The Wagging Tail

Like the rest of us, veterinarians are not immune to the scammers of this world. With the current state of our economy, it seems like everyone wants to make a buck, legitimately or otherwise.

Here are a couple of interesting scams I read about that are targeted to veterinarians:

Office supply scam:

Veterinarians in Illinois, Nebraska and Florida, for example, have recently reported shipments of unordered latex gloves from a company based in California and were then invoiced an outrageous cost. The US Postal Service states that it is illegal for a company that sends unordered merchandise to follow the mailing with an invoice or dunning communication—a draft drawn on a delinquent customer and deposited with a bank for payment. Businesses that receive statements demanding payment for unordered merchandise should contact their local postmaster or nearest postal inspector.

 (see http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/nov06/061101f.asp)

E-mail scam:

Many veterinarians have received an e-mail with the subject line “donation inquiry” asking if they were interested in an ultrasound, autoclave and a pre-used mobile van. The sender, supposedly a veterinarian, claimed a veterinary clinic had recently acquired new medical supplies and a new mobile van, and wanted to share some good cheer by donating its old equipment. After a little detective work, it was found that the e-mail originated from an Internet service provider in India, trying to solicit upfront funds to pay to ship the so-called van and equipment.

Anesthesia Equipment scam:

An unethical bunch of anesthesia repair services are out to make as much money as they can via outright fraud, misleading advertising, after sale cover ups and switching vaporizers. How it works is a company pays less than $10 for an enflurane vaporizer. They spend a few dollars in labor and parts to “remanufacture” it into an isoflurane vaporizer. The vaporizer, originally made for an agent vapor pressure of 172mm Hg (enflurane) is drastically adjusted, but not recalibrated, for an agent with a vapor pressure of 240mm Hg (isoflurane). You pay $800.00 to $1200.00 for the vaporizer. When it goes out of calibration, a reputable service company won’t work on it and you can’t use it.

(see http://www.vetequip.com/knowledge/anesthesiaScam.html)

OSHA Scam:

There have been recent reports of veterinary hospitals receiving calls from individuals representing themselves as OSHA inspectors who later turn out to be salespersons of compliance-related products or services. These scammers typically use one of two scenarios – they either try to collect money for bogus “fines” or they attempt to get the business to purchase a particular product or service in lieu of a fine.

If you should fall victim to a scam or know of any others out there, please post the information here and notify the proper authorities.

Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov)
US Postal Inspector (www.usps.com)
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (www.osha.gov)

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  Really.  It is.  If we recognize that the holidays bring the potential for stress and plan ahead, we can truly make them wonderful again.  In our profession, we have stress coming at us from home, work associates, and clients.  This year we have the added stress of the economic crisis.

Stress at home can be from changes in school schedules (how am I going to find a sitter for the two weeks that the kids are out school?), extended families (how am I going to visit my parents, my wife’s parents, grandparents, etc all in one day and a half?), and divided families (is my daughter supposed to be with me this holiday or with her other biological parent?).  The list is actually too huge to consider: when will I have time to decorate the yard, when am I supposed to have time to go shopping, how can we afford everything on the Christmas list, the car won’t start, the windshield is covered in ice, how am I going to prepare a dinner for 25 people, etc. 

Stress from work associates: every employee wants to be off on the same day, they all have travel plans that can’t be changed, they all need extra hours for spending money but the revenue isn’t there to support extra hours, someone’s late because of the ice storm, someone’s child is sick, etc.

Stress from the clients: I need you to be open in the evenings and on the holidays if possible because I CAN’T afford to leave early or take a day off, I just lost my job so I really can’t afford that can you please help me out, if I pay for this then I won’t be able to buy any presents this year, can I pay you in two weeks, I need to be seen now because I’m going to be travelling for the next week, etc.

Depending on the day and your outlook it can all be very overwhelming.  The main thing is to recognize that stress will occur and that disruptions will occur and to be realistic.  Don’t commit yourself to becoming superman or superwoman.  Don’t plan a dinner with four entrees, four desserts, and more sides than you can imagine to feed a group of 30 people.  Keep it simple—everyone WILL understand and appreciate being able to visit.  Let everyone know ahead of time that you might not be able to visit everyone on the same day, but will plan visits over a period of a few weeks. 

Try to keep your routine as routine as possible e.g. same time to bed, same to get up, eat normal quantities, drink in moderation, etc.  Schedule time to relax with a book or a bath or a game or whatever you need to relax.

Stay positive.  Remind yourself that it’s the time for giving and sharing.  Think about a time that someone helped you.  Don’t dwell on a time that you felt you needed help and had a hard time finding it.  Think about a time that you helped someone and they truly appreciated it.  Reach out into the community and help someone in need.  It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Make a psychological adjustment. “Knowing” is half the battle. In fact, according to an article in the November 2008 issue of dvm newsmagazine, “The least-examined document in veterinary practice is the profit & loss statement.” If you are losing ground month-after-month, laying out your income and expenses on a spreadsheet will give you a clear indication of the situation. This might not be a strong enough wake-up call, especially if you have savings or available debt, but both of these are temporary fixes. Living above your means is not sustainable indefinitely. In order to succeed you must spend less than you earn.

For some people, changing a state of mind is more difficult than it is for others. Whether it’s a lack of motivation or a lack of faith, keep this in mind: Other people in worse conditions have succeeded. Think of the young veterinarian, who, a couple of years ago, started his own practice and is still working 12-hour days, six days a week as the only vet in his suburb. No matter how difficult your financial situation is right now, many people with worse problems have been able to adjust their attitude and behavior. This dedication to change is necessary for stabilizing finances. The young veterinarian I use as an example above, now has a few years under his belt, has more clients and staff because his motto has been, “You’ve got to be responsible with your money.” In my experience, people in a variety of conditions were able to get past the present and improve the future. If they can, so can you.

Once you’ve made the psychological adjustment, continue to spend less than you earn. Let’s look at this idea from a mathematical standpoint. While there is more to money than math, the numbers form the basis of any financial decision, so this concept should always be in the back of your mind.

Net Income = Income – Expense
If Income is greater than Expense, Net Income is positive, and you have positive cash flow. If Expense is greater than Income, Net Income is negative, and you have negative cash flow (a loss). There are two mathematical solutions to a negative cash flow. You can either increase income or decrease expenses. For many people decreasing expenses is the easier option. Many people have a steady income that may not be flexible. Even if income is not flexible, it may take more effort to earn an extra $200 per month after taxes than it would to save an extra $200 month.

Adopt a philosophy of frugality. Some people see this as having negative connotations, like “cheap” or “penny-pinching,” but there are ways to be smart about being frugal. Frugality is simply reducing your desires to match your needs and making purchasing decisions economically. It’s critically important to distinguish between WANTS and NEEDS. You NEED dinner…you WANT a filet mignon!

 

Don’t you just marvel at the way life’s lessons seem to come at you in so many different ways, from lots of different sources and, sometimes, from out of the blue? More times than not, we learn about what’s really important and how to live a better, more fulfilling life, when we aren’t deliberately looking for enlightenment. Now and again, we stumble upon wisdom when someone says something we hadn‘t thought of before and it stops us in our tracks and makes us think, then rethink, our attitudes and beliefs. I guess you could say wisdom is sneaky.I had one of these sneaky moments last month, when I was flying back from Banfield’s Veterinarian Symposium. I was at the event to provide a presentation on the topic of balance, specifically, to help our vets with the struggles they face that inherently go along with managing a practice and a personal life.

On the plane ride back home, I started thinking about my presentation, brainstorming ways to improve the overall message, when I suddenly found myself distracted by one of the flight attendants, as she gave the standard speech we’ve all heard a hundred times: “Welcome on board Flight 2452,” she then moved on to the part about the nearest exits and ended with a description of how and when to use the oxygen masks. Nothing newsworthy here, but as she spoke, and went to demonstrate the use of the masks, I honed in on the part about when to place the mask on, if traveling with small children. It went something like this: “If you are traveling with small children, please remember to secure the oxygen mask over your mouth and nose, before assisting children with theirs.”

Well, that’s an interesting concept, I thought. So, if the cabin loses pressure or something catastrophic happens, we should first take care of ourselves and then help others. It’s like that in life, easy to go directly to helping others, forgetting about our own basic needs.

I think the big-picture message that the flight attendant so eloquently delivered is about rethinking the importance of self-care. Instead of always putting yourselves on the back-burner, consider the small amounts of time it takes to focus on your own well-being to be essential in keeping your head above water and necessary in helping others.

Wish I had thought about the oxygen-mask analogy on the way to, not back from, Symposium. I think it’s a good visual and I would have used it in my speech. What about you? Are you so busy securing everyone else’s mask in place that you forget to secure your own? I find that if I don’t take time to take care of my physical and emotional self, I eventually hit the wall, my productivity and happiness-factor goes down and my stress level goes up. Take a minute to think about your life. Do you always place your mask on last…or maybe not at all?

 Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!  It is that time of year when many of us are consumed by shopping to find that perfect gift.  During the holidays there is always that one person I find impossible for which to buy a gift.  My Dad is always the one who stumps me.  One year after begging for his “wish list” he offered that I do something for him on behalf of society.  Each year I am challenged by this request.  This year I am excited to give a gift of time to the veterinary profession.

What could be a better gift than one we could share with our colleagues? It is the most wonderful time of the year to consider a gift to our profession. Each of us has unique talents or traits that I challenge must be shared.  Maybe by day each of us is a veterinarian, but on the side do we have an alter ego?  Can we put on a mask and become a politician, teacher, or fundraiser?  Do we have the gift to write, collaborate, or create?

I have a position within Banfield, The Pet Hospital that gives me the opportunity to interact with several veterinarians each day.  Some of these are Banfield doctors and others are involved in different practices or industries.  I see these gifts in each veterinarian I meet.  Some are shy and I see a secret creative personality.  Others are gregarious and I see an amazing mentor.  I always appreciate the doctor who simply supports their colleagues when they need help! these people are the unsung heroes of the profession.
 
Find the gift of talent that lies within you.  Giving back to the profession is a wonderful way to share your hidden talents — after all, it is the greatest profession in the world.