Antje Blättner

DVM

Vetkom, Neustadt, Germany

Dr. Blättner studied in Berlin and Munich and after graduating in 1988 she set up and ran her own small animal practice. She then completed a post-graduate course on training and coaching at the University of Linz, Austria before founding Vetkom, an international company dedicated to educating veterinarians and veterinary technicians on practice management, client communication, marketing and other related topics through lectures, seminars and in-house training. As well as editing two veterinary journals she works alongside Royal Canin training veterinarians in more than 20 different countries.

Contribution

COVID-19: putting the team first

Veterinary practice is being challenged as never before with the COVID-19 pandemic; this article outlines steps to consider which can help the team and the business successfully meet the challenges presented by the crisis.

Everyday challenges

This chapter will cover some difficult situations that a vet practitioner can face. With the influence of “Dr. Google”, pet owners have more and more objections: they challenge what the vet says and does… this can lead to conflicted situations. Finally, many veterinarians are uncomfortable talking about money. Suggestions for how to talk about money are proposed in this section of the Focus.

The smooth consultation (part 3)

This last section focuses on the importance of teaching. It also explains how the perfect consultation should be structured, outlining three different stages. Lastly, we look at difficult situations veterinary practitioners may find themselves in, as well as the best way to deal with emotional blackmail.