s Your Birthday…”

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week | 8 Comments »

Switch

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Switch:  How to Change Things When Change is Hard

by

Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I loved it!  Five Stars!

✩✩✩✩✩

I have had friends AND coworkers make fun of me for reading every single word of every book I read, starting with the table of contents.  I need context people!  I started this book with a search for the relationship between the authors.  In case you are not as neurotic as I am (or in case you are), the last sentence of the “about the authors” synopsis on the back cover reveals that they are brothers.  Now I was ready to begin.

I often say I do not like change.  In the middle of change, I moan about it.  After change, I gripe about it.  A year later, I look around and realize that change was the best thing for me.  As a new change comes up, I complain about it…

The authors challenged that attitude almost right from the beginning (p.4).  I liked getting married…that was change.  I liked having both kids enter our life…that was change.  I liked moving home to Omaha…that was change.  In response to their challenge to rethink our attitudes towards change, I have decided never to say “I just don’t like change” again.  There.  That will not change.  Ha!

They explained how to motivate others or even ourselves by breaking down the components of change into our rationality (rider), our emotions (elephant) and the path to change.  While I was reading, I kept coming back to some of my own “What if” big change dreams…

What if kids in Haiti were not hungry?

What if puppy mills were gone?

I already obsess about this and other stuff, of course.  We all have our “What if” dreams, I guess.  This book made me think “What if…I could have something to do with the changes?”  And that is huge.

Also, this book made me cry, which of course, even given my overly sappy nature, leadership books are not supposed to do.  The story that got me was the story about the transformation of an underachieving high school to a very successful high school brought about by the incoming principal (p. 173-175). She changed the entire school’s outlook on learning by changing the school’s grading system from A, B, C, D, F to A, B, C and NY (not yet).

(Side note:  Comments in parenthesis – Five Stars!  ✩✩✩✩✩  If the authors write a book containing everything they say in parenthesis in this book, and add some equally smart alec material, I will pay anything for it.  I found myself flipping ahead to read their usually related, always hilarious, smarty-pants side comments.)

One more “This Book is Awesome” point, then I will just let you read the book for yourself.  Anyone who mentions FlyLady and Dave Ramsey, two of my favorite leaders and authors, in the same sentence (p. 134), gets five stars just for that.

Bunny Trails: The images of an elephant and his rider as a person’s sometimes dueling emotions and mind are borrowed from The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt.  I have a feeling if these authors like a book, I will too.  So that’s on my “What’s Next” list.  Chip Heath and Dan Heath also wrote a book before Switch called Made to Stick which I assume is equally awesome.

Pile it on!  I’ve got plenty of bookmarks!  I’ve had bigger stacks on my nightstand!

This is number…something…of the twenty-five books I am reading in Veterinary Economics Leadership Series. As of this past weekend, I have all of the 25 books tracked down, and only seven more of them to get my hands on.  Thank you for all of your help with this fun project!

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | No Comments »

Blogathon 2010 – Random Things Over Which I Tend to Obsess

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

taking care not to dangle participles, to the point of creating awkward blog titles in order to avoid it

Movies…

While You Were Sleeping

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

August Rush

Juno

Shows…

Scrubs (Season 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and back to 1…)

Projects…

Articles – Not being able to obsess about each posting for a few weeks before I write it and at least a week afterwards has been VERY hard for me tonight!  But it is probably good for me.  Even so, I will probably monkey with all of my Blogathon posts this next week…

Lists

My vision board – a bulletin board above my art table where I keep goals on index cards (written in Sharpie-I love Sharpies!)

current obsessive kick – finishing the Veterinary Economics Recommended Reading List

Health

of my husband

and kids

and pets

and patients

Surgical Procedures – Every Step from Start to Finish

spays (I’ve done hundreds)

gastric dilatation-volvulus surgery (I’ve yet to do one)

“Other”

toe nail polish

Music

“God of This City” by Bluetree

“Sometimes by Step” by Rich Mullins

 

 

Clicking here will bring you to the webpage with information about Bradyn and an opportunity to donate towards the training of his service dog from 4 Paws for Ability. ♥

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Blogathon 2010, Thoughts, WITW does this have to do with pets? | 2 Comments »

I Can’t Believe I Read the WHOLE Thing!

Friday, November 5th, 2010

You know those super obnoxious restaurant contests where you get your dinner free and your picture on the wall if you finish a gigantic steak that ought to be cut into ten servings??  Well, I feel like someone owes me a giant free book.  Oh wait, never mind!  (Thank you Omaha Public Library!)

Truman

by

David McCullough

Five Stars!

✩✩✩✩✩

I loved this book!  I did not think I would.  I am not a history buff.  (I mean I was not a history buff, now I am.)  I thought I preferred lighter reading.  Ha!  I honestly strained my finger (LF digit #4 if I were a dog) picking this book up off my nightstand and putting it down over the past several weeks.  I learned quickly to pick it up with two hands!

From the first chapter, I was caught up in learning about the life of President Truman.  He was a great man and a great leader.  For all of the major world decisions he was called on to make, he was, at heart, a midwestern farmer with solid values, making every decision seemingly from that perspective.

The author spent ten years researching, interviewing and writing.  That alone is enough reason to investigate the book – what kind of person could keep a biographer’s attention for ten years??  I do not know how to explain what a great job David McCullough did at making this a fascinating read – it contains mainly facts and dates, which ought to be a recipe for a dry portrayal of American history, but it is quite the opposite.

This morning I finished the book at two o’clock am, glad to have accomplished another twenty-fifth of my reading project, but sad to come to the end of the life story of Harry S. Truman.  When a book keeps me up till all hours even to the very end, it is one I will highly recommend!

Bunny Trails: I would like to read all of the books written by David McCullough.  He is an amazing story teller.  I would also like to read more history books in general.  I will focus on this project for now though!  Eleven books left to read!

I have not yet found eight of the twenty-five books on the reading list.  Omaha Public Library has been awesome at tracking down books and sending them my way!  All the bookstores in Papillion and Omaha are used to me rummaging through all their shelves.  (I already did that before I started this project!)  If you have any of the books on the Veterinary Economics Summer Reading List that you would be willing to loan out, please let me know!  I would also like a congratulatory picture on your bulletin board when I finish it.

4/30/2011 In writing a summary of this book project I learned that David McCullough narrated the movie  Sea Biscuit which was neither here nor there, but I thought it was really interesting, and now it is here. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | No Comments »

What I am Reading this Week – The Same Big Important Books

Monday, October 11th, 2010

I am reading through Veterinary Economic’s Summer Reading List.  Ha, very funny Veterinary Economics!  This is not summer reading!  This pile of books is taller than Wuzzy Rat!  At least the Bible in a Year gives me, you know, a year.  From the “summer” list, I am currently reading Collapse, by Jared Diamond, and Truman, by David McCullough.  I expect to be here for quite some time!  So, no reviews for a while!  I am loving Truman, which surprised me.  I am not usually a big history buff, but it is a great book.

Wuzzy Rat and Phil discuss whether I can actually finish this project, while Bunny tries to jump from the lamp to the Bible.

 

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | 4 Comments »

What I am Reading This Week – Big Important Books

Friday, September 17th, 2010

I have not reviewed a book from the Veterinary Economics Summer Reading List here for a while because I have apparently saved all of the big, huge books for last, and they are taking me FOREVER to read!  I am almost halfway done with the twenty-five books.  I am still having fun, and I am learning lots, but I may not have much to say for a while.  I will complete the list, but most likely not by the end of summer!

I found a cute star template weeks ago and have not gotten to use it yet.  So I will give you my input on a Book NOT on the list, you know, so I can use my stars…

Word of God – Five Stars!

✩✩✩✩✩

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | No Comments »

What I am Reading This Week: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Next in the leadership series…

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by

Dale Carnegie

Since I am only reviewing leadership books of the Veterinary Economics suggested reading list http://www.cprw.com/wp-content/themes/gazette/cheap-essay-writing-service-uk.html to which I can give five stars, I think I will start each review the same way…I loved this book!  Five stars!

And I did.  How to Win Friends and Influence People was published in 1936 and I absolutely LOVE Dale Carnegie’s writing style.  He wrote as if he were wearing a top hat.  Unfortunately, I read a rereleased edition that Mrs. Carnegie published in 1981.  She updated some of the stories and language.  So every time I read a story in the first person that occurred after Mr. Carnegie passed away in 1955, I would do a double take – a sort of “I-just-saw-a-ghost” jump and yell.  The lessons in this book are invaluable and timeless.  I will buy it for sure if I can find an original edition.

Bunny Trails Several times, when Mr. Carnegie needed an especially pure or great example, he would turn to a story of a dog.  What struck me was his emphasis on the effectiveness of positive reinforcement training (which he did not word in that way of course, as it is a relatively new term, though not as new of a concept as I had assumed.)  When he wanted to emphasize how kind words are more effective than harsh words, he would remind the readers how much more quickly our pets learn when we train with kindness and rewards.  I began to think it would be very fun to trace the history of animal training.

Of course, as far back as the Old Testament, Balaam was reprimanded by an angel of God Himself for mistreating his poor donkey.  But I had until now assumed that “Positive Reinforcement Training” as a replacement for “Negative Reinforcement Training” had just tipped into favor in the last few decades.  Apparently wise, successful people knew all along that kindness and compassion are the best way to treat anyone, whether human or animal, and just did not have a nifty name for the concept yet.

Also, of course, I would like to read the other books Dale Carnegie has written.  He had an engaging writing style, and fun stories with solid morals.  And while he was a great man in his own right, he also seems to have been one or two degrees from every famous person of his time, which also makes for a fun read.

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | 1 Comment »

What I am Reading This Week: Start-Up Nation

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Next in the leadership series…

Start-Up Nation, The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle

by

Dan Senor and Saul Singer

I LOVED this book…

Five Stars!

✩✩✩✩✩

I have a special place in my heart for Israel, and the multilayered reasons for that do not even fit in the “What in The World Does This Have to Do with Pets?” section of this website.  That would be another website entirely!  The history contained in this book is fascinating, and has changed the way I view world history overall.

But this is not a book about heart or emotions or passion.  It is a book about achieving success against seemingly insurmountable odds, which is a theme that I absolutely love.  It is a book about Israel, which I have already told you I love, and it is a book about entrepreneurs and start-up companies, especially those in the technology sector, which, until this past week, I did not care one bit about.  In fact, I had to open the book and change every single vowel in my spelling of entrepreneurs, as I am quite sure I have not ever used the word before today.

And I love that about the book too.  I found myself caring very much why start-ups are successful or not, why Israeli start-ups tend to be SO successful, and even caring about the details of the businesses profiled in the book.

I suppose most of all I love a book that can make me care about things I did not know I would care about.  And in that regard above all, this is a great book.

Bunny Trails: The publishing company of this book intrigues me.  The book was published in November 2009 by Twelve.  They publish at most one book a month and invest in the long term success of the books they publish.  When I have time, I will read the other books published by Twelve.  Theoretically, if I can catch up with what they have published so far, I should be able to keep up by reading one book a month.  Woo!  I need another reading project!  Well, no I don’t.  But I am excited to have one.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Thoughts, What I am Reading This Week, WITW does this have to do with pets? | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »