SafetyVet

Solutions for the veterinary professions!

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Speaker's Profile & Topics List

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Profit Center Management (2 Hours)

Accountants are great at keeping track of expenses, but they often fall short on advice to improve specific areas of the practice. In this seminar, we'll discuss specific ways to configure your practice books so that management information is easily obtained. We'll also talk about the key fiscal and procedural indicators that every practice leader and manager must know.

Understaffed Client Service (1 hour)

Today's tight labor market has placed many new problems in the path of the veterinary practice owner or administrator. Finding staff members is only half the solution; the other half is to reevaluate the procedures, services and programs in the practice. This seminar will discuss ways to cope with short staffed situations.

Staffing & Scheduling Secrets (1 hour)

It always seems to happen: you finally get the schedule done and one of the staff members wants time off! Back to the drawing board - or is it? The first step in scheduling staff is to develop a staffing coverage schedule for the practice. We'll discuss the best ways to devise staffing levels and schedules for the hospital while still being flexible for the staff.

Are Brochures and Newsletters Effective? (1 hour)

Bonding the client to the practice is the goal of every hospital, and written literature is one of the tools that can help make that happen. Practice-specific brochures and newsletters can go beyond the traditional "here's who we are" pieces and actually become educational and promotional tools. In this seminar we'll look at how to make in-house newsletters and brochures easily and affordably. We'll also look at ways to increase client compliance with recommendations by using pre-printed materials.

Simple Solutions to OSHA Problems (4-6 hours depending on detail desired)

A comprehensive, guided overview of Federal & State Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates for veterinary hospitals. This seminar will not only teach you what is expected, but how to achieve it without spending a lot of time on unnecessary forms, paperwork or training! This program is very practical and designed to help those hospital owners or managers who desire to comply with the law. We'll discuss the administrative requirements, outline the many hazards in a veterinary practice (not just chemicals) and teach you about OSHA requirements for dealing with them.

Keeping Controlled Drugs Under Control (2 hours)

A comprehensive review of the requirements for veterinary hospitals mandated by the Controlled Substance Act. We'll discuss simple ways to prevent misuse and abuse from in-house pilfering and records tampering as well as client deceptions and scams. During this seminar, we'll also dispel a few of the common misconceptions about record-keeping and security. This is truly a "Here's how you do it" program.

Effective Technician Utilization (1 hour)

Do you challenge your technicians? The successful practice of today and tomorrow will depend heavily on using technicians as "veterinary extenders." We'll discuss methods to determine if your technicians have what it takes to become "super techs" and ways to get them started. We'll look at the numbers that show you how the practice team produce more so that everyone makes more!

Painless Medical Records (2 hours)

Are your medical records a pain? This upbeat discussion can make record keeping easier. We'll reveal some tools and techniques for "templating" common procedures. By standardizing medical records entries for easier retrieval and better inter-staff communication, you can actually increase income while saving time! We'll also discuss methods for streamlining things like logs, charge sheets and progress notes so that you have more time for patient care, management duties or simply time off!

Effective Staff Training Solutions (2 hours)

We never seem to have enough time to have training meetings, but everyone knows that they're important. This presentation will explore some of the reasons why a planned training program is a necessity for every practice and give you practical ways to get started. We'll show you some of the different methods of instruction and when to use them. You'll also learn ways to make your training program easy to deliver and easy to replicate when you have new staff members.

10 Steps to Promoting Any Service or Product (1 hour)

The world of veterinary practice has changed. Clients are more informed about choices and the competition for the expendable income of the family has become more intense. Learn how to let your clients know what services or products you offer and improve the pet's health at the same time. This seminar focuses primarily on using the existing client base of the practice to educate client and promote a particular product or service.

Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations (1 hour)

What's the difference between advertising and marketing? How about public relations? You can get your message out to the public and still maintain a high degree of professionalism at the same time. Learn inexpensive and easy-to-do techniques to increase the public's awareness of general pet health needs as well as what's available at your practice.

Computer Use in Practice (1 hour)

A discussion about how the computer should be used to support the practice instead of the other way around. Learn how to set up your computer system so that you get meaningful information instead of "just reams of paper." We'll also discuss the best ways to track discounts, thefts and abuses of the fee schedule.

Internet use in Veterinary Practice (1 hour)

There is a wealth of information available on the internet and incorporating this tool into your practice can be both fun and profitable. Learn why the practice should have a web page and how clients are reacting to "medicine on line." We'll also discuss some of the on-line educational opportunities for the whole practice team!

Why Won't It Work For Me? (1 hour)

Ever tried a program or promotion that your colleagues have raved about only to find it just didn't work in your practice? Have you tried to delegate programs to staff members only to have them delegated back? In this seminar, we'll make you look at alternatives to the reward and punishment programs of most practices and discuss the things that must be in place for any program or promotion to succeed.

Developing Ancillary Service Programs in the Hospital (1 hour)

Staff members are often seen as an expense for the practice rather than income generators. This doesn't have to be true. Many practices use non-veterinary staff members for income generation and client bonding and you can too! In this seminar we'll explore some of the more popular ancillary service roles of the veterinary staff and what it takes to make these programs successful.

Client Questionnaires - Designing, Using and Interpreting (2 hours)

Do you really know what your clients want? This seminar is a discussion about the ways we can get feedback from our clients (customers) to improve service or develop programs. We'll not only discuss the tools that can be used to survey clients, we'll also talk about how to tabulate and interpret the results.

Developing a Staff Handbook and Training Manual (1 hour)

Every business needs to have written staff policies and instructions yet few take the time to complete a personnel policy handbook. Likewise, we all know that staff turnover decreases productivity and increases costs for the practice, but fewer still take the time to write down procedures. The result is a staff that must "rediscover" all the answers each time someone new joins the team. In this seminary we'll show that it's easier than you thought to develop a policy manual to prevent misunderstandings. We'll also show how having a procedures manual will decrease the time it takes for a new staff member to become proficient in any position.

How to Take Control of Your Career (1 hour)

Are you frustrated by lack of control in your job? This seminar will teach you how to take the initiative and get supervisors and co-workers to use your ideas. Learn ways to make yourself more valuable to your patients, coworkers and the practice. We'll reveal some of the traits that you must develop within yourself to achieve your goals in any profession. Discover what it feels like to pursue a career instead of just doing a job.

Safety Issues for Veterinary Hospital Staff (2-3 hours)

An upbeat presentation about the common hazards of a veterinary hospital and ways individuals can avoid unnecessary risk. We'll discuss the general principles of safety, prevention of zoonotic diseases, precautions for working with chemicals, worker rights and responsibilities and much, much more! We’ll use humor and real-life stories to illustrate points and get the message across. This seminar is consistently rated one of the best safety programs by participants.

Note: This presentation is a staff safety awareness program and is not intended to be a comprehensive "What do I need to do for OSHA?" program for the leadership of the practice.