The Wagging Tail

I was talking to my wife’s grandmother when for no apparent reason she asked me if anybody ever brings snakes to the vet. I told her they did and that we can treat a lot of different conditions in snakes. She was mesmerized. The idea of treating a snake was so exotic to her. She started naming animals: rabbits, ferrets, turtles, camels, lions. I told her that I typically don’t do zoo-type animals, but zoos do have vets who take care of them.

My wife is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator so I’ve also treated squirrels, opossums, copperheads, snapping turtles, owls, hummingbirds, rabbits, and on and on. Just talking about it lifted my spirits. Doing the things that I do every day seemed kinda mundane, but during the conversation she said, “Oh the wonderful things you must see every day.” 

When I really thought about it, we do see wonderful things everyday: whether it’s a tiny kitten or a giant Great Dane, sick or healthy, young or old, they are all wonderful and amazing things that we are blessed to take care of. Even the sad things are worthy of amazement–not sure that I would call them wonderful, but they are something to wonder at.

It’s something noteworthy that we can draw blood on a ferret or repair the broken shell of a turtle or remove a splenic tumor or fix a fracture. A veterinarian recently spent a few hours observing at my hospital for a possible job opening. She was a new graduate and seemed to marvel at how smoothly the PetNurses could place catheters or hit jugular veins or talk to the clients about their medical conditions or hook up the EKG’s and set the fluid pump during surgery. We all, every one of us in this profession – veterinarian, receptionist, vet tech, all of us–whatever your role or title is in the hospital – we all do wonderful things every day and should take some time to marvel at the amazing things that we see and do and not think of them as mundane.

I’m writing this from my balcony at the Gaylord Palms hotel while attending the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Florida.  For those of you who have never been here, it is a huge hotel with an indoor atrium the size of most small towns!  So, although it feels as though I am outside, I am in fact, not.  The space is covered by an amazing glass roof supported by just slightly more steel than a 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood.  The sun is shining and the beer is cold!  More about the beer later. 

I am a commercial lender.  I have been a commercial lender my entire working adult life, or about 28 years.  What this gives me is perspective.  I have seen economic cycles come and go.  I started my career in lending when the Prime Rate was about 19% and the national unemployment rate was over 10%.  If you think things are tough now, you should have been around for that!  Sure, the economy is slowing and a variety of economic indicators are worsening, but give me a shout when we reach the depths of the early 1980’s! 

My point is this, as bad as things seem to be or becoming, there have been times in my lifetime when they were worse, much worse, and we got through that and we will get through this too.  I won’t say that it won’t be difficult or that it won’t be hard work, because it will, but we learn from that.  It gives us depth, and perspective.

In today’s environment, starting a new veterinary practice or expanding an existing one takes courage and capital.  Although I can’t always supply the courage, I can most always supply the capital.  It is not always easy, but it can be done and I prove that every day with each new practice I finance.  The money is there, it just takes more effort to get at it.

The common perception today is that banks are not lending money.  Much like my artificial “outdoors” environment that I am sitting in, that perception is also man made.  The mainstream media feels compelled to tell you that the “sky is falling” that banks are collapsing and that there is no money available for small businesses.  I’m here to tell you, that’s not true!  The veterinary industry is one of the safest places banks can put their money.  The default rates on veterinary related loans are among the lowest of any profession.  Lenders are looking for ways to lend money and they want to put it in as safe a place as possible. 

What has changed in recent times is that lenders want what they want.  They are not willing anymore to approve loans without all the information their lending “rule book” says they should have.  Folks say that lenders have “tightened up”.  Not really.  They have simply gone back to following the rules that have always been there.  Not selectively ignoring some of them.

Lending is an art and a science, much like practicing veterinary medicine.  It takes judgment derived from years of education and experience to apply the science to get a favorable outcome. 

As for the beer, I discovered that a hotel mini-fridge placed on it’s coldest setting creates beerscicles.  Proving once again, it is never to late to learn something!

 

This morning, my alarm went off as usual.  It’s Monday, which means I waited until the very last nano-second to put my feet on the floor and start my day.  What is it about waking-up on Mondays that makes it so difficult to get moving?  Talk about a struggle to overcome inertia.  It’s like there’s cobwebs in my brain and weights around my feet, both working together to keep me from being alert, productive and energized. 

Although the Monday Blues are, I’m sure, universal and somewhat inevitable; I have to believe there’s a better way to start the week, other than the routine of: 1)  “search and destroy” the alarm clock, 2) mindless shuffle to the shower and 3) move through the first-half of the day on auto-pilot. 

Are Mondays like that for you?  Are you thinking about the team meeting scheduled first thing, wondering what endless concerned Pet owner questions are in store for you, maybe having to squeeze in unexpected appointments because of what happened to Rover over the weekend? If you’re one of those people who has never yelled, “Hooray, it’s Monday!” you’re in good company.  I don’t have any statistics to back me up on this, but I can tell you that the majority of people I know are like me.  I’m fairly certain it’s the same everywhere.

But change is in the air because I’m planning to start 2009 with a new game plan and a new outlook on Mondays.  If you’re “Monday Challenged” like me, maybe you’ll want to join me in making an effort to alter your current perspective on the first day of the week.  Here are some suggestions.

It’s not your alarm clock’s fault you have to get up, right? You shouldn’t take your anger out on a defenseless piece of technology that’s just trying to do its job.  Maybe you wouldn’t harbor such ill feelings toward the little guy, or the first day of the week, if you decide to wake up a wee bit earlier.  It might be a struggle the first few days, but anything new takes time to get use to.  Make a promise to yourself right now to get up 5, 10 or even 20 minutes earlier to give yourself more time to get ready and maybe even sit quietly for 5 minutes each morning.  Intrigued by the concept of sitting still and thinking?  I’m not sure what you can expect from 300 seconds of silence, but be willing to see where it takes you.  Starting your day from a mentally peaceful place has to be better than the 100-yard dash we’re running in now.

Make Monday the new Friday. Well, maybe not Friday, but why not the new Wednesday?  Make an effort to do something fun on Mondays.  Go to lunch (with or without someone else), go for a walk during lunch or plan something in the evening.  The point is, there is no reason for any of us to wait for the middle or end of the week to engage in something enjoyable.   Why not think, TGIM!

If you struggle with Monday too, is there anything you do now or have done in the past, to off-set the Monday Blues?

I am betting there are a number of recent graduates from veterinary schools asking themselves some very difficult questions about early career.  Do I become a general practice clinician after school, or go back to school to become a specialist? I am guessing there aren’t many new graduates who think about practice ownership.  I am in a small minority by becoming a Banfield practice owner within 5 years of graduate school. Here is my own perspective on the pros and cons of practice ownership.

Some of the pros of practice ownership include increased personal freedom, financial freedom, and a palpable sense of autonomy.  Increased personal freedom is the realization you are not “locked in” to a certain work schedule and that you can adjust others’ schedules to cover your clinical workload.  If done right, practice ownership lends itself to adjusting daytime work hours to accommodate errands, family, and other miscellaneous tasks not available in a set workday or schedule.  Financial freedom is certainly possible if you enter into the right situation, or turn a decent situation into a great one. Finally, there is much to be said for feeling a sense of professional and personal “autonomy.” This entails taking personal responsibility for successes and potential failures, but for some this is a much brighter prospect than having pay based (in part) on the qualitative judgments of others’ in supervisory roles. 
 
Practice ownership is definitely not for everyone.  Very early pragmatic questions should be asked if leaning in this direction. For instance, “What motivates me to buy a veterinary practice,” or “What is my risk tolerance,” or “Do I want to live in the same geographic area for a while?”  Determining if owning a practice is right for you is a multi-step process. The best time to consider buying into a practice is at about 5 years out of vet school.  This ensures a number of years of clinical experience and managing challenging situations with clients.  The odds are, too, that there has been some money saved and that there is adequate credit to procure a loan at a reasonable interest rate. 
 
There are a few things to consider if seriously pondering practice ownership.  Are you looking to be an owner in order to make your own schedule and be your own boss?  Are you looking for a greater degree of control in the work environment? You are the one responsible.  Receiving a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine does not prepare you for the business side of practice ownership, so it is a must that you acquire these skills quickly. There is an art to being a manager.   
 
Paperwork and delegating come with the territory. Sometimes the best option is to do it yourself.  Sometimes you have the right person to manage the task and can farm it out no problem.  Knowing the difference takes time and experience.   
 
Managerial issues will surface monthly, if not weekly.  Working day to day with this different kind of stress necessitates a particular resilience.

In short, the veterinary field needs good practice owners.  Think about whether you identify as a manager, a leader, or whether you have business interests outside of veterinary medicine. Consider taking a couple owners out to lunch to learn more about their experiences and why they chose ownership. Practice ownership brings a series of unique challenges and rewards.  For me, the trials and tribulations of early practice ownership have led to marked personal and professional growth.