Core Values

(NB: The following explanation is written for prospective and current employees. However, if you are just curious about the meaning behind our values, read on)

LOVE:

The Laparoscopic OVE (aka Lap spay) is the embodiment of our approach to modern medicine. While not popular or commonly done, the data clearly shows that it is a better procedure and is a superior option for patients. LapOVE may not always be the best option as we continue to find newer and better ways of doing everything – but this will continue to symbolize our commitment to keeping at the forefront of veterinary medicine

LOVE is also fitting for 2 other reasons because 1 – we coined the term. L-O-V-E. It plays to the creative and fun aspect which is a critical component of our personality as a company. Our readerboard sign is another great example where we get to continue to surprise and delight our customers and the entire community.

The other reason why it is fitting is because love is what has driven us to get in to this profession from the beginning. No one works here because of hate. It is our mission to continue to foster a work environment that continues to foster the love of this profession and the animals and the people that walk through the door. We should always love what we do.

IMPROVING:

Every day we should be getting better. If we are not improving, we are stagnating. Stagnation leads to job dissatisfaction, boredom, restlessness, etc. We want to enjoy our profession and continually improving is how we do this. We should also continue to improve not only ourselves, but the business. We should continue to refine how we communicate complicated concepts to our clients, improving our techniques, improving our protocols. Every aspect of this organization from top to bottom should be improving, or as we standstill, we will get left behind.

CONSISTENCY:

In order to provide the same experience AND level of care to every client that walks in the door, consistency is a must. We want our clients to have the same experience with us no matter who they are interacting with from the moment they call, walk in the door, get checked in, see a doctor, have a procedure done, etc. Why? 1) it is confusing to hear multiple opinions on subjects which should be fairly standardized: vaccines, fecal testing, flea and heartworm medications, etc. Approaches to medicine should be fairly standard as well. There will always be differences and extenuating circumstances because each patient is a complex organism, but for the most part, most routine services performed here should be fairly standardized. This does not mean that the way we do things is set in stone – in fact, it is quite the opposite (see “Improving”). Our protocols and standards are constantly being updated as new information comes in, new papers are published, etc. However, we need to make sure that when we agree to change course, we all agree on the new standards and all work together to implement the changes.

RESPECT:

One of the most important goals that were set when Dr. Evans started Coastal was a healthy work environment. We must respect each other day in and day out. Most hospitals turn in to dysfunctional schoolyards where there are cliques, rumors, passive-aggressive maneuvers, etc. That will not be tolerated here because no one wants to show up for work when that is happening. Why else? Patient care and quality of care goes down because you are not focused on providing the best level of care. You become more worried about the drama than the patient. We don’t all need to be friends, we do need to respect that we are a group of people together for 8-10 hours a day and want to leave each one of these days satisfied and ready to get out of the doors and start our real life.

The other aspect of RESPECT is RESPECT toward our clients and our patients. We need to respect them because they are the basis of our livelihood. They are trusting us by coming in – handing us their sick pet who they love more than anything on the planet and putting their faith in us that we will make them better or keep them healthy, etc. We need to show respect to our clients because they are the whole reason why we are in business.

The flip side of that is we also demand our clients show us the same RESPECT. We will not tolerate clients getting aggressive with us, swearing at us, and making us feel uncomfortable. We are not afraid to fire clients on the spot when necessary. We must be understanding that when pets are sick, people become very stressed and may react in a way that is not the norm, but even in those situations we must still demand that those frustrations are not taken out on us.

INTEGRITY:

Trust is the entire basis of our recommendations. We educate clients and often contradict what they have been told by other veterinarians, breeders, trainers, Google, etc. We expect them to believe us over those other vets, etc because 1) we’re right 2) we have integrity. If that is lost then we will lose our entire business.

This is also critical because when a pet is sick, the client needs to trust our recommendation to get them back to health as quickly as possible. If that trust is not there, they may doubt our recommendations and their pet may suffer longer than needed because of that dynamic.

COMPASSION:

Every day we see a range of emotions in this place. Often these wild emotional swings will be back to back. In one room you have a euthanasia and the very next room is a new puppy exam with newlywed first-time dog owners and they are just oozing excitement. We may have just hospitalized a patient and performed emergency surgery at a cost of $3000 and the next client may be someone who can only afford 1 dose of flea med at a time and is really struggling financially. Every single day we see all of these crazy emotional and difficult cases one right after another and they all need the same thing: COMPASSION.

We must also show compassion to every animal in our care. Animals don’t know why they are sick, they often are just scared. We are in this profession because we have the opportunity to be the voice for these animals. When we are dealing with fearful patients, sick patients, or even just a little chihuahua that likes the taste of human blood, we must always treat these patients with compassion and the same gentleness you would want for your own pet.

(Yup, we just did that)

(If you have no idea what just happened – its all explained here.)