Practice Management
6th Annual Gulf-Atlantic Veterinary Conference
Jason Coe, DVM, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Population Medicine
University of Guelph
Research suggests that when clients have a pre-established viewpoint regarding an issue that is not consistent with their veterinarian’s, the client is likely to reject the veterinarian’s viewpoint in favor of their own. This reinforces the importance of not only gathering a complete medical history but also gathering information specific to the client’s perspective (e.g., their beliefs, their expectations, etc). It has been found that 30 percent of clients who did not follow through with their veterinarian’s recommendation felt it was unnecessary, suggesting that these clients did not receive information that was relevant to their perspective. Understanding the client’s perspective provides the groundwork for educating clients and making a recommendation that has value for the client. Supported by research, this interactive session will explore a number of communication skills that can be used to understand your client’s perspective in order to make recommendations stick.