Vet Times

Tag: Clients

  • When is it okay to lie?

    When is it okay to lie?

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    In the role of a caregiver, is it ever okay to lie? Little white lies, great big fibs… am I even lying to myself about lying? This topic came to mind this month while thinking about the responsibility we have to ensure we maintain relationships with the people who bring animals in for treatment. With…

  • Get ready for the grads

    Get ready for the grads

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    It’s that time of year again – with vet school graduations done and dusted, new graduate vets up and down the country will be embarking on their first steps into the world of veterinary. The first few weeks are crucial for both the new grads and the practices employing them – this time frame can…

  • Nail clipping

    Nail clipping

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    “Clip nails” It seems innocuous. It looks so simple and routine on the consulting list – no worrying about history taking, no complicated diagnoses or treatment plans – just clip the nails. A quickie that may even give you a chance to snatch a few minutes back so you can stay on time: this is…

  • Screen burn: thoughts on telemedicine

    Screen burn: thoughts on telemedicine

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    With the recent announcement that the UK’s first veterinary telemedicine service is set to launch, there is much debate over whether this type of service is a good thing. The major bugbear most vets have with telemedicine is the absence of a physical examination. While teleconsultations (or, indeed, just a telephone call) can allow a…

  • ‘Earlier in the programme’

    ‘Earlier in the programme’

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    It’s Pride in London this weekend, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to go this year – but that doesn’t stop me being an active ally and supporting everyone from the LGBTQ community. I’m aware I’ve been lucky to work in supportive clinics that have no obvious issues with LGBTQ staff, but talking to everyone at…

  • Cytology tips: cellularity

    Cytology tips: cellularity

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    “Cellularity is poor, and preservation is poor.” As openings to literary works go, it may not have the skill of “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” or “The sky above the port was the color of a television, tuned to a dead channel”, but it certainly has an emotional…

  • Recognising clients

    Recognising clients

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    Any vet will see numerous clients on a daily basis, with small animal vets in particular often interacting with more than 30 in a day. There are, of course, a number of “regulars” that have many animals, or seemingly a spate of bad luck and end up bring their beloved pet to us repeatedly, which…

  • Paw parents and fur kids: humanising the owner-pet relationship

    Paw parents and fur kids: humanising the owner-pet relationship

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    “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I thought I would begin this blog with some Shakespeare this month – for no other reason than I felt like it. However, it’s another “trigger warning” blog (sorry), so am I just trying to intellectualise and…

  • Cytology tips: preservation

    Cytology tips: preservation

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    There’s a part of me that’s constantly surprised cytology works at all. The idea you can suck up a few cells from a patient, squirt them on to a slide, stain them and – by looking at the shape of the cells and how they relate to one another – work out what is happening…

  • Farming EMS in the news

    Farming EMS in the news

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    I’m not from a farming background, and nobody I knew was agriculturally inclined when I decided to pursue production animal medicine. My family wondered why I would bother “messing about with cows” when I could comfortably work a four-day week petting kittens (their somewhat confused perception of small animal vetting). There were some not-so-subtle hints…