• Fall 2007
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  • Spring 2007
  • On April 19th David McCormick spoke to the club about the club about "Importance of your Practice  Being Financially Successful". In sumery, David McCormick went into detail explaining that in order to have a practice that delivers the best and most current medicine , the practice has to be Financially successful. You need money to improve your services.  David McCormick  operates Simmons & Associates Mid-Atlantic, LLC which a veterinary practice brokerage and The McCormick Consultant Group, LLC with his partner and father, Dr. Larry McCormick, DVM, MBA, CBA.
  • On April 17th Dr. Barb Dartt joined us for dinner and spoke to us "Selling the Intangible".  She descused how to become successful selling your knowledge rather than drugs and procedures. Dr. Dartt  became a Certified Agricultural Consultant in the fall of 2003. She currently coordinates the annual Michigan Bovine Practitioners Meeting and is a member of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association Food Animal Practitioners and Ethics and Grievances Committees. Barb received her M.S. in agricultural economics in 1998, her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1996 and her B.A. in animal science in 1993 - all from MSU.

  • Dr. Christine Merle came to MSU during the lunch hour to address club members of the VPBA and SCAAHA how to deal with difficult clients or employees/co-workers.  She shared many personal stories that provided examples of how to implement her suggestions.  We appreciate her willingness the come to MSU and share her expertise with us, which will undoubtedly be useful to us in the future.  A copy of her presentation can be found by clicking here. 

     

  • On March 20th Mr. Neal Wasserman gave a presentation about the externship that he participated in with the NCVEI.  He gave us some great insight into the financial importance of having a dedicated practice manager in your practice.  You can download the article he wrote on this research as well as the accompanying graphs by clicking on the hyperlinks.  
  •  Sarah Erickson is a Licensed Veterinary Technician who is certified in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine.  She  spoke to us about the medical and leadership skills that are required to be a member of the emergency team, as well as some of her experiences in emergency medicine.

 

    • On Thursday night (2/15/07) Mr. Rob Shuster from Independent Bank came and spoke to the VPBA about obtaining a business loan for a private practice.  Mr. Shuster (pictured above with daughter Kate from the CVM 2009) is a CPA and provided those who attended with valuable information about what we can start doing now to get ourselves ready financially to take on a business.  We thank him for giving of his time and his expertise.

    • The VPBA had a booth at the Michigan Veterinary Conference which was held at the Lansing Convention Center January 26-28, 2007.  We provided information about the club, sold merchandise and promoted NCVEI.

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      Dr. Goebel spoke to the VPBA about common pitfalls in support staff Management. He is the Vice President of the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors, Hospital directory of Magrane Animal Hospital in Mishawaka, IN, Veterinary Business Instructor at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine, President of Simmons and Associates Great Lakes, Past MVMA President, and former director of Purdue's veterinary teaching hospital.

    • Mike Marrinan who was awarded the Pfizer Externship Award and spoke to the VPBA about his time at Brakke Consulting in Texas.  While there he worked with their Practice Management group which included consultation sessions on: pre-purchase considerations, buy- sell facilitation, practice valuation, human resource issues, identifying growth opportunities, marketing strategies, and financial reporting (ie. KPI's).  He also learned about job search and negotiations strategies for new graduates.  Additionally he spoke about his experience at Safari Animal in League City, TX.  Click VPBAPresenation.ppt to download his powerpoint presentation which contained several references of interest.

  • Fall 2006
    • Thursday, December 7th: Dr. LeBlanc joined us in a discussion about practice management skills. It was was a round table discussion where he fielded questions form the audience.
    • Tuesday, November 14th: Dr. Michelle Harcha from Hills sponsored the DiSC workshop.  DiSC is a personality profilie system similar to Myers Briggs that we did in orientation. It focuses more on conflict resolution, better ways to communicate with people in the different categories and how to get results (compliance). 
  • SPRING 2006
    • Wednesday, January 18th: Drs. Larsen and Rollo from Gibraltar Veterinary Hospital “Staff Utilization and the Role of Business in Practice”
    • Thursday, January 26th, 5:30pm, cafe: Co-meeting with SCAAHA: SCAAHA President  Dr. David Aja “Current Happenings in Practice Management”
    • Wednesday, February 1st, 5:30pm, cafe: Co-meeting with SCAAHA:James Wilson, DVM, attorney, “Minimizing Complaints & Settling Disputes”
    • Thursday, February 16th, 5:30pm, cafe: Co-meeting with SCAAHA: Linda Ellis, DVM, “How to Avoid Malpractice”
    • Thursday, April 13th Cafeteria 12:00 pm 5:00 pm
      "Everything you need to know about Student Loans and Consolidation: Best Practices for Vet Students"
      Presented by Doug Richey of Graduate Leverage
  • FALL 2005
    • Thursday, November 3rd, noon, cafeteria
      Our latest biannual $1000 scholarship winner, Hillary Noyes, will be speaking on her business and political experiences in Washington, D.C
    • Wednesday, November 16th, noon, G150
      Dr. Karen Felsted will be speaking on the results of the AVMA/Pfizer Business Practices Study, which measured the effect of various management behaviors, attitudes, and actions on the incomes of practicing veterinarians. Dr. Felsted is a well-known national figure in veterinary business, and holds not only a DVM, but also a Master’s degree in Management, is a certified public accountant, and is also a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager
    • Thursday, December 8th ,12:00pm, cafe: Brian Clement from the Ralph C. Wilson Agency and Rachael Tucker, Attorney at Law, “What Type of Business is Best for You?”