Welcome to the Vetanswers Blog

This time of the year can be tough for many people. Looking after ourselves is crucial if we want to maintain a healthy level of wellbeing - that doesn't just mean physically, but psychologically as well. Typically, the Christmas period can be a stressful...

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Holding a mirror to the veterinary industry... The challenges of after-hours work are known to many - trying to work out what's going on, determining correct drug doses, sometimes with little experience and often with no backup.......

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Whether it's messing up as a dad or mum or dropping the ball on something at work or even just forgetting to return a client phone call when you promised when you feel like you're failing it can be tough to pick yourself up and keep going....

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Have you noticed any signs of fatigue, grumpiness, stress or a strange wild-eyed look in the eyes of any of your staff? If the staff in question also have children then they may already be suffering from the dreaded 'end of year fatigue syndrome' - a str...

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The rhythm of a typical day at Brudine is dictated by an ongoing tussle between order and unpredictability. Setting order are the appointments schedule (for consultations) and the hospital board (for surgeries, diagnostics, observations and boarders). Lik...

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Holding a mirror to the veterinary industry to see the realities you work with every day. I came across Michael Weinhardt's 'So Many Other Things' photographic essay and accompanying articles a couple of weeks ago. I was drawn to the honesty in the photos...

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There is more (veterinary and non-veterinary) competition out there it's getting tougher every month - and resting on your laurels will ensure that you fall behind. It's time to set your practice up for a fabulous 2019. Waiting until January 1, 2019, is t...

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Quite often when I read veterinary posts, I ask myself, "How much of this post will the public understand?" As well as being a veterinarian, I am a medical writer. I am passionate about communicating health and medical information with the public.......

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Dr Richard Burchell lends us an insight into how to effectively undertake Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in your veterinary clinic. Tip 1: Know your equipment Understanding exactly how your equipment works, and what its capabilities are will greatly enhance...

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Let's be honest - NO one really enjoys performance reviews but what if there was a better way to improve engagement and reduce turnover? We all know the dearth of good staff lately and so it's more important than ever to retain excellent team members...

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A fabulous new resource for Australian dog owners (your veterinary clients!) has just been published. We asked the author of First Call For Dogs, Dr Alex Hynes, to tell us what her new book is all about and how she hopes it will help pet owners.....

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With overall growth at Highlands Veterinary Hospital, sitting at 45% (& 76% in September!) I had some questions to ask Dr Diederik Gelderman about how such massive change had been accepted by existing staff (& clients!) and what he felt were the key compo...

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I've always admired Dr Belinda Parsons' use of social media & have often shared both her blog posts and vlogs so I was really pleased to find out that Belinda has recently opened her own mobile veterinary practice. But with all her other commitments - how...

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Our Pets Health - providing pet owners with quality, veterinarian created, online information A few months ago a new member Dr Alex Avery, joined Vetanswers and listed his business Our Pets Health under the Pet Care Education Business Type........

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You may have a friend, family member or veterinary colleague suffering from mental health issues. But knowing what to say to offer help and support can be a challenge. You don&t want to say the wrong thing or something that may make them feel even worse....

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There is no shortage of evidence that veterinarians the world over are struggling with their career. There is also no shortage of people with ideas and reasons why this is the case. Unsuitable university entry criteria, gender bias, and millennial work......

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Welcome to the 3rd episode in our series: Turning a veterinary practice from a sow's ear into a silk purse. It's been a while since we checked in to see what's been happening at Highlands Veterinary Hospital so I contacted .......

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When you leave a long-term job because things no longer feel right - how do you move forward from the feelings of grief? How do you get back the motivation & spark? A difficult yet important question from a member of our Community......

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3 quick tips for veterinary emergencies... Tip 1: In tick toxicity, respiratory failure can occur with or without the administration of tick antiserum In tick toxicity, respiratory failure can occur with or without administration of tick antiserum.......

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Spring has sprung! And it offers another great opportunity to connect with your veterinary clients If you're looking for some new ideas to brighten up your website, social media or website, then the change of season is a great place to start ......

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Have you ever worked in a setting where staff would act one way towards clients, yet bag them out as soon as they leave? Telling them one thing to their face: "you're doing your best for Fluffy", but turning around and telling colleagues something differe...

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Where do your clients get their online pet information? Is it a reputable source? Have you heard of the Australian Dog Lover website and digital magazine? It's grown exponentially since its inception in October 2015 with over 845 articles on a wide range...

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What's been achieved in the first four weeks? Three relatively small changes have led to a $20,000 increase in the last month......

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Every time I see a negative comment from a pet owner about their veterinarian, my heart drops. I know that almost everyone who works in a veterinary practice is there for the right reasons. Whether it's for the pure love for animals, to be an advocate......

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Ever wondered why there are so few female veterinary surgical specialists? Have you ever thought about why, despite veterinary science being a female-dominated profession, there are relatively few female veterinary surgical specialists .......

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Welcome to the first post in our new series: Turning a veterinary practice from a sow's ear into a silk purse. This week I received an email from Dr Diederik Gelderman which I have to admit, got me a little excited!...

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Resilience is about overcoming challenges, managing change, dealing with adversity and reaching out for help. Recently, there seems to be more information and research available about improving the resilience of our veterinary teams and this is fantastic...

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Multi-tasking isn't helping us - it's making us inefficient and unfocused. Few challenges seem greater today than delaying instant gratification and focusing on the activities that require greater effort but ultimately yield more enduring value........

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One night I went to pick up a pizza. I have a pizza punch card you know, so many punches, you get one free. This card had some spots for punching when you get a small pizza. I ordered a large pizza, so I asked the girl to punch my card and she did.......

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Winter's nearly here and offers a great opportunity to connect with your clients & freshen things up a bit on your website and social media accounts. It also offers more opportunities to educate your clients with tips on how to look after their pets durin...

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Entertain, connect with and educate your veterinary clients with videos I spend a LOT of time online and watch quite a few videos (yes - I AM watching all of those cat videos for work purposes of course!). But maybe I&m not seeing enough?...

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Find out more about how Vet Oncologist online service can help your veterinary practice. Last week we shared information about the Vet Oncologist and I thought it was such a great service that I wanted to find out more from the founder, Dr Shasta Lynch...

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Now as a business owner, you can feel reluctant to take regular holidays especially in the beginning where you often believe you're too busy to take a break or your cash flow situation just won't allow for 'treats'. But have you ever considered that the...

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Which blog posts and resources caught the attention of our veterinary community during April? In case you missed them the first time around here are the top 10 blog posts .......

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Mother's Day is coming! And it's another great opportunity to connect with your clients and wish them a Happy Mother's Day - whether their children have 2, 4 or more legs! Here are 4 images you're welcome to share with your clients on social media .......

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Videos are a great way to share engaging content on your veterinary Facebook Page. Whether it's cute puppies coming in for a visit or an unusual pet arriving for a check-up, statistics show that more than half of daily Facebook users watch videos on the...

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Broken links what&s the problem with them anyway? Well apart from not looking very professional when a client clicks on them, they also don't do great things for your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). I also think of them as housekeeping for your website...

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Recruitment is a minefield where the wrong decision can be costly and damaging. With as many as 40% of new graduates reported to leave their job within the first 3 months, it seems like something is going wrong in the matching process....

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Veterinarian living and practising in Australia? We need your help.. We are asking for Australian vets to help us learn more about the use of the internet by pet owners for pet health information by taking part in a 10 minute online survey...

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I should start by saying that in general, I like change. When change offers an opportunity to improve, update and move forward, I think it's good. Except when it's not. Change for change sake is rarely good and can be just plain frustrating ......

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VetX: Thrive is a 12 mth online program that combines teaching, mentoring & peer networking 1. They are absolute experts at..... helping vets deal with all the tough shit that happens when you are a vet in practice, but no one at University has the time...

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Veterinarians seem to specialise in procrastination and over complication which then leads to analysis paralysis. We overcomplicate things. Seriously. I sometimes think that when Veterinarians graduate from they actually come out with a Double Degree...

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Veterinary graduate? Get ahead in your career. Apply for the VetX Graduate Program Scholarship VetX Graduate Community director, Dr Dave Nicol, has announced the launch of a funded place in the VetX accelerated learning, development & mentoring community....

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"I'm too young to be a leader in my veterinary practice - I wouldn't know where to start!" The fact is whether you're a vet nurse or a veterinarian, as you become more experienced, younger team members, both nurses and vets, will start to look to you for...

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Easter is a great time to connect with and educate your veterinary clients... Over the years I've collected some great resources to share on social media that will help you educate and inform your clients as well as just to connect with them....

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This week Nathan Harris, COO & co-founder of Knose was happy to answer some of my (many) questions and show us just how passionate he is about their business and the veterinary industry in general. What's your background? What led you to start Knose?h...

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Interested in finding out more about pet care subscriptions? In this quick 2 minute video, Tiaan Dreyer, CEO at Knose Everyday Pet Care explains why you should consider introducing pet care subscriptions (or plans) sooner rather than later.......

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"It is JUST a dog" a tribute to Maverick (The Wonder Dog) and explanation to Fred (the non-animal golf buddy) Last week I had the sad occasion to say "Good-bye" to one of my canine buddy friends (Maverick) he was 10 years old and still full of life when...

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The newest Australian veterinary business book is about to hit the shelves... so I asked author Dr Diederik Gelderman to give us an overview as to what the book was all about and what led him to write it in the first place....

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Do we need a group dedicated to the advancement of independent veterinary practice for practitioners who value their autonomy in Australia? Or is the veterinary industry too fragmented already? What do you think?...

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