Idiopathic Issues

For years we have been touting the benefits of the human-animal bond.  Sharing your life with an animal can help reduce your blood pressure and improve your mood. There are studies showing that dogs help to calm children learning to read or undergoing cancer treatment.  Owning a pet can help the elderly stay engaged and active.  Let's not forget the countless ways that service animals enrich our lives. Now scientist are finding evidence that spending your early childhood years with a dog, or living on a farm may help to reduce your risk of developing asthma.

It is inevitable that you will encounter a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) case in practice. It is also likely that you will have a client with MRSA and be asked about transmission of this type of bacteria to their pet. Because these infections are becoming more common, knowledge of this subject is important to the health of your patients as well as your NAVLE review.

Good bedside manner is one of the most important skills that a veterinary professional can possess. Your ability to convey confidence and compassion to your clients is key to building a solid client base.  It’s true that you can be a successful clinician, save lives, perform technical services and diagnose rare diseases without good bedside manner, but your job will likely be a lot easier if you have a sparkling personality, especially in companion animal medicine. What can you do to help your patients feel comfortable?  

It is truly amazing how some animals get themselves into trouble. Sometimes they bring it upon themselves and sometimes we set them up for failure.  The holidays are a very common time for mishaps.  We get busy, the normal routine is interrupted, there are new people in the mix and sometimes our patients pay the price.  It’s our job to inform owners of the dangers.

Here are some typical Halloween offenders:

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but almost every veterinary journal and magazine in the past 12 months has had an article about how to encourage cat owners to bring their pets in for routine wellness exams. Why is this? Is cat care really in crisis?