Unions in the Veterinary Industry: Pros, Cons and What to Consider

In the summer of 2017, a small group of veterinary personnel formed the National Veterinary Professional Union (NVPU). The members of this grassroots movement are largely from Seattle, and they have prompted plenty of conversation about the benefits of unionizing the...

7 Steps To Take When Employees Refuse to Sign Disciplinary Notices

Originally Published in Today’s Veterinary Business, April 2018 You’ve created disciplinary policies and procedures that are clear, fair and approved by your attorney, and so it appears you’ve got all your bases covered. You carefully document misconduct and...

Workplace Gossip – and How to Control the Rumors

Originally Published in Today’s Veterinary Business, April 2018  “Maria’s skirt is awfully short, isn’t it? And she sure doesn’t have the figure to pull that off!” “You’re not going to believe what I heard about our new client . . .”  “Did you hear who is...

Put Some Thoughts into Personality Assessments

Originally Published in Today’s Veterinary Business, February 2018 It can be tempting to consider an extraverted person as a “good” employee and an introverted one as less attractive. In reality, people all along the spectrum can make outstanding employees....

Am I Practicing The Standard Of Care?

In the law of professional negligence, the standard of care is the benchmark by which others assess a veterinarian’s competence.  To be within the standard of care, veterinarians must perform their duties with an average degree of skill, care and diligence exercised...

Wrongful Termination and Constructive Dismissal

Wrongful termination occurs whenever you fire an employee for reasons that are illegal and/or against your practice’s policies. Illegal firings include those that involve discrimination, whether because of race, gender, citizenship status or other class protection. If...