This week on the podcast, Dr. Andy Roark and veterinary practice manager Stephanie Goss wade into the wage discussion that is rapidly gaining traction in veterinary medicine. Minimum wage is quickly rising in places all over the country. Andy and Stephanie got a note from a friend who said: “I live in California, where the minimum wage is soon to be $15/hour. I saw a sign at our local McDonald’s on my way to work that said they were hiring at $15/hour with a $500 signing bonus… How do I possibly compete?” This episode covers a lot of ground worth considering: The discussion and pressure on wages are a good thing for veterinary medicine. We have needed to raise the wage base to a living wage for a long time. It will get messy. We will need to work together to figure out the answers. But this is a good thing for our practices in the long run. Can we raise wages without passing the entirety of the rise on to our clients? How in the heck do we stay within industry benchmarks when those were built on wages that were, in some locations, less than ½ of the new minimum wage? Minimum wage is going up but social security isn’t. What do we do about elderly clients or clients on fixed incomes? Is pet care only going to be easily accessible for the financially elite clients? Links: Upcoming events: https://unchartedvet.com/upcoming-events/ https://unchartedvet.com/product/the-secret-sauce-to-optimizing-workflow/ The Secret Sauce To Optimizing Workflow with Senani Ratnayake, RVT. The way we are doing things isn’t working. At least, not working well. Some inefficiencies might feel normal to us because we've always done it that way and we don't even realize there might be a better way to move forward. This 4-hour workshop is here to help. Dissect your hospital’s workflow with Senani Ratnayake, RVT so you can get out of the woods in 4 strategic steps. Then, talk through what it will take to get your team on board to lean into your strengths and address your weaknesses. All Links: https://linktr.ee/UnchartedVet Got a question for the mailbag? Submit it here: unchartedvet.com/mailbag

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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