Smart Flow Blog

Heading into a professional job interview can be incredibly intimidating and nerve wracking. There are many simple keys to nailing your next interview that shouldn't come as a surprise. Remember that you are interviewing for your career, not just your next job. So, you should...

Our least favourite phrase to hear is "I'm just a vet tech".  Vet techs are crucial to the practice running smoothly and successfully, but we know sometimes the day-to-day can get a bit monotonous.  Often it can feel like there's nowhere to go in the career, and unfortunately this is a big reason people leave the field.  Here are 6 ways to help keep current and grow personally and professionally (and no, one of them is not to become a vet!).

They say most of what you do in life is based on knowledge you received in kindergarten.  We think this theme carries over into your career in vet med. That being said, here are some lessons from the playground that we hope you'll carry into the clinic.

I was recently inspired by an article from Dr. Andy Roark about Dolley, one of his beloved former patients who passed away from cancer. It got me thinking about my past patients, and made me realize just how much we learn from them and their people.

After sitting through countless classes in elementary school, high school, and college, I've come to realize that some of the greatest lessons I've learned have come from the canines in my life.  Those slobbery, ball-chasing goofballs have a lot to teach if you pay attention.

No other part of your job should be more rehearsed, studied, and in tip top shape than your anesthetic monitoring skills. In the past we've mentioned lazy anesthetists and doubling up with monitoring and dental cleanings, but let's focus now on the priority: the patient. Here are basic ways to improve patient care under anesthesia and make the entire experience less stressful for everyone.

The problem with bad habits is that most of the time, you don't even realize you have them.  In the veterinary world, some bad habits are ubiquitous and have just become part of "the norm" of clinic life. 

Veterinarians set an example for the rest of the team, so it's extra important to acknowledge the bad habits that seem to accompany this role within the practice and work to rectify them, not only for the sake of the staff, but for the veterinarian themselves and for their patients' well being. 

 Are you guilty of any of the following?

 We all know that vet techs have a lot of their plate.  They juggle client education, patient care, technical skills and last minute walk-in emergencies all while anticipating the needs of the doctors.

Many define the 'Millennial Generation' as those having been born between 1981 and 1996. This generation is used to instant results, changing technology, and an attitude of working smarter, not harder. 

Some of you may remember a childhood filled with rotary dial phones, waiting for your favorite song to play on the radio so you could tape record it, researching papers using encyclopedias, and using a pager. Most Millennials, however, do not know a world without text messages, Google, Facebook or mp3 players. 

We're finding this generation taking over the population of many businesses, including the veterinary world. They have a bad rap for being lazy, but in reality, they just work differently than their Baby Boomers and Generation X. colleagues. Here's how to make the most out of this group of team members.