Absolutely great news that you enjoyed the London Vet Show. I also attended and, like you, was shocked by the imbalance of numbers in the crowds between clinical and business sessions. I attended a session on dealing with competition in the market for veterinary services and made a note of the reasons why practices fail:
Lack of leadership and vision
Lack of team management (i.e. people at the top not communicating effectively)
Lack of client care in terms of customer retention and generating new business
Failure or absence of internal communications (i.e. lack of staff appraisals, lack of staff involvement in business decision making)
Failure to implement accounting and financial knowledge systems. No KPIs for staff to achieve.
Lack of ability to charge for professional services. The emphasis is on profiting from drug sales rather than charging for clinical services
I thought the most interesting thing about this list is that there is not a single item remotely related to the quality of clinical care provided or a vet’s level of clinical knowledge. Similarly, when a group of 107 people were asked to nominate – from a list of five issues - the most important single issue influencing change in the UK veterinary profession, they chose (equally) ‘work/life balance’ and ‘maintaining standards and evidence-based knowledge’. Sadly and surprisingly, ‘business skills and knowledge’, ‘the emergence of corporate practices’ and ‘the growing market’ lagged behind.
Hi Tom,
Mon, 11/24/2014 - 15:25 — Elizabeth JacksonHi Tom,
Absolutely great news that you enjoyed the London Vet Show. I also attended and, like you, was shocked by the imbalance of numbers in the crowds between clinical and business sessions. I attended a session on dealing with competition in the market for veterinary services and made a note of the reasons why practices fail:
I thought the most interesting thing about this list is that there is not a single item remotely related to the quality of clinical care provided or a vet’s level of clinical knowledge. Similarly, when a group of 107 people were asked to nominate – from a list of five issues - the most important single issue influencing change in the UK veterinary profession, they chose (equally) ‘work/life balance’ and ‘maintaining standards and evidence-based knowledge’. Sadly and surprisingly, ‘business skills and knowledge’, ‘the emergence of corporate practices’ and ‘the growing market’ lagged behind.
Best wishes,
Liz