Practice Life Magazine Issue 9 September 2015

September/October 2015 www.practicelife.biz

Equine Special Benchmarking and marketing the equine practice

Employee Contracts What’s necessary and what’s realistic?

The Tightrope of Client Expectations Achieving balance through a cat friendly approach

Master of Your Fate Insights into the Mind Matters Initiative

THE MAGAZINE OF SPVS AND VPMA

In the Spotlight: This is Your Veterinary Life...

SPECIAL:

SPVS-VPMA CONGRESS FEATURE

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EDITORS’ LETTERS

Editors’ Letters

A

t the beginning of July SPVS hosted the annual Student Seminar and once again I got the train from Euston to Lancashire to help. This year, in an attempt to make it possible for more students to attend the format was changed and it ran from lunchtime Friday until Sunday afternoon; it seemed that the adjustment worked and numbers were up about 40% with just over 170 final year students gathering at Lancaster University for the event. It was a bit of a challenge to squeeze the content that was previously delivered over 3 days into 2 and a half, but SPVS Officer, Cat Curtis, somehow managed it and the weekend was a resounding success (if even faster paced than usual!) Thanks must go to all those who helped including several SPVS councillors as well as other regular attendees; the opportunity to mix with and chat to ‘older’ members of the profession about the realities of life in practice is something that the students always report they find useful.

The Final Year Lancaster Seminar is subsidised by SPVS and supported through sponsorship and donations from commercial companies and other professional organisations. SPVS funding of it is, in part, made possible through the SPVS Educational Trust which itself receives donations from various sources including some of the companies with which we have affiliate deals and to highlight this we have featured articles about both the Trust and the ‘deals’ that support it.

I

t has become a bit of a standing joke in our practice that for someone who historically has not been a huge fan of anything Apple, the sudden turn “to the dark side” has, at the very least, been unexpected.

The surgery recently invested in some software to improve consultation room communication and we decided that the best devices on which to display this tool would be iPads, based on the guidance from the software supplier. Tasked to source a few of the tablets, I spent an interesting and informative hour or two in my nearby Apple Store in the Manchester Trafford Centre. It began firstly by trying to find the store amongst the other 279 and I was amazed that the Apple logo stood out so even this non-believer could spot it. Once inside, it was clear that this was unlike any other retail experience on the planet! A sea of multi-aged bodies huddled around wood and glass tables staring at and jabbing phones, computers and watches, interspersed with blue tee-shirted assistants (actually specialists) all happy and smiling. I was greeted as though I’d been known there for years and it wasn’t long before my needs were met without any hard sell and I left with products set up ready to use in the clinic, including one for me to use personally. A couple of weeks later my mobile phone contract was ready for renewal and I joined the ranks of iOS simply based on phenomenal customer

The main aim of the seminar is to help prepare students for the challenges of life after graduation and provide advice on lots of aspects such as finding the ‘right’ job and career progression as well as how to cope in the event of making a mistake. A matter of days before the seminar, the Vet Futures Survey results showed that whilst nearly 60% of vets were positive about the future, 1/5 felt that the need to reduce stress was a priority; a good thing then that the Lancaster programme included sessions on Wellbeing and advice about where to get help and support if necessary. And there’s no doubt that the positivity amongst the students was far higher than the survey – their enthusiasm was infectious and I returned to my practice invigorated despite being tired from travelling and 2 very late nights! If you’d like to volunteer your services next year contact the SPVS Office – I can thoroughly recommend the weekend as a tonic for anyone feeling rather less than positive about veterinary life!

I hope you enjoy this edition of Practice Life. If as a non-member you have received this special practice copy and like what you see, remember that SPVS members get what we hope is a relevant and interesting read delivered on a quarterly basis. Our SPVS pages highlight some of what’s good about the society – we’d love you to join!

Stephanie Writer-Davies, SPVS editor

support. The bubble may yet burst for this consumer of course; only time will tell. But that level of consistency and high standard appears to run deep in the company from Cupertino. Look and listen to the keynote speeches, the website, the social media, the stores and tell me that it’s not something that many of us in our own practices would not like to recreate one way or another. There may well be tens of articles on how to do this should you want to. One of the best ones I’ve seen is http://guykawasaki.com/10-things-you-canlearn-from-the-apple-store/ and guess what… we in our clinical customer-focussed arenas are perfect for the model of the three pillars of enchantment: likability, trustworthiness, and quality. That’s what we do isn’t it? Most of our clients like us, trust us and believe we provide quality medicine. Our individual vet brand should be paramount in the area we serve. Like it or not customer service will become an increasingly high priority consideration in the veterinary world in the coming years and if we don’t already, we may soon find that we too will greet clients and pets and shake their hands and paws when they set foot in our own glass palaces.

Other brands are available.

Ian Wolstenholme, VPMA editor

Practice Life is the magazine of SPVS and VPMA. If you are interested in joining either or both associations, visit www.spvs.org.uk and www.vpma.co.uk www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

3

Contents Editors

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UPDATE: NEWS & VIEWS 5

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VPMA NEWS

SPVS Stephanie Writer-Davies BVSc MRCVS steph@practicelife.biz VPMA Ian Wolstenholme, Practice Manager ian@practicelife.biz Publisher Mojo Consultancy Ltd 181 Sandpit Lane St Albans AL4 0BT

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CVPM Financial Management g

SPVS NEWS

11

SPVS Educational Trust and Affiliate Deals g

NURSE TALK

16

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COLLEGE CORNER

Tel +44 (0) 1727 859259 info@mojoconsultancy.com www.mojoconsultancy.com

Supporting the Transition into Practice Life

Advertising and Sales Enquiries

g

Libby Sheridan MVB MRCVS libby@practicelife.biz Tel:01727 859259

This Is Your Veterinary Life… guess who?

Sales Administrator

Master Of Your Fate

Eva Lambe eva@practicelife.biz Practice Life is the magazine of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Practice Management Association. It is distributed quarterly to the members of both associations as well as a wider mailing list of veterinary practices annually. www.spvs.org.uk www.vpma.co.uk The magazine contains articles on veterinary business and management as well as other topical updates and relevant features. The information contained within these articles is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for advice from qualified professionals in the relevant field.

Articles and photographs are welcomed for submission, though publication is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of the editors.

© 2015 Practice Life All rights reserved.

Practice Life is edited, designed, and published by Mojo Consultancy Ltd. No part of Practice Life Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher.

A reprint service is available.

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Student VNs on Council

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

WELL-BEING

18

20

23

MANAGING PEOPLE

25

Employee Contracts g

CLIENT CARE AND MARKETING

18 27

Equine Practice Marketing g

BUSINESS HEALTH AND FINANCE

31

Equine Benchmarking g

PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

34

20

How Cat Friendly Clinic provides a framework to meet client expectations g

CPD SHARED

37

The Consulting nurse g

CPD DIARY

38

23

Focus on HR 2016 Congress Special g

WHAT’S COMING UP

CPD Programme for 2015 and what’s in next issue

46 41 28

Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the associations, the editors, Practice Life Magazine or its publisher, Mojo Consultancy Ltd. ISSN 2053-1877

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

5

News & Views

THE DONKEY SANCTUARY RELEASES NEW DONKEY CARE HANDBOOK The Donkey Sanctuary’s 45 years of experience and knowledge in caring for donkeys has been gathered together in one easy to read guide that covers every aspect of understanding the needs of donkeys and mules and how to best provide the correct care for them.

This handbook combines all of The Donkey Sanctuary’s knowledge and experience to make a difference to the lives of donkeys all over the world even though the Sanctuary may never see or touch them. Along with in-depth specialist donkey care there are fascinating did you know facts such as; ‘There is estimated to be a world population of 44 million donkeys and 15 million mules and hinnies’.

Ben Hart, Donkey Care Training Manager says: “We wanted to produce a document that was invaluable to new and potential donkey owners so donkeys going to new homes outside the Sanctuary can be assured their new owners have the most up to date information to help provide a high quality home. We also wanted to ensure that staff, new and existing, had access to the information that forms the back bone of our principles of care here at the Sanctuary”.

The Donkey Care Handbook is freely accessible to anyone with an interest in donkeys. For more information or to download the handbook visit; http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/donkey-carehandbook, there are also donkey care fact sheets available online for download from the donkey health and welfare pages of the website that contain supplemental information.

Have you registered for SPVS/VPMA Congress 2016 yet?

MY VET AND ME

Here’s a great chance for vets to reach a younger audience and explain why every pet needs a vet...

www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

dog®

Learn to Carets about your Pe © Harvey the lifestyle

WITH

Let me take you behind the scenes of my veterinary d practice. It helped me to understan and appreciate just how important it is to know your vet.

It was Monday morning...

I

W

Your Practice

here

ith a nice friendly face to greet you at the receptio your vet needs n desk, a very support running smoothl ive team to keep y throughout the practice the day and sometim are so many jobs es night. There to do and blood tests, X-rays, specialists, medicat referrals to ion prescriptions and forward appointm all urgent! ents are With so much going on it made me realise that two hats, especia my vet needs lly when it comes to wear to the emotion downs – only s of life's ups to highlight that and we should attend appointments. regular It all helps to make visiting the vet reassuring our exciting, while owners that we are well cared for.

Numbers Game

The vet and his staff each have a 101 jobs to do everyday. See how many jobs you can find in the pyramid of paw prints.

21 12 7

23 9

14

My vet and me

‘My Vet and Me’ is a story book created by Harvey the Lifestyle Dog®, reporting what goes on behind the scenes of his veterinary practice. The book includes lots of fun activities to help children appreciate the importance of vet care.

Designed to reinforce the preventative healthcare message to clients, as well as educating children, the book provides an ideal tool for vet practices to give school children a product that should leave a lasting impression.

The book is A4 with 16 pages including cover space for practice details. It is designed to be interactive with pages to colour in, word games, spot the difference, dates to remember, an A3 pull out poster, finger puppets and more.

The author is keen to make the book very affordable, and is taking expressions of interest before finalising the cost per

Read more in our Congress special pages inside, where you can also get first sight of the full programme. New additions this year include a breakout mini-conference for those new to management in veterinary practice as well as additional workshops offering guidance on PSS for Equine and Large Animal managers and vets on Saturday.

As well as our packed lecture programme, you’ll find the congress exhibition, where you’ll be able to touch base with the leading suppliers in the vet industry. We’re also delighted to announce that Merial will be our new Platinum sponsor alongside Citation.

For further details and to book, just visit www.spvs-vpma-events.co.uk, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @SPVSVPMA_Events or call 01453 872731.

My vet and me

Congress registrations are flying and it’s no wonder. We’re returning to the excellent Celtic Manor Resort on 29/30 January and the line-up of speakers, streams and talks is second-to-none. As you might have seen in the press, we’re delighted to have top communication strategist (and son of a Yorkshire vet), Alastair Alastair Campbell Campbell, open congress for us, kindly sponsored by Veterinary Business Journal. He’s followed by a stellar list of speakers from outside and within the profession, and from the UK and overseas.

If the figure in the lower 2 paw prints add up to the number above...what is the total at the top?

Answers inside back cover

11

at the t had been a hectic weekend week began practice, and as a new dog was about I arrived just as the first weight is a to be weighed. Checking if you've good idea because it tells not enough had too many treats and health it is exercise. But for general prescribed also useful when being heavier medication because the dose. you are the higher the Date

Pet Name

Weight

LearnWITH to Care

Weight watching records

Your about y our Pets Pe t

Pin a Tail on

he won’t mind you making a new tail for him!

Harvey...

Type of pet Pet’s name Date of arrival Microchip number

Your Pet

Date neutered

Remember to

Flea treat once a month Worm every 3 month Vaccin s ate Health once a year check every Feed a healthy diet 6 months Exerci se Clean regularly up their mess Keep them well groom Check ed

Type of pet

My pet picture

(photo or drawing)

4

Pet’s name Date of arrival Microchip number Date neutered

their weight

Your Vet

Vet’s name Tel no Address

Emergency tel

no

Nurse Email Website

book. For more details please contact Harvey – via Jennifer Hyland / 01285 810429 / harveythelifestyledog@gmail.com / Facebook Harvey the Lifestyle dog / www.harvey-dog.co.uk

6

NEWS IN BRIEF

Delegates vote first ever Cx Congress a success

The Cx Team

In June, customer care teams from small animal and equine veterinary practices across the country descended on East Midlands Airport to attend CxClub.care’s inaugural Cx Congress.

Through a series of talks and sessions with customer care experts from both inside and outside our profession, the one-day Congress helped build essential skills and boost confidence for these key non-clinical members of the practice team. There was plenty of food for thought in every session, with the sharing of practical tips and a memorably immersive session in blindfolds in order to fully appreciate the challenges facing visually impaired clients, all of which ensured that attendees left the Congress full of enthusiasm and renewed motivation. Amber and Becky from Willow Veterinary Centre found the day to be invaluable:

“Excellent speakers, informative and relevant topics. We are already looking forward to the next one, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day!”

The Cx Congress marked the launch of CxClub.care, a unique online CPD platform designed to give customer care teams access to a wide range of training and development tools.

The extensive series of high-quality video learning programmes has been created to equip customer care teams with the skills and confidence required in order to deliver a consistently excellent customer experience.

To find out more about the online learning CPD platform that complements the Cx Congress, please visit www.cxclub.care, contact hello@cxclub.care or call 01476 565343.

Support for smaller practices from just £15+VAT per week!

Citation has been supporting veterinary businesses with Health & Safety, HR and Employment Law for 20 years. Working with SPVS, the VPMA and our existing clients, we’ve recognised that many practices with smaller workforces often struggle to find the resource to look after these areas.

That’s why we offer our Small Business Package! Tailored to practices employing less than 6 staff, it’s the ideal support package for a smaller practice.

Get in touch to find out more…

What’s included: l 24 hour advice line l A comprehensive stationery pack including H&S posters, Accident Book, Fire Log book etc. l An online risk assessment tool l An online staff management tool l Newsletters and legal updates l Online staff training with certification l An extensive documentation library – including veterinary specific fact sheets.

0845 844 1111 vets@citation.co.uk www.citation.co.uk

Don’t forget you can send us your press releases on practice successes and initiatives. Suppliers are also welcome to send information on management-related products and services. Email to libby@practicelife.biz Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

VPMA News VPMA President,

Howard Brown Hello and greetings to anyone reading this magazine for the first time as we share our second anniversary edition of Practice Life with all UK vet practices. I hope you have all had an enjoyable summertime, full of adventure and diversity and you find this a beneficial and a valuable resource in managing your practice.

I would like to congratulate Dr Bradley Viner on becoming RCVS President and wish him well for his year ahead as well as Phil Sketchley who was bestowed with an Honorary Associate of the RCVS in recognition of his contribution to the veterinary pharmaceuticals industry. Phil has been of great support over the years both to me personally and to the VPMA, so huge congratulations to him.

Since the last edition, I have attended a number of meetings with other associations and groups, discussing the many challenges that we face in the future of veterinary practice as we currently know it.

Coming from a commercial background, I see the role of managers as being there to monitor and help motivate through the constant process of change in our businesses and in all vet businesses across the country.

Practice managers are one of the key components to help guide the planning and implementation of strategies to adapt for the future.

There are now a number of initiatives that should help map the future strategy and direction of the profession in terms of information gathering, research and open discussion. You need to be engaged and have your say as the learnings will be vital to the continual development of the profession and how it will adapt.

One such initiative is Vet Futures, run jointly by RCVS & BVA it is looking at a number of areas including; reducing stress for the team; profit; public trust; increasing public awareness; working together and discussions on ethnic and cultural diversity within veterinary businesses. There is still time to have your say or encourage your clients to! http://vetfutures.org.uk/ Behind the scenes, we continue to make changes to the VPMA board meetings which are held four times a year. It’s important to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the little time we have together, as this allows giving more attention to how we can lead, support and prepare the future of practice management for our members. I would like to thank those of you who have contacted me with ideas of how, as an association, we can continue to support our members. If you haven’t been in touch and have anything to say I’d like to hear from you. Members (and non-members reading this for the first time) can contact me on president@vpma.co.uk Finally, I am pleased that the VPMA regional meetings continue to flourish and develop under Renay’s guidance and enthusiasm.

Our current trial of offering free attendance to VPMA members is leading to “new faces” coming for the first time and experiencing, not only specific practice management topics, but also benefiting from speaking to others and sharing issues and ideas! If you have not yet attended a local meeting, I would encourage you to.

VPMA NEWS

7

Ian Wolstenholme reports from the inaugural meeting of the VPMA Northwest Region

Steve Holman and attendees of the VPMA Northwest regional meeting

The first meeting of the newly-formed VPMA Northwest region was held at the Rutland House Veterinary Hospital in St Helens on 7th July arranged by co-organisers Janet Hughes from Denplan and Janie Clare, practice manager at Rutland House. About a dozen attendees listened to an excellent presentation by speaker Steve Holman on the subject of conflict resolution and avoidance followed by the chance to discuss ideas on how this new addition to the regions should develop over coming months.

Steve has held a variety of roles in business including banking and sales and provided many pointers on how situations which occur in vet practices can be taken control of, armed with a simple set of skills and knowledge. For most clients who complain, are angry, abusive or display hostile behaviours, this is situational and often they want help, choices and a simple acknowledgement of their concerns. You can hear some of the Steve’s ten strategies for dealing effectively with conflict here: http://tinyurl.com/ptwpmq2 During the networking and Q & A session which followed, it was clear that the practice managers and nurses in the audience were eager for more. Future topics under consideration are positive changes to practice, what can be learned from other industries and what exactly do clients expect in the 21st century?

For a first airing, both Janet and Janie were delighted with the support and hope to build on the success of the evening, which included refreshments. If you live or work in the North West, Rutland House is a well-known landmark in the area and is extremely convenient for motorway access. Keep an eye out in Practice Life for the details of the next meeting and come along to offer

Howard Brown

www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

your support… you’ll be glad you did.

8

VPMA NEWS

Regional Co-ordinator,

Renay Rickard Summertime in previous years has always been quieter in the regions, not just because our members are taking holidays – but often because we are all busy in practice covering other team members. This year, however, the regions have been very active. Having been to a few meetings and met with a number of you, it seems that we are all feeling the benefit of just taking a few hours out and getting together. The topics covered at regional meetings again have been interesting and varied, and our discussions of topical issues are proving popular and useful.

The registration for VPMA/SPVS Congress 2016 is now open. During Congress we usually hold a meeting for all VPMA regional organisers, but this year we would like to invite any members who would like more information on running regional meetings to attend. Again, while out and about, I have spoken to people who are interested in getting meetings going in their area – but may feel it a daunting task in an already-full schedule. If you are attending Congress and would like to know more about what is involved in helping to organise regional meetings, then contact the VPMA secretariat for details of the Congress meeting time and location.

I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Renay Rickard – RVN CVPM – VPMA Junior Vice President / Regional Co-ordinator.

MEET YOUR REGIONAL ORGANISERS If you are not in touch with your local regional group and would like to get more involved, please contact the VPMA Secretariat: secretariat@vpma.co.uk CUMBRIA Pauline Graham Tel: 07803 228720 ro3@vpma.co.uk

NORTH EAST/CO DURHAM Claire Bake Tel: 01388 602707 ro16@vpma.co.uk

HERTS/BEDS/NORTHANTS Denise Whitham Tel: 07837 058155 ro4@vpma.co.uk

NORTH WEST REGION Janet Hughes & Janie Clare Tel: 07964 505226 ro17@vpma.co.uk

GLOUCESTERSHIRE/SOUTH WALES Melvyn Wilkins Tel: 07887 895274 ro5@vpma.co.uk

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Julie Beacham Tel: 07710 317310 ro17@vpma.co.uk

EAST ANGLIA Cath Grimsey & Mark Day ro6@vpma.co.uk

SOUTH WEST Suzanne Headington Tel: 01242 680000 ro20@vpma.co.uk

LONDON mark harwood Tel: 01242 680000 ro7@vpma.co.uk

CORNWALL/DEVON Renay Rickard Tel: 01208 872254 ro21@vpma.co.uk

OXFORDSHIRE/WILTSHIRE/BERKSHIRE Helen Sanderson Tel: 07765 338607 ro13@vpma.co.uk

ESSEX LIZ LA-PAGE Tel: 07772 382465 ro22@vpma.co.uk

r the o f y d a e r ctice Are you a r P w e the n f o h c n u la me? e h c S s d Standar day

on a full s t n e v E PMA ember, t V p S e V S P h S t 24 Join entry on v o RCVS. C e n i h t e t h a t i d w up sociation s a n i n u r

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Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

VPMA NEWS

9

CVPM Syllabus Briefing 2 Take the Quiz!

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

In the second in our series about the Certificate in Veterinary Practice Management (CVPM) syllabus, Georgina Hills from Vale Vets in Gloucestershire discusses:

Financial Management – Don’t panic, it’s only numbers!

This is often the section of the syllabus that causes the most angst for candidates and in some cases is what deters them from sitting the CVPM. It is important to remember that as a Practice Manager at some level you will already be considering finance in your decisions, even if you are not directly responsible for it. To achieve this part of the CVPM we want candidates to be able to discuss three areas of Financial Management – • Management Accounts • Financial Accounts • Financial Control Have you read that and already decided you don’t know what we are talking about? Well with a little study you will find these terms are referring to actions and reports that occur regularly in practice and that you are probably already involved with or aware of. For example, management accounting information is different from financial accounting in a number of ways. Do the terms budget, cash flow and KPI sound familiar – then you are thinking about management accounting.

Management accounting reports are also usually confidential and for internal use only, as opposed to financial accounting statements which are publically reported and tend to follow the widely accepted business accounting format. Financial accounting reports tend to be based on historical data, management reports are primarily forward-looking, The table below shows a breakdown of the syllabus. To be competent in this section you need to be able to explain the terms or ratios listed and consider how you would use them in your practice.

Management Accounts Forecasting

Prior Year Data

Recognise the importance

Trends

Why monitor historical data? of cash flow and budgeting

Be able to identify & monitor financial & performance data, make recommendations based on that data

Financial Accounts Balance Sheet

Profit & Loss

Asset Management

Financial Ratios

What is it, what information

What should be Define asset Be able to calculate the does it give you? included in the P&L? following –

Understand the terms What is an asset register, Gross Profit Margin

cost of sales, overheads, what is depreciation Average transaction fee

gross profit, net profit.

Debtor days Creditor days

What information can

you get from a P&L? What do these things

mean to a business?

Financial Control Insurances

Stock Control

Pricing Policies

Equipment Purchase

What insurance Why is stock

Understand – Understand the different does a practice control important? Purchase cost purchase methods need and why?

Net cost and compare

How do you Mark up Public liability monitor it?

Margins How do you calculate

return on investment?

Professional Be able to calculate How do you calculate indemnity stock days and margins and mark ups?

stock turnover General business

Fee Setting What are the ways of deciding fees?

What happens to the business if you change fees?

What is the importance of fee compliance?

These areas are not specific to the veterinary industry so there are some great books out there to help you fully understand these topics. Remember we are not looking for book keeping skills – you do not have to be able to produce double entry accounts!

As a manager you need to be able to understand and use financial information to assess how your business is doing and plan for the future.

USEFUL BOOKS: Accounts Demystified by Anthony Rice Understanding Business Accounting for Dummies by Colin Barrow Veterinary Practice Management – A Practical Guide by Maggie Shilcock & Georgina Stutchfield

www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

CVPM Exam Example Question 2 You might run a practice but would you pass the CVPM exam?

Candidates tell us the hardest part of the CVPM exam is answering 10 questions on common practice problems orally in thirty minutes – that’s 3 minutes a question.

You can write notes, but the answer has to be oral. There are two examiners facing you and you are being taped so that if your answer is borderline other examiners can listen and mark your answer as well. So, why is it oral and why do you have no previous knowledge of what the question will be? Because that’s what we face in practice every day and competent managers have to just deal with it!

So, how would you do? Have a go at answering the question below. Answers should be videoed or recorded if possible (but written entries will be accepted if you’re camera shy!), and must be less... than 3 minutes long.

You should read out the question before you start giving the answer. Remember you should cover all 6 sections of the syllabus if relevant, so you need to think about General Management, Personnel, Communication, Financial Management, Marketing, Strategic Management and considering what changes, if any, are needed in the future to your policies.

Submit your answer to: c&t@vpma.co.uk

This issue’s quiz question is: You manage a large small animal hospital.

The practice is seeing clients nearly 24 hours a day. Over the last 6 months the amount of money reaching your bank account seems significantly lower than you would expect from your sales ledgers.

How would you go about investigating?

All entries marked and feedback given!

Names of Top 3 entrants published in the next issue.

just got Is YOUR Co-Amoxyclav licensed for: ✓ Skin Infections? ✓ Urinary Tract Infections? ✓ Respiratory Infections? ✓ Enteritis? ✓ Dental Infections?

Noroclav® Chewables are!

NEW Noroclav® Chewables Range Noroclav®, a broad spectrum antibiotic, is now available as a choice of palatable or new Chewable Tablets to allow for practices and owners to find the most suitable product for simpler administration.

The new pork liver flavour Chewable range includes 50mg, 75mg and also 250mg presentations approved for use in both dogs and cats, whilst the 250mg and 500mg tablets are both suitable for larger dogs.

Uniquely available in 75 mg – ideal for larger cats!

2823-SA(D/C)-v2b-UK-30/07/15

For further information please read the product data sheet or contact the manufacturer.

Manufactured and distributed in NI by: Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, Station Works, Newry, Co.Down BT35 6JP. Distributed in GB by: Norbrook Laboratories (GB) Ltd, 1 Saxon Way East, Oakley Hay Industrial Estate, Corby NN18 9EX. Legal Category: POM-V Noroclav® contains Amoxicillin (as Amoxicillin Trihydrate) and Clavulanic Acid (as Potassium Clavulanate).

www.norbrook.com

SPVS News President’s column Nick Stuart In July I attended the SPVS Lancaster weekend for final year vet students. I had heard a lot about this event from other SPVS Officers and Council members but this was the first time I had been able to attend and I was very impressed.

There is a tendency for some of us to complain that today’s new graduates leave vet college unprepared for the reality of what they will find in practice. Maybe that’s true, but having spent a weekend in the company of more than 170 bright, enthusiastic, energetic, budding vets, my overwhelming feeling was that they were all people you would want to work with. Which led me to wonder who is to blame for the unavoidable fact that too many of them will become demotivated and lose their confidence over the next few years. Practices that take on new grads need to take a good look at themselves and ask if their induction processes are giving the support that a newly qualified vet needs.

A recent SPVS survey on vet recruitment confirmed the much discussed anecdotal evidence that there is a real shortage of suitably qualified vets, particularly those that are 3 – 10 years qualified. Recruiting a team that can make your practice a successful business and a happy place to work is an ongoing challenge. Practices that succeed will be those that get their recruitment, training and retention right, in other words those that invest in first rate HR. This has been a major focus for SPVS over the past few years with our CPD courses, Congress and networking events all helping vets and managers acquire the knowledge and skills to ensure they get the right staff in the first place and then hang on to them.

We will develop this further next month with our first SPVS/VPMA Focus on HR Day, to be held on 14th October at Chesford Grange near Leamington Spa. We are delighted to welcome back from the US, Katherine Eitel, who made such an impact at SPVS/VPMA Congress in 2014 with her talks on leadership and building effective teams. She will be joined by a stellar list of speakers including Brian Faulkner, Alison Lambert, Nick Steele and James Cronin. See page 38 for more details.

Katherine Eitel stayed with me for a few days leading up to Congress and she was a wonderful guest. I am looking forward to seeing her again and to hearing more of her wise words. As well as Focus on HR Day, Katherine will join us for our inaugural SPVS Spa Scene over the weekend of 17th /18th October. This was Anna Judson and Leigh-Anne Brown’s idea. They were all for our ‘scenes’ which combine networking and social with CPD, but they felt that alongside the energetic Snowscene and Cyclescene, there was space for a more relaxed approach to learning.

Although, if chilling in the spa or indulging in a massage isn’t your thing, the luxurious Hoar Cross Hall Hotel in Staffordshire also offers a range of more energetic alternatives from golf and tennis to free classes in for instance spinning, zumba, yoga and tai chi. There are still a few places, so book now by calling the SPVS office on 01926 410454 or visiting www.spvs.org.uk

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SPVS Dates For Your Diary 2015 September 13th to 19th – Cyclescene, The Luberon Valley, France For details or to book contact the SPVS Office October 16th to 18th Spascene This is a new edition to the ever popular SPVS ‘scenes’. Chill out and Learn with Katherine Eitel of Lioness Learning at Hoar Cross Hall, Staffordshire. For details contact the SPVS Office December 7th and 8th SPVS Officers and Council meetings If you have any topics that you would like to see discussed please contact the SPVS Office.

January 28th to 30th SPVS and VPMA Congress This extremely popular congress takes place once again at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport. Full details of the event, speakers and programme are available on the VPMA SPVS events website. SPVS AGM will take place during the congress at 3.45pm on the 28th January.

March 5th to 12th Snowscene Next year we’re staying at the Village Montana Hotel in Tignes, France with the possibility of skiing in both Tignes and Val d’Isere. The speakers will be Martin Whiting from the Royal Vet College and Clive Elwood from Davies Veterinary Specialists. They will cover the RCVS Disciplinary Process, Contentious Issues and Internal Medicine. For details contact the SPVS Office.

SPVS e h t t a s Join u ner! n i D s a m t Chris s 4-course

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SPVS Offi

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SPVS NEWS

The SPVS Educational Trust The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons Charitable Education Trust was set up in 1982 for ‘charitable purposes which at the discretion and opinion of Trustees shall best advance and encourage education or other charitable purposes beneficial to the community in connection with the art of veterinary science’.

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ver the last 10 years the main thrust of the charity’s activities has centred around the Lancaster Student Seminar organised by the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) and the Recent Graduate Reunions coordinated by the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS). These worthy projects, which are supported by the profession, have received a donation from the Trust each year, with the Lancaster Seminar receiving support since its inauguration.

The main aim of the Lancaster Seminar is to prepare final year students from all the veterinary colleges in the UK and Ireland for veterinary life after graduating. The programme is far reaching and encompasses topics that are either not covered in the undergraduate curriculum or complements subjects that are taught within the schools. The programme is reassessed on an annual basis and feedback is overwhelmingly positive. However without sponsorship from companies, the main professional bodies and the Trust this event could not continue. The Trust has also been in a very fortunate position to receive donations since 2011 amounting to just over £9700 from ‘Full Power Utilities’, via SPVS, as a result of the sale of commodities to SPVS members. It was SPVS Council’s wish that this money should be used to contribute to the Lancaster Seminar.

The Recent Graduate Reunions are facilitated by the Communications Training Team at VDS and part sponsored

by SPVS with contributions from other bodies within the profession. The aim of these seminars is to consolidate and build on the communication skills taught within the undergraduate curricula and relate these to early experience of practice life. These events are designed for veterinary surgeons 15-18 months qualified and enable delegates to take

practical skills back to their practices and to share them with other members of their practice team; they naturally follow on from the Lancaster Student Seminar.

In addition to these valuable projects the Trust partially funded the Vetlife website in 2010. This worthwhile initiative was launched as one of the means of supporting the wellbeing and mental health of those working and studying in the veterinary profession.

In 2008 David Bartrum received funding towards his study into ‘Understanding suicidal thoughts and helpseeking behaviour among UK veterinary surgeons’. This important study has since been used to suggest possible targeted interventions to help mitigate psychological distress and increase help- seeking behaviours.

The Charity has limited funds, relying on donations and returns from a small amount of investments. However the trust would like to invite individuals working within the profession to apply for funding for up to £2,000 per project, with a limit of £10,000 being donated in any one year.

Submissions should be for requests that are non-clinical and projects that benefit as many individuals as possible.

Applications should be sent to Christine Magrath, Chairman of SPVS Charitable Education Trust, Howe Green, Howe, Norfolk, NR15 1HD by the end of October 2015. The requests will be scrutinised by the Trustees and funding awarded at their discretion, with successful applicants being announced at the SPVS AGM in January 2016. Those who receive an award will be expected to share their conclusions with the profession by submitting a written report and presenting it at a SPVS event. The Trustees will decide on the timing of this as each proposal may by its inherent nature have different criteria and timings.

David Bartrum, who received funding towards his ground-breaking 2008 study ‘Understanding suicidal thoughts and help-seeking behaviour among UK veterinary surgeons’ from the SPVS Educational Trust. The Trust would like to invite applications for up to £2000 worth of funding for the coming year. Applications need to be in by the end of October 2015.

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SPVS NEWS

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SPVS OVER THE YEARS Des Thompson explains what SPVS means to him...

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t is my opinion that SPVS is the best practitioner division of the BVA. I have been a member now for well over half a century and had the privilege of being President in 1992-3 and the pleasure of being elected an honorary member in 2004. As such it would not be unreasonable for you, the reader, to believe that my view of SPVS would be prejudiced in its favour. I make no apology for saying that SPVS has been my mentor in my practice over many years; it would be fair to say that management issues have never been at the top of my list of veterinary priorities, but regardless of this, I have no doubt that my involvement with SPVS was of enormous benefit to me and my practice.

SPVS has seen many changes in the structure of the profession and has adjusted to them splendidly – which of course was absolutely essential since the corporate influences have had such an impact on the management of veterinary practices. For the first 25 years of my professional life the ownership of veterinary practices was restricted to veterinary surgeons. Since then many non-veterinary surgeons have invested money in the profession and taken control of the management of practices resulting in many different corporate management structures; SPVS as a society has kept up to date with such changes and remains in a position to help and guide practitioners regardless of whether they wish to progress in private or corporate practice.

For many years SPVS has led the way in showing professional bodies how to effectively combine social and educational gatherings! Most of these also include physical activity, encouraging those participating to be involved with all that is required for a quality work-life balance –

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stimulation of the brain with interesting CPD, exercise for the body, fun and relaxation, all wrapped up in a community gathering in what is usually a wonderful setting.

These educational, sporting and relaxing social occasions started many years ago with Snowscene which catered for skiing enthusiasts. However, the success of Snowscene has been followed with other ‘Scenes’ based around activities such as diving and cycling and this year a new addition, Spascene; undoubtedly educational, social and relaxing if rather less energetic!

Another recent asset for SPVS is the joint exercise with VPMA. There are doubtless some who resist change and do not like the new arrangement but the two organisations have many of their aims and objectives in common and I consider that close cooperation and working together, where possible, must be in the best interests of both. Hopefully this cooperation will continue and perhaps discussions about possible ways of further integration will take place in the future.

For me, the jewel in the crown of professional CPD has to be the Lancaster Final Year Student Seminar. This extremely valuable exercise is available to all final year students studying in the UK and Ireland and was initiated

by SPVS over 25 years ago. It is a (now) two-and-a-half day educational and social extravaganza put on with the help of many of the veterinary professional bodies. The primary purpose of the event is to bring together a large group of final year students allowing them meet each other and compare their experiences while learning those aspects of ‘what it takes to become a veterinary surgeon’ that are unlikely to be taught in the vet schools. They also have the ideal opportunity to interact socially with and benefit from one-to-one communication with many practitioners.

A common comment heard from many Lancaster attendees is that it is the first time they have been treated like one of us and the ‘them and us’ scenario usually experienced whilst at College is not there.

SPVS has everything: education, friendship, a support network, resources for practitioners and a committed investment in the profession’s future. Why would you not want to be a member?

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SPVS NEWS

THOUSANDS FOR THE SPVS TRUST

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ince we began our relationship with SPVS in 2010, Full Power Utilities has been very pleased to help organise the gas and/or electricity contracts for 284 SPVS members. Full Power Utilities’ role is to not just to save our clients money but also, hopefully to bring clarity to a complex market. Most of the suppliers (including the commercial arms of the Big 6) simply do not quote on the same terms as each other; some include the governmental environment taxes in their prices, whilst others leave them out and some offer truly fixed prices for the entire contract period whilst others are fixed but with conditions. This makes it very difficult for consumers to accurately compare deals; how can you appreciate the difference between apples and pears?

As a broker, Full Power Utilities can help guide negotiations, but should a SPVS member just want to sound out the prices they may have already been quoted elsewhere, they are welcome to contact our Senior Broker Juliette Stone. Juliette looks after all our SPVS contracts and may

well have an insight into suppliers or prices which may help inform a decision to ‘sign up’. Full Power Utilities has access to every UK supplier (surprisingly there are almost 30) so clients can be reassured that they aren’t being restricted to only a small portion of the market. We take pride in expertly handling the whole process for any SPVS member that engages us; we’ll research prices, assemble them for you, equalise what is included and what is not to ensure clear and fair comparison, talk you through them and finally put your chosen contract into force and track it for the duration.

There is no cost for our service to our clients; the supplier pays us out of the profit in the contract. As a thank you to SPVS for advertising Full Power Utilities to its members, each time we arrange a contract for a SPVS member we pay some of the income on the contract back to the society with these funds going to the SPVS Educational Trust (initially this was 12.5% but increased to 25% in 2014). Over the 5 years of our relationship so far we have contributed approximately £10,000 to the SPVS Educational Trust and, with the rise in percentage repayment made, this is increasing; we are delighted that for 2015 our anticipated contribution will be in the region of £11,000. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with SPVS for the benefit of both the members and the Educational Trust.

If you would like to talk to us to see if we can help you please contact: Juliette Stone at Full Power Utilities Ltd, 020 8952 0125 or email her on: juliette@fullpowerutilities.com.

See you all at Congress in January!

Some of the Benefits of SPVS Membership:

An Update on our Affiliate Deals

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PVS currently has affiliate deals with several companies and the table below gives the details of each offer/deal. Our affiliate deals have gradually evolved over the years and have developed as a result of contacts suggested by other SPVS members or councillors and which have agreed to offer special rates or discounts to SPVS members (or in some cases where a discount or special rate hasn’t been possible to offer due to the nature of the ‘deal’, they have agreed to make a financial contribution to charity on the Society’s behalf).

SPVS Councillor Sinead Armstrong took over the role of liaison for and development of our member benefits a short time ago and it is her intention to approach companies that offer services that would specifically be helpful to anyone setting up or involved in running a veterinary practice. The list will, hopefully, include the full range of services that might be of use, from assisting with insurance needs, to designing practice logos or producing

printed carrier bags. The aim is to have a comprehensive list of companies spanning a wide range of services but with only one or two for any specific area. SPVS members dealing with the companies will have a nominated person to be a point of contact with to ensure their queries are dealt with efficiently and effectively and that there is continuity of care.

You may wonder how this is different from what buying groups frequently offer; in many ways of course it is similar, but what Sinead is hoping is that the SPVS affiliate list will, in line with the ethos of the Society, provide a perhaps less exhaustive but more personal selection of trusted companies that understand the position of influence that many of SPVS members hold in practice and will therefore offer excellent customer service, appreciating the potential value of their enquiry.

Watch this space (and the member section of the SPVS website) as this idea develops!

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SPVS NEWS

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Too busy to shop around several times a year for the best deals for gas, electricity, telecoms? Let Full Power Utilities do all this for you and potentially save you thousands of pounds.

When SPVS members place their contracts through FPU, we give 12.5% to 25% of our income from that contract back to the SPVS Educational Trust. Customers include Dominos Pizza, BMW, Costa Coffee and... of course, almost 300 SPVS veterinary practices.

Carefree credit offers interest free and low cost payment options to the pet owner. The system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It is simple to use, entirely on line and paperless. Applications take about 3 minutes to complete and the decision is instant. As soon as the agreement is electronically signed, payment is sanctioned and will arrive in your bank via BACS within a few days.

For SPVS members Carefree Credit will reimburse £50 of your SPVS membership fee when you sign up and receive FCA authorisation. You will also receive a further £50 if you write more than £25k worth of credit business in a calendar year. They have a dedicated office team to assist with the FCA application and provide you with any guidance and templates that you need.

Payroll Options specialises in payroll management. They offer a 24 hour turnaround of payroll. Practices do not need to carry out calculations but just provide details of hours worked and any additional payments or deductions. They calculate statutory payments and can also calculate pro rota payments for starters or leavers. They can perform autoenrolment assessments and provide data. They are BACS approved and can make RTI submissions on your behalf.

For SPVS members they offer the online payslip at no extra charge. This includes an iOS and Android App and gives the ability to build up an archive of payslips. (The usual fees for online payslips are £50 set up fee and £2.50 per pay date and £0.15 per employee payslip uploaded).

VetShare is a buying group for independent practices offering excellent discounts from a wide range of drug manufacturers and other suppliers of veterinary equipment and services.

Vetshare offers a 10% reduction in their management fee to SPVS members.

Denplan currently offers pet health plans for over 140,000 pets through independent veterinary practices, with the Denplan Pet Health Plans and Practice Plan for Vets products.

SPVS has negotiated a choice of discounts for its members: 1. Sign up 250 pets to a plan and receive full SPVS membership for one member of your staff. Sign up 400 pets and get two free memberships. or 2. Get a reduction in fees from 12% to 10%. Additionally both options benefit from access to Key client benefits (mystery shopping, client profiling and business training courses) when your monthly revenue hits £3k (compared to £4.5k normally).

Veterinary Prescriber is a unique online source of independent information on veterinary medicines. It provides - a practical new article/ product guide every month - access to a library of articles including their ectoparasite guide - free access to the Veterinary Prescriber drug info service - regular news and updates about veterinary medicines - a CPD resource

SPVS members get a 20% discount on subscription costs.

Lloyds Cardnet are the card acquiring business of the Lloyds Banking Group. They process transactions for some of the most recognisable names in the UK economy.

SPVS has negotiated a competitive new offer for their members for credit card processing facilities. This offer includes a deal with Lloyds terminal providers who have agreed to supply new terminals rent free for the first 3 months of any new contract.

Beacon will shop around for the best deals for electricity, gas, telephones and mobile phones and help with any other aspects of practice utilities (electricity, gas and water) or telecommunications (phonelines & systems, broadband & data services, and mobile phones).

Special rates for SPVS members.

Free interest plans allow you to help your uninsured clients afford unexpected vet bills. Provided your client passes a credit check, Braemar Finance will pay the bill. You pay an interest payment up to an agreed limit and they are then responsible for recovering the debt.

Special rates for SPVS members.

Hot Business Solutions... helping you get the most out of the people in your business. Tools designed to address internal communication and team management requirements specifically for veterinary practices, includes Hot Team, Hot Rota, Hot Comms and Hot Move.

10% discount for SPVS members.

VetEnvoy® eClaim service works with your Practice Management System (PMS), enabling you to quickly process your insurance claims on a completely paperless basis. Free up your time and get paid faster with VetEnvoy’s fast, simple and low-cost service.

Vet Envoy offer SPVS members a 20% discount on fees.

Vethelpdirect runs an online directory of vets across the uk. It also owns Any UK Vet and offers a range of support and consultancy services for social media.

Vethelpdirect offer SPVS members a 10% discount on their subscription.

Having been established since 1989, CAW have centres in Huntingdon, Potters Bar, Leeds and Edinburgh and train students from all over the UK and overseas through classroom taught courses, workbased learning and distance learning school.

SPVS members can claim a £100 discount for any staff they put through the ‘Assisting Veterinary Surgeons in the Monitoring of Anaesthesia and Sedation’ City and Guilds Course.

Visit www.wisepress.com and browse their wide range of veterinary titles. They offer a fast and efficient service and can deliver individual or bulk orders worldwide.

SPVS has teamed up with Wisepress Online Medical Bookshop to offer our members a fantastic 15% discount on all titles including ebooks.

Citation is one of the UK’s largest Health and Safety, and Employment Law consultancies, and has worked in association with SPVS and their members for over 10 years. With Veterinary clients of all sizes and specialities, Citation can help you remove the compliance burden and free up your time to concentrate on running your practice.

Citation offers substantial discounts for SPVS members and will visit your practice without charge or obligation for an initial meeting.

They also offer an Employer Helpline free to SPVS members as well as useful leaflets through the members section of the SPVS website.

Insights specialises in providing sales information and CRM solutions to the veterinary and animal health industries. Our main system is called VISION CRM. Unlike most mainstream CRM solutions, our VISION systems are designed around the specific needs of the client. This, and a deep understanding of the market sectors we operate in, means that users of VISION are able to fully manage their territory business without needing additional software or services.

Veterinary Insights has been working with SPVS for the last few years to develop a benchmarking system which is practical (usuable by almost all practice management systems without significant user input) and relevant (giving the information we feel is most helpful to running a veterinary practice). It is available free to all SPVS members and is a new initiative that we are all very excited about.

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Nurse Talk 16

NURSE TALK

In association with

Another successful year for

Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM) Our Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month 2015 campaign ran throughout the month of May and this year was bigger and better than ever! Practices and colleges throughout the UK were invited to join us in spreading the word about the importance of the role of the veterinary nurse in practice and the provision of responsible pet care to the general public.

Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month gave us the opportunity to demonstrate to our clients exactly what it is that we do for their pets and why veterinary nurses are so important within practice. A record number of practices and colleges registered to get involved during May. Practice open days, sponsored dog walks, education evenings, quiz nights and even an auction dinner/ dance, to name just a few, were organised. During VNAM we ran a competition which was open to anyone working in the veterinary profession with some fabulous prizes.

Below are some of the examples for each category.

The winning and runner up entries can be found on the BVNA website (www.bvna.org.uk) or dedicated VNAM Facebook page.

There were three categories: Category A Best Display “Showing the role of the Veterinary Nurse” Category B Best Community Event “Promoting awareness of the Veterinary Nurse to the general public” Category C Best Careers Event “Promoting a career in Veterinary Nursing”

Student Veterinary Nurses Join Council Following changes to the BVNA constitution in 2013, the association is delighted to welcome two student veterinary nurses to council. This exciting change followed a call for student candidates during March and April, and we could not have anticipated the enthusiasm of the two nominees who put themselves forward for this position. At the time of writing, we can’t reveal their identities as they will be first named in our own publication VNJ, due out around the same time as this magazine…

The primary task of the student representatives is to be the voice of the veterinary nurses of the future within the BVNA, to initiate new ideas and carry forward projects which the association can support and uphold to its student membership.

This is a weighty undertaking on their part, particularly as they will both be studying for their VN qualification at the same time as undertaking their responsibilities on council. However their passion is apparent by the commitment of effort and time they are willing to invest into the BVNA. A career in veterinary nursing has always been the dream of both of our student council members. One currently has a role in two committees at their college, which should hold them in good stead

for their position on BVNA council; meanwhile, the other has a passion and interest in protection of the Veterinary Nurse title.

We will be harnessing their enthusiasm in forwarding these interests, as well as enlisting their help with some specific projects, for example, the development of student pages within the VNJ. We are positive that this change can only enhance and evolve the BVNA further, as it develops to seek true representation for the wider membership and profession as a whole.

As well as student council members and to further progress in our aim in representing the wider student nurse demographic, we aim to have a student representative in every nursing college and university who will act as liaison person between the association and the institution.

Additionally, we have another very exciting student project in the pipeline for launch at BVNA Congress in October, so watch this space!

Finally, as well as our new student representatives on council, we are really pleased to welcome four new full council members who will each bring fresh and new perspectives to the table, and help us drive forward both the association and the profession that we represent.

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NURSE TALK

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LONDON PET SHOW 2015 BVNA Council Member Sam Morgan reports “I had the pleasure of attending the London Pet Show in May with BVNA colleagues which gave us an opportunity to raise public awareness of the role of the veterinary nurse.

Our stand was centrally located with visuals promoting a career in veterinary nursing and about the work of the registered veterinary nurse. Matthew Rendle organised a brilliant ‘guess the animal’ radiograph quiz that attracted visitors to the stand to guess the different species – the penguin and the armadillo created the most discussion! The quiz also helped raise money for our charity of the year, Hounds for

Heroes as well as giving us the opportunity to engage in conversation with pet owners about who cares for their pets when they go into a veterinary practice. As expected, quite a few people did not realise our veterinary nurse title was not protected and we also shared information about our qualifications, the RCVS RVN badge and the RCVS register.

The team also offered career advice to those eager to know how to get into veterinary nursing and discussed the two routes of study with tips offered in finding training practice positions.

As well as meeting the public we met some qualified veterinary nurses from a

variety of backgrounds and chatted to them about our forthcoming BVNA Congress.

Each visitor to our stand was given information in a bag that promoted the importance of the RVN and some were also given a mug. The team, made up of council members, office staff and Regional Coordinators, were excellent at dealing with this busy event and giving up their weekend to help. I hope they found it as enjoyable as I did.”

Sunday LPS Team

Sam talking to delegates

It just gets better and better…

BVNA Congress is the largest sole veterinary nursing event in Europe.

With over 20 scientific streams, workshops, forums and a full social programme, no other nursing congress delivers so much. See full details and register today at www.bvnacongress.co.uk

BVNA CONGRESS

2015 Friday 9th – Sunday 11th October Telford International Centre, Shropshire

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Jo talking to delegates

College Corner

Supporting the TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE LIFE For a new veterinary graduate the first few weeks, months and even years in practice can be a daunting prospect as they leave the structured life of a veterinary student and enter practice life. This is one of the key reasons why the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons developed the Professional Development Phase (PDP), in order to provide a structured learning programme within a professional setting and help with the transition from education to practice. Here, Christine Warman, Head of Education at the RCVS, looks at the role that practices and employers can play in supporting graduates through the PDP. This may all sound somewhat officious – but it is in fact a very flexible and easy-to-use system with plenty of support along the way thanks to our team of Postgraduate Deans who provide advice and guidance on how to fulfil the requirements of the PDP and how to keep a good record of activities.

We do expect those undertaking the PDP to keep an accurate and honest log of their clinical cases against a set list of clinical skills and activities, but this can be easily done via the PDP component of our Professional Development Record (www.rcvs-pdr.org.uk).

We highly recommend that all veterinary surgeons, including new graduates, join the PDR as it is the most convenient way of recording learning and development. Furthermore, it has many additional features, such as the ability to add reflective notes to entries and a forward planning diary, which make recording, planning and tracking progress so much easier.

How can employers support graduates undertaking the PDP?

If we were to sum up the main aim of the PDP it would be to build up the confidence of newly qualified vets, as well as those who are returning to veterinary work after a significant career break.

We expect all veterinary graduates entering clinical practice to take part in the Phase as it provides a structured way for them to develop their experience of clinical work across a range of different areas, to reflect on their progress and development and to meet our Year One Competences, which cover the skills we expect veterinary surgeons to have gained after about a year in practice.

Although new graduates get support from the RCVS and the Postgraduate Deans, it is the practice team that really matters when it comes to creating an environment that is supportive and nurturing of their development and in meeting the requirements of the PDP. During the PDP, graduates must be supported and assisted by senior colleagues until they are confident of their abilities, have skills that match our Year One Competences and can provide a professional service. In order to do this, we recommend that the employer puts in place an appropriate appraisal system involving regular one-to-one meetings to check on progress in relation to the PDP and identify areas for improvement and any gaps in their learning and development that they need to fulfil before completing the Phase.

Pairing the new graduate with a senior colleague who can act as a mentor is also very helpful, as they can be the first point of contact for discussions around performance and development and can help with any problems encountered during the course of the PDP. In order to make sure that the graduate is fully supported, we also ask that employers set aside a certain amount of time to allow the graduate to update their records and case notes. We recommend that this is done on a weekly basis so that the graduate can keep an ongoing tally of cases rather than having to collate several weeks or even months worth of information in one sitting.

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COLLEGE CORNER

Keeping reflective notes on cases for the PDP is part of the learning process and, over time, will help graduates, their employers and the RCVS evaluate their progression. These notes can also provide the evidence that the graduate is making clinical governance part of their professional activities, as required by the Code of Professional Conduct and so should be encouraged by practices. Case notes and reports can also be used in clinical meetings within the practice as part of its clinical governance procedures.

Furthermore, employers can help graduates by encouraging them to keep their records up-to-date. Reference to their skills log can be used to structure any appraisal discussion, and can provide an idea of the balance of experience they are getting.

Overall, the PDP will be most successful where there is active collaboration between the new graduate and senior practice colleagues. Practices that nurture their more inexperienced staff are benefitting the business in the long run by creating motivated, skilled, confident and loyal individuals, and there is supporting evidence to show that new graduates tend to stay longer in jobs where employers are supportive of their development.

Through promoting the PDP, practices in turn will promote good employment policies and therefore will be in a better position to attract good applicants to any vacant posts. They will also be able to show that they take the CPD of their staff seriously, as required by the Practice Standards Scheme.

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skills and knowledge and providing an ever-better service to clients and animals.

For practices, providing a culture which supports learning and development for new graduates can therefore reap benefits in the future as it puts them on the path towards the constant improvement and refining of their skills and knowledge. It may also encourage them to take an interest in a particular area of veterinary practice and undertake a postgraduate qualification in that field which, again, can bring great future benefits to a practice.

More information If you are a practice that is employing a new graduate who is going through the Professional Development Phase, or if you are considering employing a graduate, you are welcome to contact the Education Team on 020 7202 0778/ 020 7202 0791 or pdp@rcvs.org.uk for an informal discussion.

Remember, if you or any members of staff have not yet signed up to the Professional Development Record you can do so by visiting www.rcvs-pdr.org.uk

When are graduates expected to complete the PDP? Until this year there was no fixed timescale for the completion of PDP. However, in February our Education Committee decided to introduce a requirement for completion within three years, with appropriate flexibility for those who may not be able to complete the phase within this time frame for valid reasons.

It was also agreed that the requirement would only begin when a graduate enters clinical practice as those working in other areas, for example, research, would find it difficult to complete the PDP. The three years should not be seen as a ‘deadline date’ because most graduates actually complete the phase within 18 months of entering clinical practice.

A lifelong learning process As an organisation we believe that learning does not end once the graduate gets their PDP signed off and our Code of Professional Conduct specifically states that veterinary surgeons are expected to undertake a minimum of 105 hours of CPD over a rolling three-year period. However, we also recognise that most veterinary surgeons do considerably more than this and see the value of CPD as members of a profession who are dedicated to expanding their

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20

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

in the

If you’re of a certain age you’ll remember ‘This is your Life’, a biographical television program where the host “surprised” a special guest before taking them through their life journey live on TV. Various friends and family would be brought in to add to the story, and it usually finished with the guest being presented with the ‘Big Red Book’. The program was last broadcast in 2007, but here at Practice Life, we thought we would resurrect it in word form with the perfect candidate. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the person described by the 2011 outgoing RCVS president, Peter Jinman, as a “great ambassador for the profession”…

Des Thompson OBE BA MSc(VetGP) MVB MRCVS HonFRCVS...

y r a n i r e t e V

THIS IS YOUR LIFE v

Credit: Press Association Images

D

es qualified with honours from Trinity College Dublin in 1961 and joined his father’s Chichester Street practice in Belfast, where he was the third generation vet within the family. At that time the practice was a typical mix of cattle and horse work, with a smattering of cats and dogs. The practice grew and following a move to Belmont Road (where it is currently situated), he quickly

upgraded it to RCVS Hospital status in 1972 when it became Earlswood Veterinary Hospital. The small animal side of the business expanded and Des developed a lifelong interest in orthopaedics. The focus on excellence continued with Ophthalmology Certificate holder Ian Millar becoming a partner in 1980, and later Greg Dunlop, who added to the practice’s orthopaedic interest by

adding a Certificate in Small Animal Orthopaedics to the Earlswood mix.

It’s unusual when a spouse is as wellknown as the vet themselves, but Des’ wife Rosalie is a familiar and popular face at veterinary functions and his constant companion. Des and Rosalie got married in 1964 and had four children, Helen, Lesley, Linda and Karen. They are now proud grandparents to 8 grandchildren.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Earlswood

Chichester St

With Rosalie and family

Even though he hailed from ‘across the water’, Des has always been active in veterinary politics and from an early stage in his career, got regularly involved with association committees and engaged with the larger profession. By 1982 he was President of BSAVA and went on to become President of the Union of European Veterinary Practitioners from 1985-89. This was followed by further presidencies of SPVS, NIVA, RCVS and CABTSG, representing his active involvement and commitment to the veterinary profession. In 1986 he was awarded the BSAVA Melton Award for services to Small Animal Practice. Des ‘officially’ retired from practice in 2009, but still remains active in the veterinary political and social scene while taking some time out to travel the world, usually by cruise ship.

Current RCVS President, Bradley Viner shares with us his memories of when he first met Des: “I’ve had the honour of knowing Des and his wife Rosalie for over thirty years. We first met when Des was stepping into the first of many presidential roles of national veterinary bodies that he has occupied – in this instance, President of the BSAVA. I was relatively fresh out of veterinary school and had taken on the job of organising the social programme for their conference, which was held at what was then known as the Cunard, now the Novotel, in Hammersmith. I had taken the

decision to move the Friday night banquet out of the hotel, as its catering at that time was somewhat haphazard. I have very fond memories of having a taster meal at the Dorchester Hotel with Des and Rosalie.

It was a tough job, but someone had to do it, and right from our first meeting it was obvious that Des was the sort of person that could put even a nervous young graduate at ease. The Saturday night of congress was held at the Novotel and I had decided to put on a buffet each year with a theme that fitted in with the background of the incoming president. It was obvious that this had to be an Irish evening for Des, and as always he threw himself into the spirit of the evening with aplomb. The sight of him dressed as a Leprechaun still haunts me”.

In 1991, some thirty years after qualifying, the Queen acknowledged his contribution for services to the veterinary profession and awarded him an OBE. John M Hill, a fellow Northern Ireland practitioner, and himself a Past President of SPVS, highlighted Des’ commitment to not only pets, but people, “Des has given years of distinguished service to the veterinary profession. Throughout his career he has tirelessly promoted the very best of the profession to the general public and encouraged the younger generation of vets.”

It is perhaps his work with students and new graduates that is the reason Des is known by so many. SPVS Council

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member Catriona Curtis tells us what his involvement means to SPVS Lancaster student seminar. “It is almost impossible to put into words what Des has done for the SPVS Lancaster student seminar over the years and in providing students, recent and not so recent graduates with support and guidance in both their veterinary and personal life. He epitomises what Lancaster stands for, and for all of us he is the heart and soul of the seminar. He never fails to inspire and motivate the students.

Throughout the seminar he somehow manages to speak to almost all students individually and remembers each of them, not just at that moment, but for days, months and years after. There are thousands of vets out there who have at some point been supported and guided by Des. I myself am one of them and if it wasn’t for Des and how he inspired me when I was a student I am sure I wouldn’t be organising the seminar today. Des’ relentless support and guidance goes way beyond Lancaster though. He has worked with, mentored and guided many of Northern Ireland’s recent graduates over the years and ensured there is a comprehensive support network in place for them as they start working in our profession for the first time. He has provided an equivalent level of support for Dublin graduates as well for many, many years. There is one other thing to note, and that is that it just wouldn’t be a Lancaster seminar without Des on the dancefloor!”

It is not only vets that Des has shown such kindness and support towards having being actively involved with the development of veterinary nursing since the 1960’s. VN, Helen Tottey, has met Des on numerous occasions at veterinary congresses and describes one such encounter after she spoke in the contentious issues session at the 2008 BVA Congress on the topic ‘VNs should be allowed to give booster vaccinations’, “Des took the time to come and congratulate me on taking part, while at the same time making clear he disagreed with what I had said! However, he also commented that the profession had moved on a lot and “maybe my ideas were not that impossible after all””.

Des has received many other awards throughout his veterinary career: in 1994 he was presented with the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) International Award for Services to the Veterinary Profession, in 2004 he

22

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A young Des with his late sister Maureen

was given a Petplan award for his services to and outstanding support for the BSAVA PetSavers charity, and in 2004 BVA presented him with the Chiron Award, for ‘outstanding contributions to veterinary science or for outstanding services to the veterinary profession, judged in either case as being of a calibre commanding international or interprofessional recognition’.

Speaking at congresses and supporting other councils and committees, it is no wonder that Des holds Honorary Life Membership in many associations: the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS), Association of Veterinary Surgeons Practising in Northern Ireland (AVSPNI) and the Northern Ireland Veterinary Association (NIVA).

In October 2014, Colonel Neil Smith, then RCVS President, announced Des

Thompson as the first ever recipient of the prestigious RCVS Queens medal. Des was nominated by Anna Judson and John Hill. Aside from all of his veterinary achievements their nominations highlighted his personal qualities, “Most vets with Des’ track record would by now have hung up their public service boots. Not Des. He is still unfailingly generous with his time” said Anna and John stated, “His energy would put a man half his age to shame and if his achievements do not make him a candidate for the Queen’s Medal, then his positivity and enthusiasm should do so as he continues to inspire all who come into contact with him”.

At the time of his award, Neil Smith said, “What is clear from both of his nominations is the respect and admiration that the veterinary community in Northern Ireland and beyond, has [for Des] and his commitment to representing the interests of the profession, as demonstrated by his prodigious number of past presidencies as well as the number of professional awards he has to his name! However, Des’ achievements are also reflected in his wisdom, his kindness and his willingness to support members of the profession from all walks of life”.

Bradley Viner summarises what Des means to the veterinary profession “For someone based in London like me, getting involved in veterinary politics is relatively easy, but the effort of travelling across the Irish Sea means that it takes significantly more effort. I think that British Airways must have a regular seat reserved for him for his flights to and from Belfast, because no veterinary event is complete without

A constant companion

him. He is truly one of the great members of our profession and I trust he will be able to bring his own special brand of wisdom and positivism to us for many more years to come”.

Des, this has only scratched the surface of your commitment to the veterinary profession and the individual vets, nurses and practice people you have inspired, nurtured and encouraged throughout your career. We want to say a big ‘Thankyou’ and as several contributors have noted – we hope to see you on a dance floor at a congress soon!

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

WELL-BEING

MASTER OF YOUR FATE Col Neil Smith is the Chair of the pan-profession Mind Matters Initiative. He was RCVS President 2013-14. He has had an eclectic career, and as well as a wide range of clinical and command positions, he has also been responsible for military primary care delivery, including managing mental health teams. He currently commands a Reservist Field Hospital in Wales. This article was written whilst being part of the UK’s response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, and he is due back sometime in September. Probably.

T

here is currently much talk about mental health and mental wellbeing, and some use the terms to mean the same thing. But they are not. You can have a mental health illness and still have good mental wellbeing, and you can have poor mental wellbeing but not yet have a mental illness. However long term poor mental wellbeing can lead to both mental and physical health problems.

Mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression or eating disorders, are raised publicly or privately at every RCVS Regional Question Time. They have also often been a subject for discussion when I’ve been talking to members of the profession at conferences and seminars. This is an important pan-veterinary profession issue, and why we established the Mind Matters Initiative (MMI). We all know of the excellent work that Vetlife does, and the real benefits that services such as Vet Helpline (0303 040 2551) and the Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme deliver. But often individuals seek help and assistance quite late; there is still a stigma attached to mental health issues.

Stigma is a big problem. It is estimated 1 in 4 have a mental health issue each year, but how many ever talk about it with others or seek help, and why not? The stigma associated with mental health issues makes it harder to seek help. And this societal or public stigma, being ostracised or even losing friends and a job, can also lead to self-stigmatisation. Because someone believes they are socially unacceptable if they admit to having a mental illness, they don’t seek the help they need. Recent surveys and studies of vets and vet students have shown a real reluctance to seek help.

MMI is therefore planning to work across five broad areas; learning and understanding best practice, changing the culture, interventions at a personal level and to support the supporters, and lastly as part of Vet Futures Project looking to how the profession could or should change to reduce stress and mental health problems. A recent Vet Futures survey reported that vets felt the need to reduce stress was the highest priority goal for the future.

But what are the causes of this stress? I have attended a good many of the VDS-organised Recent Graduate Seminars in the last 3 years, and nearly half of recent graduates usually attend.

It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm and commitment of these recent members of our profession, but it also saddens me to hear the negatives. These are invariably to do with their www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

Fire at Invictus

employer; issues such as the job not being as described at interview, lack of support, and even being expected to behave unprofessionally. Indeed, the management style and behaviour of some could earn them the label ‘toxic boss’, and this can lead to mental wellbeing and health problems in their employees, as well as not being good for the practice.

MMI is very much a team effort, and with strong representation from a wide cross-section of the profession,

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WELL-BEING

In Association with the Veterinary Benevolent Fund

including veterinary nursing, practice management and students. But mental wellbeing itself is a team effort. The NHS five-steps to mental wellbeing (www.nhs.uk) offer a great framework to the individual wanting to take control of, or improve, their own mental well-being; connect, be active, keep learning, give to others and be mindful.

In this modern world of instant communication it is easy to slip into believing updating your Facebook status is actually connecting with people, and I think one of the challenges of transition from student to qualified vet or nurse is making sure you connect to new people as well as keeping in contact with college friends. It is important to have a good relationship with colleagues, as well as develop new circles of friends outside of work. Finding time for exercise (and proper rest periods) can seem a luxury when working hard, but even a 20 minute brisk walk can make a big difference and gives a great opportunity for personal reflection. Being active does not have to mean gym membership, nor does it have to be competing in marathons!

Quite clearly ‘keep learning’ fits in with your professional requirement for CPD! But why not try something completely different; there is more to life than CertAVP! Giving to others really can improve your mental wellbeing, even if it’s just a smile and a cheery ‘Morning’. This isn’t about money, but is another angle to the ‘connect’ step; there are many people in the world who definitely need help, and even a small thing can be a real benefit to both you and them. Or why not go the extra mile and spend a week or so neutering cats somewhere exotic, or taking part in a rabies vaccination programme?

Lastly be mindful. Mindfulness can be defined as ‘knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment’, but in a non-judgmental way. It’s about being aware of yourself, your mood and what’s happening around you.

Last year I was fortunate to be involved in the Invictus Games. ‘Invictus’ is Latin for unconquerable. Fire, my ex-IED Detection Dog, was injured in an explosion in Afghanistan, and I was asked if she’d be the Team GB mascot. This was an incredible event in many ways, driven to success by the inspiration and drive of Prince Harry and others. But it encapsulated, and illustrates well, all of the five-steps of mental well-being. Injured Armed Forces personnel from around the world competed in a wide range of sports; many faced real adversity and life-changing physical and/or mental conditions.

But it was incredible to see how they were inspired either by themselves or others to overcome their challenges and show that they were unconquerable.

They connected with fellow team members, coaches and competitors from other nations, and although competitive they clearly set out to really enjoy the experience and opportunity.

For many they also reconnected with their families and themselves, putting behind them some of the difficulties they had been through. They were certainly active, and many had learnt a new sport, or how to compete with a disability; some may go on to be elite sportsmen and women, others will have proved to themselves that they can do and achieve something new. But it was also clear that they were all giving to each other, and had learnt to be mindful; they were aware of, and living for, the present.

I found the games and the competitors really inspiring, and they brought home to me the words of William Ernest Henley, which were displayed throughout the venues;

‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul’.

The RCVS Mind Matters Initiative is supported by a group comprising the Veterinary Benevolent Fund, the British Veterinary Association, the British Veterinary Nursing Association, the Veterinary Practice Management Association, the Veterinary Schools Council, the Veterinary Defence Society and the Association of Veterinary Students.

Read more at www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-events/news/ mind-matters-initiative-new-veterinary-mental-health-and/

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MANAGING PEOPLE

Employee Contracts:

what’s necessary and what’s realistic?

Andrew Lockhart-Mirams co-founded Lockharts in 1995 where he leads the commercial healthcare team, specialising in business advice and structures in dentistry, pharmacy, optometry and veterinary practice. Kirsty Odell is a trainee solicitor at the firm.

The Employment Contract An employment contract is used to govern the relationship between an Employer and their Employees. It should be noted that (subject to the obligation to provide written particulars – see below) for most employment contracts there is no requirement for them to be written and they are just as valid when they are verbal agreements – as long as there is an offer of employment and a subsequent acceptance, then a binding contract is created.

The employment contract (whether written or verbal) will commence on the day the offer of employment is accepted; although this is frequently subject to receipt of satisfactory references. Despite not being a legal requirement, it is still advisable to have a written contract of employment. A written contract is clearer and it generally means that both parties are fully aware of their duties and responsibilities and they know exactly what is expected of them and the consequences should they not fulfil the expectations. Despite there not being a legal requirement for a written employment contract, all employees must be given a written statement of their employment particulars within 2 months of employment. This is an obligation provided by section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Rather than just supplying a written statement of particulars, it is more beneficial for a full Employment Contract to be entered into incorporating all of the requisite details required under section 1. This complies with legislative requirements and creates a complete framework for the employment relationship.

Express Terms of an Employment Contract The basic terms of employment are often the information that would have formed part of the initial job description and would most probably have been discussed further during the interview. Such information will include the job title and duties, status of employment (temporary/permanent or part time/full time), working hours, employer’s address and the start date of the employment. Other terms include pay and any other benefits they may be entitled to as a result of their employment. The details in relation to pay should not be limited to the amount of money but also how and when the payments will be made. Additional basic terms of www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

employment would include their entitlement to holiday/ sick pay and periods of notices. Also, the location of their employment; particularly where the employee is required to work away from the main location or abroad for all or some of the period of their employment.

Aside from the basic terms, an employment contract should also have provisions (or reference other documents such as a Practice Handbook – see below), in relation to disciplinary action, grievance procedures and absences. Of equal importance are statements, where applicable, that certain benefits such as non-statutory pension arrangements or private health insurance do or do not apply.

Restrictive Covenants Restrictive covenants are regularly used in employment contracts to limit actions once their employment is terminated. They are aimed to protect the interests of the continuing business from competitors and include provisions such as non-competition, non-solicitation of clients and nonenticement of employees. Restrictive covenants should be considered very carefully and they must be reasonable if they are going to have any legal effect.

Other terms of employment Even where a written contract is in existence, it is not only the written terms that apply.

It is neither practical nor realistic to include every possible term in an employment contract and for the contract to provide for every possible eventuality. That is why certain provisions are referenced or verbally agreed. One example of how terms are included is where other Company documents come into existence for example Employee Handbooks, Company Policies and even the Company Notice Board. Employees are automatically bound by company rules and procedures under the general duty of obedience. The information contained in these documents doesn’t need to be contained in the Employment Contract. It can, in fact, be a benefit to an employer where such rules and procedures remain noncontractual as it gives them more flexibility in varying them.

Implied provisions can apply as a result of fact, conduct, custom or even where it is so obvious it goes without saying.

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MANAGING PEOPLE

For example if the employee was being employed to be a driver; having a driving licence would be an implied condition. There are some terms that are required by the very nature of the fact that an employment contract exists. For example, employers and employees should have a duty to trust each other, to give/obey reasonable instructions and to act in good faith towards each other. A duty of confidentiality, particularly in relation to sensitive business information, is another example.

Legal Requirements An employment contract cannot waive or adapt rights that an employee is entitled to by law and, where there is a conflict, the statutory rights will apply unless the employment contract is more favourable to the employee. These need not be included in the contract itself. A few examples of such rights are as follows: • Working time – an employee must generally not work more than the working time regulations permit. (If an employee wishes to exceed this, then they can opt out by an agreement in writing).

• Pay, holiday, sick leave – an employee is entitled to certain basic requirements in respect of minimum wage, holiday entitlement and statutory sick pay.

• Maternity Pay/Benefits – employees have rights to maternity pay and benefits and it should also be noted Medivet_PracticeLife_Sept15.pdf 1 14/07/2015 16:53 that there are now additional requirements in respect of

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paternity/adoption leave/pay and leave where required to look after a child.

• Notice period – there are minimum notice periods, which must be complied with. Where an employment contract gives a shorter period of notice, they will be varied accordingly; longer periods of notice are perfectly acceptable.

• Equality – parity between terms of men and women for the same work • Non-discrimination – an employee is entitled to not be discriminated against and all employers should have in place Equality and Diversity policies and training.

It is important to remember that employment contracts are not solely to detail the terms and conditions of the employee’s role and rights but they also put obligations on the employer too. For example, to pay wages, provide work, to take health and safety precautions, provide a suitable working environment, to give references etc. Such terms are expressed or implied in exactly the same way as those in relation to the employees.

An employment contract is ultimately a very useful tool to provide a framework to govern an employer/employee relationship. It is essential that all basic terms are agreed and it is advisable that these are written down. It is unrealistic to include every right/obligation/company policy in the employment contract itself but these can be left to implication; whether by fact, law, incorporation, conduct or custom. www.lockharts.co.uk

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Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

CLIENT CARE & MARKETING: EQUINE

EQUINE PRACTICE MARKETING Wendy Furness, a partner at Scarsdale Vets and a Director of XLVets Equine, together with Scarsdale Vets Marketing Manager, Susan Wilkinson, outline the group’s approach to the marketing of its equine division.

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arketing an equine veterinary practice is an essential part of a balanced scorecard approach to achieving the strategic objectives of the business. Using a combination of approaches, ranging from attendance at local events, the maximisation of digital opportunities and the use of traditional marketing tools is essential to ensure your message reaches all of your target audience. But who is your target audience? Your computer can help find the answer. The ability of practice management systems to segment data is helpful for identifying your client/horse work type, be that race work, the breeding market, the leisure industry or the competition market, with the look and feel of practice materials being influenced by the nature of the work you partake in.

Annually, at Scarsdale Vets we plan out the marketing activities for the coming year in advance and review this throughout the year, constantly checking that activities have met objectives. One of the keys to the successful marketing of an equine practice is consistency of message and integrating all activities to create the right perception about the practice and its services.

The ‘Look’ of the Brand The brand logo should clearly identify who you are and what you do, and must differentiate your services from those of your competitors.

At our practice, we have guidelines about the use of the logos, colour scheme and the style of all our marketing materials. Over time, we have created a consistent brand, reflected in all our materials, from new client packs, to advertising, the website and client emails. All materials are produced by our in-house marketing team to ensure consistency.

Using a dominant ‘equine’ colour, with a compatible colour palette allows us to vary the look of our campaigns. We have different layout options for our logo so we can adapt to the piece we are producing, without compromising the brand image.

Traditional Marketing Tools are Still Important We take part in a number of events, both as exhibitors and as the official veterinary surgeon team. Many of these events are not well remunerated, but they are excellent PR opportunities if the right approach is taken. If you are at an event it is important that people know you are there, so ensure that you are in the programme, that your staff wear practice-branded clothing, and use items like branded bowhead flags to help people find you. It is a great opportunity to see your equine patients at their best and you can take the opportunity to talk to your clients in more relaxed circumstances than normal. Water jumps are a particularly good vantage point for many reasons, not least their usual proximity to ice-cream! Social media posts from these events send strong messages out to the equine community. www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

At Scarsdale we have established ourselves as a ‘go to’ contact for local press and radio, should they need a quote or interview with a veterinary surgeon. Having local contacts is really important as it is a very good way to show your expertise, the cost of which is only the time taken.

We also sponsor some local equine events, usually either a class or a jump. Not only do people see our name on the day, but it gives us news to share, and often these events are publicised in local and equestrian magazines giving us more PR coverage.

We have a number of PVC banners for show rings, and jumps.

We don’t just limit ourselves to adult events, as we realise the horse owners of tomorrow are already coming up the ranks in events.

So sponsorship of, for example, pony club, is a key area for us and shows that we are there to nurture them throughout their horsey lives. We are regional sponsors for British Showjumping, an alliance we feel is great for getting us in front of the competition horse market.

Our monthly newsletters combine factual information with some more light-hearted articles, and are a great way to tell clients about events and courses that are coming up. They are usually sent out with bills and any other paper-based mail. The newsletter is also distributed digitally, but more on that later…

We also advertise in many events programmes (to support our presence at the events) and in local equestrian magazines. Advertising is supported by PR and we have a large bank of horse-related articles to use, and we fit those in with the main themes of the magazines so we can showcase our knowledge with the use of planned features and articles. From an internal PR point of view, your staff get to have their names attached to the features. Our advertisements reflect the seasonality of the equestrian calendar and our own campaigns. For instance, we would use an emergency services or competition horse advert during the evening season, but would use a senior horse advert later in the year to coincide with our ‘old friends’ campaign.

This consistency of message is again key so that a potential client will see a mixture of items which point to a single message.

The Age of Digital Like many practices, we have increased our online activities.

Where traditionally we would send out letters, postcards and flyers, we now have the capability to reach not only our client base, but a massive horse-owning population by the use of digital channels.

We use the Chameleon system (MSD) to send out reminders for vaccinations, dentals etc. These are printed and sent to the client directly, saving us the hassle of keeping and printing labels for postcards. We use striking imagery to make the postcards stand out from the rest of the post. To support this, we use a text reminder system after the postcards. Our next stage is to add in email reminders. We also use SMS texting to advise clients of events and offers. These are non-intrusive, and we keep them to the point.

Newsletters are sent out as a monthly email to our client base.

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CLIENT CARE & MARKETING

The email links to the website where we host offers, news and useful information. We aim for a minimum of 6 links to the website. All links have a code attached to them so we can track where website traffic comes from. This helps us to determine what content people are interested in (click-through) and what people are actually reading (website analytics). Our emails provide an ongoing testing system to see what works, and what people want to read. For instance, we know from our analytics that people like to view the profile of the vet who wrote the articles. We can use this information to provide more of what people want. We have also found over time that ‘hard-hitting’ email titles work well, but it is also important that the content backs it up. You cannot use a subject line purely to ‘make’ people open the email – there must be relevant content.

We use a range of social media. Facebook draws the biggest crowd for us. It is fun, instant, and interactive. People love to share ‘fun stuff’ and comment on cute photos. We have also found that staff-related stories are very popular – never underestimate the power of staff-related content! We like to mix up the style of posts, from the serious news stories, to the cute and cuddly, as well as run competitions. Posts that prompt a reaction from people are brilliant for us because we see a spike in page likes. With many of our followers being ‘horsey’ but not necessarily our clients, getting a relationship with them at this stage will eventually translate into new client registrations. It just takes time. It continues to amaze us how engaged people are with social media and is often a conversation starter on yards when people refer to something they saw on our online feeds at a visit.

We also use Twitter and Pinterest. Twitter is great for sharing information, but because it is instant, and content can get lost very easily, we use it to ‘retweet’ or to schedule seasonal information.

We do, however, have a search set up so we are advised each time our name is used on Twitter. This allows us to react to anybody mentioning or tweeting us. Pinterest we use as a library of information, with archived newsletters. Although not a massive tool for us, we still have a presence, and we link to it from our emails and Facebook.

Our website holds a large amount of information, from staff profiles to healthcare information. We update the newsfeed each week so Google will see that we have fresh content. Keeping the site current is an ongoing task and it is worth scheduling time in on a regular basis to ensure people can easily access the information they will need. This is very important for search rankings. We also have a Facebook feed on our homepage. We add links to our website from all social media, collateral and emails. This is our central point for information. Google Analytics allows us to track what is popular, and the journey people take when they visit the website. We find that the staff pages are regularly visited so we ensure the information there is always current. Ultimately we aim to point people towards downloading content or making an enquiry using our contact form.

The Feedback Loop Finally, we believe it is good practice to gain feedback from clients in order to offer a consistently good service, and ensure that our brand stands for Trusted, Caring and Professional (the 3 words we use to define Scarsdale Vets).

We send out a questionnaire to every new client. We find out how they heard about us and why they registered with us. Almost 90% come to us via recommendation. We can also see how people are

hearing about us so we can gauge which marketing activities are working to gain new business.

We annually send out, via Survey Monkey, a client survey.

This is using the Net Promoter Score concept. The question is “How likely are you to recommend us to another horse owner?”

We ask for a score from 1 – 10 (1 being never, and 10 being extremely likely). This indicates our clients’ overall satisfaction and therefore loyalty to us. We then ask a series of questions to support their answer.

1. What are your key reasons for using Scarsdale Vets?

2. How likely are you to recommend us to another horse owner?

3. Please tell us why?

4. Is there a particular member of staff that you believe goes over and above what you expect of them? If so please tell us…

5. What do you think we could do to improve our veterinary services to you?

6. Have you used the Horse Healthcare Shop at the Markeaton practice?

7. Do you have any further comments?

We share this information with staff members – it is good practice for the team to see how well regarded they are amongst our clients.

We can pick up on any improvements to be made to our services overall, and because we ask for contact details at the end of the survey, we can contact anybody leaving negative remarks so that we can better improve our services. Any improvements made can then be fed back to the client so they can see that they are helping us to help them. This further improves our relationship with them.

While we do not insist on client contact details we encourage this through a prize draw for those who do – the last one was an equine first aid kit in a branded rucksack. We have found the incentive of a prize draw improves the answer rate.All the tools we use help guide a potential client through the AIDA framework: Awareness – sponsorship, giveaways, posters in yards, Facebook content being shared all create an awareness of who we are and what we do.

Interest – clicking through to website content shows us that people are interested in us as a practice.

Desire – downloading further information, acting upon content on social media shows that a potential client wants to have a relationship with Scarsdale Vets.

Action – the telephone call to register, or contact online is the final step to becoming a Scarsdale client.

Traditionally you needed to ‘touch’ a prospective client a minimum of 7 times (Dr Jeffrey Lant, Rule of 7) before they become a client. In this digital age, however, the majority of the buying process takes place online so creating compelling content in both digital and traditional marketing with a consistent message, and a suitable call to action are the key lessons to take from this.

At Scarsdale Vets we certainly look at the whole message to ensure that at any given time, wherever a person sees our name, our message is very clear.

References: AIDA was first used by C.P. Russell in 1921 and shows the journey a client will go on to make a purchase.

Fred Reichfield, 2011, The Ultimate Question 2.0; How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

CLIENT CARE & MARKETING: PETS

WHAT DO PET OWNERS REALLY WANT? Sarah Deadman is CEO at The Good Vet Guide – www.goodvetguide.co.uk, the UK’s leading online directory of vets and pet businesses.

Hands up who knows what your clients value most about your practice?

Put your hand down if you think that the price of treatment is the most important thing to your customers.

D

espite all the usual complaints expressed about the cost of treatment, the reality is that pet owners remain prepared to pay for not just for outstanding veterinary care but for an experience that makes both them and their pet feel valued.

The Good Vet Guide www.goodvetguide.co.uk conducted an online survey recently asking pet owners to talk about the factors most important to them when choosing a vet. Aside from highlighting the self-evident importance of their vet being technically competent, several things other than price were deemed to be of greater importance.

Whilst cost is not always uppermost in the mind of clients looking for outstanding care, we should not run away with the idea that it is completely irrelevant. There is a somewhat lazy view that assumes that pet insurance is some kind of universal panacea. Whilst it is undoubtedly better for owners to have pet insurance than not, owners of animals with a chequered health history may find it impossible to secure insurance at an equitable price or be presented with a policy with numerous exclusions. Whilst it is not our place to comment on your commercial arrangements, there is certainly hay to be made by the practice that can offer an economically sustainable deferred payment plan.

The oft-misquoted Jean Giroudaux famously said: ‘The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made!’ Pet owners are, in the main, very astute at working out whether their vet feigns interest in their animal’s symptoms or whether they genuinely care. Our poll showed loud and clear the importance to pet owners of feeling that vets ‘love’ and care for their animal patients. This is not something you can teach – you can either adequately convey that care for your patients or you can’t. But you can make sure your team follows some of the advice below which time and time again, pet owners have told us matters to them.

Make Clients Feel Special You have probably read about the importance of the ‘customer journey’ and maybe wondered whether it is something that is important to your clients. The results of our survey strongly point to the fact that it is – and the journey starts even before they set foot in your surgery. www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

We undertake various mystery shopper exercises for our veterinary clients both in person and over the telephone and we are always surprised at how we are greeted by reception teams. The quality of experience varies enormously from the surly and unresponsive to the friendly and welcoming. Irrespective of how good the veterinary care is, the experience will be influenced greatly by the extent to which a pet owner is made to feel important and their business valued.

Pet owners are very often nervous and apprehensive about visiting the vet and the way in which they are greeted upon arrival or over the telephone can set the tone for their visit. This means that it is important for reception teams to observe the obvious rules and not ignore people upon arrival and instead acknowledge their presence even though they may be on the telephone or dealing with other clients. When answering telephone calls, remember that tone is as important as what is actually said. We have lost count of the number of times reception staff have sighed heavily or became abrupt when we have posed as potential clients of the practice and asked a few innocuous questions. People do not want to be made to feel that they are an inconvenience – being busy is no excuse and if clients feel their business is not valued then you may not be busy for too much longer.

Communicate Effectively The single most important aspect of the owner/vet relationship based on our poll is communication. Practices that consistently attract 5 star ratings on the Good Vet Guide are generally great at it and those that find themselves on the ‘avoid at all costs’ list are consistently poor in this area. The great irony is that both sets of practices are probably of comparable technical ability – the difference is that the first group have worked out how to engage their customers and the second are still struggling with the concept. The net result is that the first group are lauded as outstanding practitioners and the second are described as either incompetent or uncaring, neither of which may apply in reality.

Let’s take an example to illustrate the importance of the need to communicate effectively with clients. A pet owner takes their animal into their local vet. The animal exhibits a number of symptoms which are indicative of several acute conditions. Because the animal cannot describe its symptoms, the vet commences a programme of treatment based on the most likely cause. Two weeks later, the owner returns complaining that the animal has shown no signs of a recovery. The vet has therefore eliminated the first potential cause and instigates treatment based on the second most likely ailment. Unfortunately, this too fails to address the symptoms and the animal remains unwell.

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At this juncture, the owner concludes that the first vet is incompetent and transfers the care of the animal to another practice.

The new vet quickly establishes the extent of the treatment previously given and having eliminated these potential conditions commences treatment on the third most likely scenario. After a few days, the animal returns to full health. Net result – first vet is incompetent, second vet is outstanding. First vet receives one star, second vet receives five stars.

This somewhat crude example above appears time and time again.

We have even discussed this with the RCVS disciplinary department who deal with the most serious complaints against the profession and they confirm that communication (or lack thereof) features to a lesser or greater degree in nearly every case that they see.

Remember to make clear to your clients that veterinary medicine, like its human counterpart, can sometimes be a process of trial and error where a number of possible diagnoses are made. This is more pronounced because animals cannot communicate their symptoms.

Pet owners will respect and understand this. Simply because a course of treatment fails to yield results immediately should not give rise to concern. Veterinary surgeons, like General Practitioners, will diagnose the most likely condition first. In most cases, this will prove to be the correct judgement call but on some occasions a programme of treatment will simply serve to eliminate one of the possible causes.

The message to take away for vets is that you must explain to clients what you are doing and most importantly why you are doing it. There is no shame in explaining that there might be several possible causes of the animal’s illness and that a process of elimination is the only way in which a successful resolution may be achieved. By setting SFG Half Page Advert ART_OL.ai 1 04/03/2014 15:19 your stall354out, the owner is under no illusions about the treatment

stages which may follow, including likely costs. If it is possible to undertake treatment or tests simultaneously, then the opportunity should be taken to diagnose as many conditions as possible at the outset or at least give the owner this option. Owners often perceive that treatment programmes are unnecessarily protracted in order to maximise revenue. Whilst this is rarely the case, veterinary surgeons must acknowledge that owner funds are finite and if economies of scale can be made by testing for more than one condition contemporaneously, then every opportunity should be taken to do so.

A good vet will always be happy to answer any questions pet owners may have – in fact, they should welcome the opportunity to explain their diagnosis and the subsequent treatment programme.

As one vet with whom we work commented, “I always worry a little when the owner does not ask questions.” In the final analysis, however, if an owner feels that the veterinary surgeon is less than committed to the treatment plan, they owe it to both parties to make alternative arrangements.

The Good Vet Guide encourages pet owners to call their vets for advice; not because we are in the habit of wasting people’s time but because we know from experience that client engagement of this type, properly handled, is a good way for practices to engage directly with their clients and build loyalty. Good vets should always be able to find five minutes to call a client back. The chance to speak to a vet over the telephone is nearly always hugely appreciated by the owner who nearly always perceives such a call to be an example of outstanding client care. We accept that talking to a client over the phone will not always make you money – but it will build client loyalty. And if you don’t, someone else will. www.goodvetguide.co.uk

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BUSINESS HEALTH & FINANCE

Benchmarking the

Equine Practice

Steve Headon works exclusively within the veterinary team at Moore Scarrott, dealing with a wide portfolio of veterinary practices including specialist equine and mixed practices.

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ractice life and veterinary practice in general has seen significant change over the past 2 decades, with that change seemingly set to continue for a while yet.

What significance does this have for equine practices and what relevance does it have to benchmarking?

Some of the changes that have taken place over the last 20 years have been: • A downward pressure on drugs prices through internet pharmacies and generally increased public awareness over the issue • An increase in competition from (increasingly) mobile equine vets, running in a low overhead cost set up • Corporate acquisitions (limited in number to date) in the equine sector • Increased specialisation in veterinary practices, leading to practices dividing or selling off species work types to others • Severe recession in recent years, leading to falling turnover levels in equine work • An increasing need for capital investment to stay in touch with current clinical best practice.

All of that sits atop the usual equine practice issues of client debt management, delivering the personal service to more demanding clients and the need to stay technologically (and clinically) advanced.

How these factors play out in the real world is: • Practices need to grow so as to give the critical mass needed to survive and thrive as a specialist equine practice; and • Practices need to improve efficiencies so as to work smarter and more effectively to get the returns required to deal with the multitude of issues above.

Here, we are concerning ourselves with the latter point above and that is where benchmarking takes on a key role in the active management of the practice.

Within benchmarking, we consider a number of indicators, each of which can point to a range of matters to address if they are taken in isolation. The point to note is that, in any benchmarking, one must consider the whole picture i.e. all of the indicators taken together and what they mean when combined.

To look at one indicator in isolation, and acting on that alone, risks reaching the wrong conclusion and taking the wrong action as a result.

We have confined ourselves in this article to considering some of the Profit and Loss benchmarking items. Whilst Balance www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

Sheet items are extremely important, it is a more involved discussion beyond the space permitted here.

Turning to the benchmark comparisons, we have: • Own practice v. own practice comparisons; and • Own practice v. other practice comparisons (regionally); and • Own practice v. other practice comparisons (nationally) Any practice can consider their own trends with information that should be readily available to them in their year-end accounts, management accounts or extracted from the clinical system.

The comparison of one practice’s own figures against those for other practices requires access to data not readily available, which we return to below. The first question is always “which variables should we look at?”

Most practices track the obvious ones: • Turnover – what did we generate this month/quarter/year against what we generated in the comparable month/quarter/ year last year (and the year before)?

•D rugs spend – what did we send on drugs this month/quarter/ year against what we spent on drugs in the comparable month/ quarter/year last year (and the year before)?

• Wages – what did we pay out in salaries this month/quarter/ year against what we paid out in salaries in the comparable month/quarter/year last year (and the year before)?

That information, as a starting point, is useful to give a trend in those key items (at a headline level) within the same practice to see whether the results are heading in the right direction or not.

If we then consider what other information is useful to track within the practice: Turnover If a practice simply records the figures, reads them (possibly with interest) and then does nothing different, they risk recording their own demise rather than managing their practice.

Often there is a perception that nothing can be done to affect the figures and they are what they are.

If, as an example, we take 2 practices; both see their fee to drug ratio dropping year on year over the last 2 years. This is despite a small overall increase in practice turnover.

Practice 1 sees the trend start in year 2 and they look into it further. They identify that their new assistant didn’t realise the practice’s policy on charging for certain types of work and had simply not been booking some of their time. They also

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BUSINESS HEALTH & FINANCE

identified that one of the other assistants was so busy that their bookings had been left and when they came to do it had forgotten what they had done, missing off a number of charges. The 3rd assistant didn’t feel comfortable in recommending additional work to clients, as they perceived the clients wanted a cheap service.

So they simply did what was asked and suggested nothing further.

Practice 2 sees the same trend emerging in year 2, felt that turnover was increasing in any event so they didn’t need to worry themselves with it too much. They resigned themselves to recording what had happened, writing off the reduction to the economy, recession, bad luck or life in general. In year 3 the trends continue, with them again blaming external forces for the trend seen.

In this example, Practice 1 reversed the trend part way through year 2 and improved it further in year 3. Practice 2 suffered significant financial loss compared to what they could have achieved.

Own practice benchmarking does have value. However, that value can only ever be found in the action taken based on that information.

Moving to the next level, for some clients we consider the ratio of different income types comprising the whole. This is entirely more practice specific in equine practices due to the, often times, significantly differing clients between practices and in areas within practices. Given the detailed nature of this it is not considered further within this article.

Drugs spend Obviously the level of turnover and the type of work done will influence the level of drugs purchased. It will also be impacted by bulk purchases to get discounts. When looking at the drug spend we must always look at drugs used i.e. what’s been bought, adjusted for what’s left on the shelves. The key indicator we get by deducting the direct costs from turnover is the Gross Margin (or Gross Profit). This is expressed as a percentage of turnover.

We can also consider the margin on drugs sold and assess that on a rolling basis. However, in equine practice, this can fluctuate widely depending on a number of variables and hence it is not considered further here. The Gross Profit for a practice over a 3-year period might be as set out in Table A. The practice can track the trend, period on period, and should beware of any reductions over successive periods.

Generally, if work volumes and types remain broadly unchanged, the GP% should also remain relatively steady.

A dropping GP% can indicate a number of issues; missed

bookings, change in nature of work, increased drug sales to name but three. If the GP% falls then it should be investigated and the starting point is to consider the composition of turnover as mentioned above.

In the example, a new assistant who was happier prescribing drugs than working cases up could easily be the culprit for the downturn in the fee to drug ratio and the resultant drop in GP%.

Monitoring turnover by individual vet and the fee to drug ratio for each vet is the basic starting point for this.

Labour costs The other major cost is clearly staff costs. One would start by looking at the absolute cost and then considering that as a percentage of turnover. In doing the calculation, it is necessary to allocate a market rate salary to proprietorial time, not remunerated at market rate. The calculation might look something like that in Table B. Within the practice, the composition of staff costs by group (vets, nurses, groom, receptionist, admin) can be monitored.

Again, own practice comparison is useful and tracking the staff costs as a percentage of turnover gives a measure of whether labour costs outstrip any turnover growth.

The labour cost percentage also indicates the effectiveness and efficiency of staff. It can also indicate issues within the rate of remuneration within practices or the pricing structure of practices.

As a straightforward example, we can look at 2 practices; one with a vet who charges well for what they do and where the practice price list is sensibly set compared to one with a vet who forgets to charge and where the practice price list is cheap.

The results could look like those set out inTable C. The percentage can indicate lots of things but is key in reviewing the overall financial position for equine practices.

Practice 1 at 21% of turnover as vet costs is in the range we would expect to see (for a Clinic or Hospital Practice). Practice 2 is well behind where it could be and action should be taken to address this.

Returning to the example set out in table C, we can see the contribution after labour costs was 40% of turnover in the 2015 financial year. This is also a key performance indicator to track as it is from this that the remaining practice overheads, loan repayments, principal’s drawings and tax have to be paid.

Anything under 35% typically indicates scope for improvement.

Anything under 30% is starting to cause concern and advice is needed.

Table A

30.04.2015 30.04.2014 30.04.2013

£ £ £ Turnover Fees 400,000 75% 300,000 65% 350,000 70% Drugs 135,000 25% 165,000 35% 150,000 30%

535,000 465,000 500,000 Cost of sales Stock b/fwd 25,000 30,000 30,000 Drugs & consumables 115,000 135,000 115,000 Consumables and other direct costs 15,000 12,000 10,000

Stock c/fwd (35,000) (25,000) (30,000)

120,000 152,000 125,000

Gross Profit (GP) 415,000 313,000 375,000

GP% 78% 67% 75%

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BUSINESS HEALTH & FINANCE

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Table B

30.04.2015 30.04.2014 30.04.2013

£ £ £ Turnover Fees 400,000 75% 300,000 64% 350,000 70% Drugs 135,000 25% 165,000 36% 150,000 30%

535,000 465,000 500,000 Cost of sales Stock b/fwd 25,000 30,000 30,000 Drugs & consumables 115,000 135,000 115,000 Consumables and other direct costs 15,000 12,000 10,000

Stock c/fwd (35,000) (25,000) (30,000)

120,000 152,000 125,000

Gross Profit (GP) 415,000 313,000 375,000

GP% 78% 67% 75%

Labour costs Vets – Notional salary 50,000 50,000 50,000 Vets – assistants 45,000 42,000 42,000 Vets – Locums 15,000 - 10,000 Vets costs 110,000 21% 92,000 20% 102,000 21%

Nurses 36,000 36,000 36,000 Grooms, receptionists & admin 55,000 55,000 55,000 Non vet costs 91,000 17% 91,000 19% 91,000 18%

Total labour 201,000 38% 183,000 39% 193,000 39%

Contribution after labour costs 214,000 40% 130,000 28% 182,000 36%

Overheads The remaining costs of running the practice should be relatively steady and should also be monitored year on year, or seasonally adjusted if looked at more frequently.

Looking outside of the practice at others We have concerned ourselves with own practice comparison.

That is a useful starting point but where real value can be gained through benchmarking is through (anonymous) inter-practice comparison.

We often see new clients who have been content in monitoring their own figures and pleased with positive trends year on year.

When those results are compared to those for other practices, regionally or nationally, there can sometimes be a quantum leap in expectations and what can be achieved.

Simply becoming aware of what others are achieving typically will give new focus on practice performance and lead to instant and often significant improvements in practice performance with a little focus in the right areas.

When benchmarking against other practices, on an anonymous basis, it is fundamentally important to have a sample size, which is sufficiently large to validate the results.

It is important to compare like with like. It is of no use to compare a 20 vet practice with substantial facilities to a 2 vet practice, primarily undertaking ambulatory leisure and pleasure horse work.

It is also of no real value comparing to “the average”. No practice should aim to be average; always aim to be in the top quartile.

Often practices will dismiss benchmark comparisons because they are ‘different’ to the others. By breaking the performance down across client groupings, it becomes possible to identify scope to improve performance in the different areas within the www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

Table C

Practice 1

Practice 2

Charged by vet

£200,000

£150,000

Salary Vet Labour cost %

£42,000 21%

£42,000 28%

single practice, without trying to find an identical practice for comparison purposes.

Expected ranges of KPIs are difficult to define as these will vary from practice to practice and by equine work type within each practice.

However, as a broad outline: • A GP% in excess of 75% should be achievable on all types of equine work.

• With sufficient critical mass of work, labour costs below 40% of turnover should be targeted • Whilst GP% and labour costs may vary depending on composition of work, a contribution after labour costs over 35% should be attainable • Non-labour overheads in excess of 16% can probably be improved upon.

Every practice is different; KPIs are dynamic and have to be considered alongside all other factors. Therefore, interpretation of benchmarking unaided requires caution and we would certainly recommend seeking specific advice before taking any action, or refraining from any action, as a result of anything contained in this article.

Steve Headon and Andy Moore, partners within the veterinary team, are always happy to talk to any practices, on any matter, anywhere in the UK. www.moore-scarrott.co.uk

PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

Walking the Tightrope of Client Expectations Ross Tiffin is a writer and business advisor with a particular interest in the changing interface between veterinary practices and the consumers who choose them. He is also Strategy and Development Advisor for cat charity International Cat Care. is linking its on-line offering to an educational element in a family website and giving away free guides to a range of topics from ‘Vets explained’ to ‘Pet health and wellbeing’ is a broad hint of things to come.

The advent of the Internet has created a modern day scientific revolution in the sense that science is no longer the domain of experts operating within their own closed world.

Information technology is now simply a click away for everyone, as any clinician knows, when faced with an “informed” client who is armed with three inches of downloaded wisdom courtesy of Google.

The principal driver of consumer behaviour has always been about the individual’s selfish desire to be seen as the focus of any buying situation whether that is in the decision-making stage or

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S

ome time ago, I passed a circus Big Top and stopped, briefly, to watch some acrobats rehearsing their act. I was fascinated to see one casually walking backwards along a wire stretched ten feet or so above the ground, seemingly oblivious of risk or its consequences. Of course, walking a tightrope is a well recognized metaphor in almost every language and, although we may not think about it that often, there’s a similar professional obligation for every practitioner who has to blend clinical requirement with commercial expediency on a daily basis. Whatever the species from which our practices earn a living, ours is primarily a selling role because the best diagnosis and patient management or herd health plan on earth is futile if the client won’t buy it.

The very nature of a circus is that it suspends reality while confronting us with the very real risk of dramatic disaster. The tightrope we walk daily is rooted in reality but carries a similar risk of disaster. Is it any wonder that successive generations have found this to be a stressful profession?

One of the most recent challenges to affect the ways in which we work is the constantly changing expectation of consumers.

Perhaps five years ago, the term ‘consumer’ was everywhere in the veterinary press, much to the annoyance of some practitioners who felt that they had earned the right to practise veterinary medicine without the ephemera of fickle consumerism. The fact that we’ve more recently seen fewer references to the idea of the constantly changing consumer should not lead us into a false sense of comfort that the irritations that such behaviour brings may be fading away. If anything, our emergence from the last economic downturn heralds more changes in consumer behaviour than there were before.

The most obvious change, and one in which many of us have also participated, is a reassessment by consumers of what they want from their supermarket. The fact that Sainsbury’s now features information and advice about feline behaviour on its “Money Matters’ family website tells us that the company is trying to tap into one of the biggest changes in consumer behaviour, in an attempt to represent more to its customers than simply being a good place to shop.

Consumers are now looking for multiplicity and are constantly expecting a number of touch points and new experiences. This has resulted in people rejecting the idea of passive involvement and, instead, seeking active participation. The fact that Sainsbury’s

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To find out how PURINA® PRO PLAN® VETERINARY DIETS help make a difference to your patients, please contact your PURINA® representative on UK: 0800 212161 ROI: 1800 509368.

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PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

at the point where a commitment to parting with money is made.

A recent article from the US suggested that the cultural shifts we are now seeing show a move towards more wholehearted and intense engagement by consumers who want their lives to be rich and full. Perhaps some of this is a backlash against austerity but it is more complex than that. Our professional lives require us to be successful salespeople and to sell first ourselves, then our skills and then, finally, our products and services. To be able to do so against a changing backdrop of consumer expectation requires us to be tightrope walkers of considerable skill and to carry our consumers along with us in similar fashion.

The challenge for us, at the sharp end when dealing with the public – whatever the species of animals under our care – is to be sure that the same public has a firm grasp of our ethos and sense of responsibility. It’s not that members of the public think ill of us but rather that we make little or no attempt to give them the reason to think well of us, unless they have had recent cause to come in contact with our skills or services.

Companies and other organisations are adept at not leaving important issues to chance but I continue to question our reluctance to engage with the public in any cohesive manner.

With 24 hour news feeds, the public has become increasingly familiar with the less savoury aspects of human nature and this is the time when, more than ever, the solid values and community involvement of our veterinary practices must stand up to examination. This is our time to engage on a human level with our clients and, in the main, few want more than to feel important to an organisation they can inherently trust.

Perhaps this is the beauty of the International Society of Feline Medicine’s (ISFM) Cat Friendly Clinic programme which sets out to support those veterinary practices which make a commitment to improving the whole veterinary experience, and outcome, for cats and their owners. It is gratifying to see and to hear people

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taking note of the fact that most cats find every aspect of the veterinary visit stressful and to see the efforts some veterinary professionals make to reduce these levels of stress for their feline patients and clients alike. I visited a practice recently and was greeted by a nurse who had sprayed Feliway on her clothing to help the cats in her charge feel more at home and less troubled by their visit to the practice. They had found a small, quiet room for the cats to rest in prior to the consultation and all the discussion between the nurse and the client was centred around alleviating stress and finding ways to manage the examination itself with minimal disruption for the cat. In many ways, that’s what Cat Friendly Clinic is about; it’s a programme which formalises the process of putting the needs of the cat and the cat’s owner before the needs of the practice and those who work in it. Yes, to achieve Gold status the practice needs to demonstrate some investment in this ethos in terms of appropriate cage sizes, a dedicated feline ward, separate waiting areas and some appropriate diagnostic equipment, but demonstrating empathy with the cat, showing understanding, patience and a gentle demeanour are of equal or, dare we say it, even greater importance.

Those practices which have embraced the programme report feline patients which are more relaxed, approachable and compliant and, from the business point of view, clients who are delighted with the new, caring approach. The magic of the programme is that the veterinary professionals were caring and empathetic all along but, possibly, were not entirely sure how to demonstrate this to their feline patients and clients but now, by adopting the programme, giving it a framework and an identity, ISFM has provided practices with a platform to demonstrate their empathy with cats and their preparedness to put the client and the cat at the centre of their relationship. It should be no surprise to recognise how much the clients value and appreciate that. www.catfriendlyclinic.org

If you would like to know more about how cats can benefit your business and clients, Developing Cattitude is a course run by International Cat Care in conjunction with The Oxford Cat Clinic and Onswitch. For more details and availability http://www.onswitch.co.uk/en/page/Developing+Cattitude/

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PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

CASE STUDY: VIKING VETS GO FOR GOLD IN FELINE CARE Viking Vets was established in 2000 by husband and wife team Maria and Andrew Lowe and they have recently expanded the Henbury-based veterinary practice to launch a ‘Feline Centre of Excellence’. Here, they explain how, in conjunction with receiving Gold Cat Friendly Clinic status, they are promoting themselves to the local community.

T

he Feline Centre has been specifically designed for the well-being of our feline patients and to improve the veterinary experience for both cat and owner.

The state-of-the-art centre includes a separate entrance to a dedicated waiting room for our feline patients. This leads on to our designated feline consulting room which has special features to help make the environment more appealing for our patients including a curved shelf and comfortable sofa.

The Feline Centre also has new hospitalisation facilities with larger kennels for long stay patients, igloo beds to allow privacy and toys to keep the patients entertained.

This new wing is completely separated from the dogs, thereby minimising stress for the cat.

The Viking Feline Centre is a continuation of what we aim to deliver to all our clients, however, research tells us cats are particularly unique in how they should be handled and treated, which is why we have invested in the practice to be able to offer and provide the highest standards of care.

This work has been carried out to reach the ‘Gold Standard’ in the Cat Friendly Clinic Programme run by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM). This scheme has certain requirements regarding design, environment and facilities within the clinic which must be met to achieve the Gold standard. In order to class ourselves as ‘cat friendly’ we must also provide a high quality of care to our patients and all staff must understand cats and their needs in the practice. We have amongst other things a ‘no scruff policy’ when handling feline patients.

With the extension complete the next stage is to raise awareness of our new facilities to cat owners in order to increase our cat client numbers and make full use of these excellent facilities. So far we have hosted a client information evening for our most committed cat clients. The purpose of this was to celebrate our new extension, giving guided tours of the new facilities and giving an informative talk on renal disease. As a way to introduce ourselves to potential new clients we attended a ‘cat re-homing show’ hosted by Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue in March.

The aim of attending the show was to talk to potential new clients for our practice, give professional guidance to any new cat owners and raise awareness of the Cat Friendly Clinic scheme and how this is improving the veterinary experience for cats.

The re-homing show gave us an opportunity to set up a stand displaying information packs, to run a competition to win a bespoke hamper and speak to the vet team. In order to offer help and guidance to new cat owners we handed out free cat and kitten information packs which covered all the basics of providing the best care for their cat. We also used the opportunity to hand out our ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic booklets to raise awareness on the CFC scheme and how we hope this will improve the experience for both cats and their owners. There were photographs of the extension including the separate waiting room, dedicated feline consulting room and improved

hospitalisation facilities which were used to help show visitors to the stand what our practice offered.

By attending these re-homing shows and speaking to the public we hope to increase the number of cat clients that we are seeing.

At present we see 20 cat owners to every 80 dog owners and our aim is to build our proportion of cat owners to 30:70 by the end of the year. We are measuring the success of our presence at the re-homing show by keeping a record of how any new clients have heard about us.

The re-homing show gave us a great insight into what potential new clients were looking for in a veterinary practice. Lots of visitors commented on the excellent idea of having a separate cat and dog waiting area. It was an ideal opportunity to raise awareness of the Cat Friendly Scheme and what is being achieved by implementing these simple changes. Most owners find a visit to the veterinary practice extremely stressful and many owners were interested in the efforts being made to minimise the exposure to stressful scenarios such as noisy dogs. Owners were also impressed with the larger sized kennels to allow the cats more space when hospitalised as well as the use of igloo beds to make nervous patients feel more comfortable.

We felt the Bristol and Wales re-homing show was a great success with 20 cats finding potential new homes and we had great interest in our new Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic! We are aiming to attend several more of these re-homing shows throughout the year as we feel it is a great opportunity to meet the public, raise awareness of the Cat Friendly Clinic scheme as well as raise money for Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue.

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

CPD SHARED

The Consulting Nurse

RVN, Helen Tottey reports from a recent SPVS-VPMA CPD day Following on from the success of the Colourful Consultation CPD days for vets run by Brian Faulkner of VetPsych, SPVS/VPMA CPD Events were urged to create a similar course for veterinary nurses. On July 1st in Preston, 32 keen VNs attended the first of what is hoped will be a repeated event.

Questions raised at the start of the day included those about how to start consulting, what the VN/Vet boundaries were, and what VNs could sepecifically offer to clients. Brian, with Clare Hemmings from Royal Canin ensured all these and more were answered throughout the day.

The day was split into 4 main topics, with the business case the first to be discussed. Brian shared with the group how it is possible for practices to use their own management computer systems to track sales of products and services and Clare presented figures from the sale of Royal Canin products in practices that had started to offer clinics or nurse consults. It was surprising to learn that not all those attending had this type of information shared with them within their practices. With this information already providing food for thought (pardon the Royal Canin pun), next we moved on to the consultation/client interaction process. Anna Judson, attending on behalf of SPVS, discussed how the nursing training colleges were very much focussed on clinical aspects; many nurses spend the majority of their time “out the back” resulting in a lack of confidence and practice in the preventative health care knowledge needed to take a more directive role with clients. This linked very well to the next section of Brian’s presentation and time was spent going through all the various preventative health care topics the nurse can help clients and their pets with; from parasite control, dietary advice, dental care, puppy and kittens and less-commonly-thought-of areas such as pre breeding advice. All of these contribute to the veterinary business bottom line as well as give valuable information to clients.

After a very enjoyable lunch that of course included chocolate, we moved on to more of the “doing” as opposed to the advising aspect, looking at post op checks, nail clips, emptying anal glands, wound dressing and doing wound checks (see the Nurse Talk pages in this issue for detail on the BVNA’s excellent Wound Management course if this area is of interest to you).

The final part of the day was led by Clare and covered things such as – Who is best to undertake this role? Is it for everyone, or is it for the person who wants to do it and likes client interaction?

Someone who enjoys talking with clients and isn’t afraid to advise is ideal. When and where will the consults take place and how long are the appointments? How is the rest of the team involved with this? This final question is the big one. Nurse clinics or www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

consultations can only work when the whole practice is involved – vets need to support and help their nurses develop skills and confidence, as well as encourage the client’s confidence in the expertise of the nurse. Receptionists also have to be involved so that they understand who is seeing what and for how long when they make the appointment, as well as direct clients appropriately to the consulting nurse.

Although it was great to see so many enthusiastic nurses attending, what was disheartening to hear was that they didn’t all think they would get the support and training they needed to develop this role in their practice. However, given that their practices had paid for them to attend the course hopefully we will learn of a lot more nurse clinics and consultations being offered as a result of the confidence-instilling material delivered

by Brian and Clare on this CPD day.

“Really enjoyed all of it. Could

have stayed and listened longer.”

“I was kept motivated and

particularly liked the 2-minute discussions around the tables

sharing what others are doing.”

“Brian’s own stories as to what he does and doesn’t do were good.”

“The lectures were well presented with Brian’s excellent sense of humour!”

“It has given me the confidence to go and do clinics I enjoy and am passionate about.”

Brian Faulkner

Clare Hemmings

FOCUS ON HR

Focus on

HUMAN RESOURCES A brand new event for 2015 Wednesday 14th October, Leamington Spa ‘Katherine Eitel was the most inspirational and motivational

speaker I have ever listened to.

I truly believe her lectures will be life changing -

both at work and home’ Sponsored by Zoetis, the SPVS-VPMA Focus on HR day is our response to the growing challenge of delivering excellent HR within veterinary practice.

We are really excited to have persuaded Katherine Eitel across from California for this event. Katherine runs the internationally renowned ‘Lioness Learning’ and wowed delegates at SPVS/VPMA Congress 2014. She will head up a star cast of speakers including Nick Steele from Zoetis, Brian Faulkner, James Cronin and Alison Lambert.

Anyone in management knows that HR might look easy on paper but is very much harder in practice.

In addition, the veterinary profession has its own particular challenges of getting vets, nurses and non-clinical staff all on the same page and, right now, a shortage of experienced and qualified vets and nurses. This day will help to address that with a mixture of exhibition stands featuring companies offering training, recruitment, and legal services; and workshops showcasing a range of quality speakers with case studies from inside and outside the profession covering such things as telephone training, recruitment, staff contracts and managing change.

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

CPD DIARY

39

Why I can’t get enough of Katherine Eitel; a personal endorsement from Anna Judson, Camlas Vets and SPVS Council Member Ever felt startled by the realisation that someone you have just met is about to make a profound difference to your life?

Katherine Eitel did exactly that when I attended her lectures at SPVS-VPMA conference January 2014. Delivered in her calm, mellifluous voice, and personalised by her own experience, it dawned on me that Katherine’s leadership style and people management techniques were those to which I instinctively wished to aspire. I was clearly not alone in thinking this as word rapidly spread about how entrancing and fun her lectures were and the room rapidly reached capacity.

Katherine’s message is that good managers concentrate on each individual employee, recognising their strengths, and helping them work on their weaknesses. It sounds obvious, but actually much of management, particularly as an organisation grows, can be too focussed on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Katherine shows how to adapt her method to your organisation whatever the size.

She also brought a whole new dimension to the way I approach practice meetings; how to make them efficient and meaningful and ensure all those attending not only make their voice heard, but leave with a clear idea of their individual actions. As a practice, we now adopt Katherine’s ‘morning huddle’ and it has really improved our work flow and communication.

I’m thrilled that we’ve persuaded Katherine back for SPVS/VPMA Focus on HR and even more delighted that she will speak at our inaugural SPVS Spascene the following weekend in the luxurious setting of Hoar Cross Hall Hotel where there will be ample time for networking, sharing ideas and relaxation.

If you want to: ‘Get the passion, respect, results and fun back into your business, practice or professional team!’ do sign up to attend all or some of the week-long Katherine Eitel CPD activities. I can’t wait.

HERE’S A TASTER OF THE WORKSHOPS ON OFFER: Eight Legal Ltd – The Employment Law and HR Retainer for the Veterinary Profession Eight Legal Ltd is run & owned by James Cronin BSc PGDL LLM & Kay Hamblin BVSc MRCVS. Our vision is simple - to provide the best Employment Law and Human Resource Retainer service for vets in the UK.

“James provided a fast and effective solution to a long-standing employee problem… a completely fresh approach to HR, which has helped transform the practice.”

Matthew Flann BVetMed MRCVS

Why choose Eight Legal Ltd?  Prompt and practical solutions to problems  We specialise in the Veterinary Profession  Business-focused approach  Hands-on help and support at your Practice  Help in creating an elite team  Recommended by Vets throughout the UK “I just wanted to say a huge ‘Thankyou’ for helping me out. I am so pleased I changed to Eight Legal” Simon Robinson BVetMed MRCVS

• Auditing & Acquiring the Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes required for effective Veterinary Practice BRIAN FAULKNER, VetPsych BSc (Hons) BVMS MBA MSc (Psych) Cert (GP) SAM MRCVS

• Setting Up a Performance Management Process LYNN MCKEOWN, Zoetis

• Managing Change in Practice NICK STEELE, Zoetis

• Becoming a great leader KATHERINE EITEL, Lioness Learning

• Staff Contracts, top 10 do’s and don’ts JAMES CRONIN, Eight Legal

• Telephone training ALISON LAMBERT, Onswitch and LINDA DEMETRIOU, Demco Communications

• Getting the right person

Contact us to find out how we can help you:

GEORGINA HILLS, Practice Manager, Vale Vets and Vale Referrals

Email: info@eightlegal.co.uk www.eightlegal.co.uk Tel: 01242 570161

• Meaningful Meetings

Or visit us at VPMA/SPVS Focus on HR day October 14th 2015

• Keeping them safe; how to design and implement a staff Health & Safety policy

KATHERINE EITEL, Lioness Learning

LESLEY TENCH, Citation

For further details and to book, visit www.spvs-vpma-events.co.uk or call Charlotte Lodge on 01453 872731 www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

Is this your Practice Manual?

Training-Progress can convert it into a living, breathing part of practice life Create a scaffolding to support and build your structured training Develop self-motivated, self-directed, peer-supported learning Make your team appraisals measureable, consistent and fair Encourage your team members to drive your business Standardise your processes to achieve excellence Allow your protocols and manual to evolve Improve care. Improve your business

Contact us - make change happen

01423 - 730035

info@Training-Progress.com www.Training-Progress.com

CONGRESS SPECIAL

SPVS-VPMA Congress

28-30 January 2016 Celtic Manor Resort, Newport For the 3rd consecutive year and by popular demand, SPVS/VPMA Congress 2016 will return to Celtic Manor in South Wales...

We’re delighted to have Alastair Campbell, top communication strategist, writer, mental health ambassador and the son of a Yorkshire vet, as our Congress opener.

www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

42

CONGRESS SPECIAL

TALKS AND SPEAKERS

Rick DeBowes

Bash Halow

Michael Pagnotta

Rick DeBowes, acclaimed speaker on the US vet circuit will share his wealth of experience gained from visits to over 1,500 veterinary practices across 23 countries on four continents. He will lead a stellar cast of speakers from home and abroad and from inside and outside the veterinary profession. A few of last year’s most popular speakers are returning such as Bash Halow from the US and Michael Pagnotta, Celtic Manor’s Head of Learning and Development.

Claudia Hammond

Laurie May

Susan Gregerson

In the Mind Matters mental health stream, run in partnership with RCVS, Alastair Campbell will discuss stigma around mental health, adding his own personal experience to that of other contributors from within vet practice on a panel chaired by Claudia Hammond, Presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind, and author of 3 books “Emotional Rollercoaster: a journey through the science of feelings”, “Time Warped: Unlocking the mysteries of time Perception” and the forthcoming “Mind over Money.”

We will repeat the successful Equine stream on Friday and have added a couple of equine and large animal specific workshops on Saturday on Health & Safety and Practice Standards. Qualified marketer and Zoetis Business Consultant Laurie May will kick off Friday’s Equine stream with a look at marketing the equine practice. Taking the audience through how to develop a marketing plan, she’ll touch on digital marketing along the way and help you decipher your infographics from your photo memes!

Pet loss is a major part of our Client Care stream this year, with three speakers sharing insights into various aspects of end-of-life and what practices can do to best support their clients through this difficult time. In-home hospice and emergency vet Susan Gregerson whose experience is based on more than 9,000 home consultations, will explain why ensuring a lasting, happy memory of their clients’ final days with their pet is the most cost-effective and compassionate investment a practice can ever make.

We’ve taken on board your feedback and will have some longer sessions allowing for more in depth learning and discussion. For instance, in a high energy, interactive double session, Rick DeBowes will challenge commonly held beliefs about pet owners, client behaviour and the role of the vet. Your clients are in your waiting room through their own choice. Some might be there for the first time through a recommendation, others will be long standing clients.

The role of you and your team is to ensure that they while they are there, they make the right decision for themselves, their pet and for you. Crucially, your role is also to ensure the experience they have means they will come back and recommend you to others. This session will be followed by complementary sessions, for instance from Michael Pagnotta who will explain how to persuade guests in a 5 star hotel to behave the way you want them to without them realising that’s what’s happening!

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

CONGRESS SPECIAL

43

Social Highlights

New for 2016 Brand new for 2016, and chaired by Brian Faulkner, will be a mini-congress within a congress for those new to management It is aimed at both those with veterinary knowledge but no management experience and those who have been managers but are new to vet practice.

For those who want to be stretched, we have a new stream on ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ which will include such things as an NHS Hospital Manager talking about what vets can learn from the NHS and vice versa and a big business Finance Director spelling out the basics every business needs to focus on.

20 minute briefings This year the exhibition sold out almost as soon as bookings opened and we will have a wide range of suppliers on hand to offer advice on marketing, management and business development. We will add a programme of 20 minute briefings within the exhibition area discussing everything from 10 minute vs 15 minute consultations to the top tips to ensure a successful health plan.

After two fantastic previous appearances, we have officially adopted the Bogus Brothers as our ‘house band’ at least for 2016 where they will provide the soundtrack for our ‘James Bond’ themed banquet. On Thursday night you’ve asked us to repeat the popular quiz format as a fun way to meet new people.

Celtic Manor is one of the very few hotels in the UK that is big enough to fit this growing Congress under one roof, but we need no excuse for returning to this 5 star award-winning resort. Its luxury spa, spacious bars, comfortable bedrooms and excellent food offer ample opportunities to relax and enjoy yourselves between hard networking and personal development!

Last year’s Congress sold out early leaving many people disappointed... book now to be sure of your place and to secure your early bird discount.

For more details and to book, visit www.spvs-vpma-events.co.uk or call Charlotte on 01453 872731. Don’t miss the Early Bird Discount which ends 30 October 2015.

www.practicelife.biz z September/October 2015 z Practice Life

DRAFT PROGRAMME – SUBJECT TO CHANGE

DRAFT PROGRAMME – SUBJECT TO CHANGE

46

HEADING

WHAT’S COMING UP...

2015 REGIONAL CPD, SPONSORED BY

&

7 October

Coaching Skills, Nick Steele – Zoetis

Surrey

21 October

Training the Veterinary Receptionist, Brian Faulkner

Preston

4 November

The Colourful Consultation, Brian Faulkner

Harrogate

FOCUS DAYS SPONSORED BY ZOETIS 14 October

Focus on Human Resources

Warwickshire

PSS UPDATE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RCVS 24 September

Practice Standards Scheme Update, Jacqui Molyneux & Adi Nell

Coventry

SPVS-VPMA Congress 2016

Newport

CONGRESS 2016 28-30 January

Put your feet up by the fire and enjoy the Dec/Jan issue of Practice Life

SPECIAL FEATURES: Turning around a poorly performing practice Geriatric Clinics End of Life Care

Practice Life z September/October 2015 z www.practicelife.biz

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