VBJ articles

Brin McNeill BVMS, MRCVS, of Castle Veterinary Centre in Nottingham, offers some thoughts on EMS for students amid the pandemic with help from her daughter Cara, a third-year student at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine.

Anyone intent on opening their own veterinary practice usually does so with at least a 5-year, or even a 10-year, plan. Some people go into the enterprise with a longer view, however, as VBJ discovered when we spoke to Aidan Borrill prior to the launch of his practice, Ferndown Family Vets in Dorset…

The concept of T-shaped skills is a metaphor often used by recruiters to describe the abilities of persons in the workforce. It is also an excellent framework to plan a veterinary CPD programme that’s going to deliver plenty of bang for your bucks…

Change stories are a simple yet effective tool to engage your team and bring it with you to achieve your practice’s goals. Learn how to create your own and share it with your team.

One of the best ways independent practices can compete with the big boys is to cut costs by joining a buying group. Adam Bernstein takes a look at how these groups have evolved and how your practice can make the most of membership…

Setting up and running your own independent veterinary practice may have become the road less travelled in recent years. But independent practice ownership is still one of the most fulfilling paths a veterinary professional can take in his or her career, and a journey that’s well worth making…

Most within the veterinary profession recognise the need to integrate environmental ethics into the way they work, but the daily pressures of practice mean it’s not always easy. It’s a journey and to make sustainability work for our planet, it’s a journey we need to take together...

Burnout is known for its impact on individuals, but it can also significantly influence business success – affecting client satisfaction, care quality and staff retention. Here Mark Turner, with RCVS Knowledge, sets out simple strategies managers can use to tackle this issue…

Given their spending power, millennials deserve the attention of your veterinary practice. This generation – born between 1980 and 2000 – is 13 million strong in the UK, and it’s finding the right mix of authenticity and technology that will bring them to your consult room...

The VMG has reviewed and rebuilt its flagship qualification to ensure it remains at the forefront of 21st century veterinary leadership. Here, the association explains the reasons for this and what it means for the sector.

Coronavirus continues to dominate the agenda, but for some the Brexit deadline is now starting to loom just as menacingly. For practices like Parklands Veterinary Group in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, what happens on 1 January is of huge significance, as VBJ discovered when we spoke to clinical director Eamon Donnelly…

In 1909, Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges department store, invented the phrase “the customer is always right”, which was immediately adopted by other businesses and used as a standard. The intentions were good, but, as Alan Robinson explains, things have changed a great deal during this past century – and particularly in the past 12 months…

Leading the organisation through a pandemic has been a big job for president Anna Judson, but it’s a job she has clearly relished as SPVS has adapted and evolved to the fast-changing demands of the situation...

Coronavirus has changed the world – and it has also changed what clients expect from their veterinary practice. Change is often a scary thing, but with a planned and pragmatic approach, your practice can survive and even thrive in a post-COVID world...

One of the most persistent myths attached to owning a practice is that it’s impossible to maintain a sensible work-life balance when you’re running the show. But the reality can be very different, as VBJ discovered when we paid a visited to Henlow Veterinary Centre, an independent first opinion practice in Bedfordshire…