Veterinary blogs: examples

An example of a blog post that not only will bring people to your blog, but will bring outside, non-clients, to your blog. This post took less than 15 minutes to write. The rescue organization was mentioned (had any pups actually been adopted their new owners would have been mentioned) and even the drug rep who helped with the raffle items was mentioned. The hospital looks good, did good for the adoption agencies and even raised a fair amount of money during their month-long fund raiser.

Always thank the staff member who stepped up (in this case, Ronnie) and made the thing happen.

Last Saturday we hosted the local rescue group, Cold Wet Noses at our hospital. Usually stationed at PetSmart, Cold Wet Noses brought out a dozen dogs and a couple of cats and set up in our largest exam room.

Please give me a home. I'm an Aussie, that makes me great!

In spite of the low gray clouds and persistent drizzle, many people came into the hospital looking for a new forever friend.

A 100% volunteer program that fosters dogs and cats, Cold Wet Noses helps unwanted dogs and cats find new and loving families. Cold Wet Noses currently has 130 dogs in need of forever homes. You can see pictures of pets up for adoption at www.Tucsoncoldwetnoses.com.

I want someone to throw a ball for me and take me for walks

During the month of February Ventana Animal Hospital is holding a raffle to benefit Cold Wet Noses. Please stop in and buy a few raffle tickets, the prizes were kindly donated by Patterson Veterinary (a veterinary supply company - thanks Todd!) and PetSmart. We have $70 dollars in gift certificates up for grabs, and 100% of the proceeds go to helping Cold Wet Noses provide homes for these dogs and cats.

Additionally, Cold Wet Noses is always looking for foster homes, so if you can provide a home for a while, please contact them. They can only rescue as many pets as they can place in foster care, so every little bit helps.

I can keep your feet warm.

Thank you to Ronnie who put this whole thing together, and to all of our clients who were so understanding of a slightly more crowded than usual parking lot and reception area.

All photos were stolen from the Cold Wet Noses website, and are dogs in need of forever homes. Posted by Ventana Animal Hospital.

The power of the picture

A veterinary hospital where I once worked called it "show and tell". Everything we did ended in some level of show and tell: x-rays, heartworm tests, bloodwork, ear cleanings, you name it. If there was a visual element we would utilize it.

Why? the answers are two-fold, in the case of X-rays, showing the client the radiographs helps them 'see' what you're seeing, good or bad. It brings them into the picture and helps them understand what will happen next. It grounds some of the ethereal aspect of medicine and brings it home.

Show and tell also helps people 'see' some of the value or of their actions. Show them the dots on the Snap tests and tell them what they're seeing. Show them the bloodwork when you go over it. Point out the little red squares and tell them why they are or are not important. Showing them gives them a solid thing to grasp. It helps keeps them from drowning in foreign terminolgy.

Show your clients what heartworms look like, what a cruciate looks like, what hip dysplasia looks like. Show them the shape of the ear canal and how deep the roots go on teeth. All of these tools help paint a picture. It helps pull the clients into out world. They can see why a tooth extraction costs what it does when you show the removal of three roots separately. Better understanding leads to better compliance.

You want to see a hospital that excels at compliance? Look at their handouts and educational tools, most likely if they have them, they're using them.

People prefer to walk out of your hospital with something other than a bill (and a treatment plan: a future bill). We all know this, yet how often, really do they?

Take the time to look at your handouts. Are they up to date (you're not discussing the pros and cons of the giardia vaccine are you)? Are they clear? Are they professional? Do not hand out photocopies typed up in the 90's!

Use your reps. They can provide heartworm, parasite, dental care, and other materials. Look to your own computer system, most of the big veterinary software companies have built in forms for various diseases that you can customize. Lastly, there are outside companies that can provide you with fantastic looking handouts for client education.

Anything that you are passionate about needs a handout. If it's important enough to discuss time and again, it's important enough to create a hand out for. If you do not have the time to create your own, find an enthusiastic team member who can write the general outline for you. You edit it and you're done! Now all you need to do is remember to put it into your client's hands!