698 – Three Words That Strike Fear in Vets and Owners
Three Words That Strike Fear in Vets and Owners
Host Laura Reeves is joined by Dr. Marty Greer talking about the three words that strike fear in both veterinarians and owners.
“These three things are what can take a normal, easy, lovely day at the veterinary clinic and turn it upside down and cause clients to have to wait and then swear at their veterinary team because they don’t understand why they have to wait because they had an appointment,” Greer said.
Those three words, according to Greer, are GDV (bloat), Pyo (pyometra) and HBC (hit by car).
Refresher on these three critical care situations:
Pyometra is a uterine infection.
“Fevers are almost never seen with pyometras,” Greer said. “And it’s a hard thing to understand how you can have a uterus full of pus and not run a fever. But apparently the uterus is a privileged organ and it allows for foreign things to happen in it. That could be a pyometra. That could be a puppy.
“So unfortunately, they almost never run a fever, so don’t rely on that to be a symptom. If you were waiting for a fever to happen, it means that the uterus probably just ruptured and the dog now has a belly full of puss instead of just a uterus full of puss. And when your belly is full of puss, you’re in big trouble. And so, if you’re waiting for a temperature, you’re decreasing your dog’s odds of survival.
“If your dog was recently in heat, they aren’t feeling well, they’re not eating well, they’re perhaps drinking buckets and buckets of water, maybe vomiting, maybe have a vaginal discharge, maybe not. Do not wait for a fever (to take the dog to the vet).”
GDV (gastric dilatation and volvulus) is bloat, where a dog’s stomach fills with air and may twist, causing a very rapid cascade of life-threatening events in the dog’s system.
HBC (hit by car) and other trauma is covered in our K9 911 First Aid seminar series linked here.
658 – Resources for Veterinary Medicine Practices and Staff
Resources for Veterinary Medicine Practices and Staff
Dr. Marty Greer joins host Laura Reeves with advice for veterinary medicine practices, vets, techs, staff and clients alike.
“The veterinary field is full of really, genuinely great people in a way that we don’t see in a lot of other career choices. It’s an amazing field to be in,” Greer said. There are, though, plenty of challenges for staff and clients both.
“Most veterinarians come out of veterinary school without a lot of experience, they understand how to do the medicine, they don’t know how to do the business part. I remember being in vet school and they tried to teach us to us and we’re like, ‘No, no, we want to just be a doctor.’ Well, that was kind of short -sighted. And a year out of vet school, I started a practice. I’m like, ‘I should have been listening.’
Greer offer her top recommendations for vet practices to succeed.
“Number one, join IVPA, join a VMG group, join some other buying group so that you have the opportunity to improve your cost of goods, to understand the management techniques and principles, that’s number one.
“Number two get a great accountant and a great attorney that understand the veterinary practices. There are many veterinary specific accountants and veterinary specific attorneys. Use one of them.
“You have to spend time working on your practice, not just in your practice.
“Hire yourself a practice manager. It’s really hard. It’s really hard when you don’t have enough money. You can’t figure it out. Hire somebody to help you with your HR and with your bookkeeping and with all the parts of practice that you have to have because their practice manager can be a God Send.
“A lot of people are afraid to start a practice because they think that because they have student loans that they can’t afford to start a practice. And in reality, owning a practice is proven to be the fastest way to pay your school loans back because the profitability is better as an owner than it is as an employee.
“We have a sign on the wall, ‘WWJHD.’ What would James Harriet do? I love that because I want my staff and my doctors to think about what fits the needs of their client and their client’s pet.”