That happened to us only once. A young associate we had praised and encouraged for several years opened a practice near us without warning. Some of our clients chose to go to this new practice, but so what! It did not hinder our practice. Clients can't be stolen anyway; they are free to go where they choose. We went right on introducing our young associates to our clientele in such a way as to generate respect for the young doctors. What's more, most of them had earned that respect.

Robert M. Miller, DVM, is an author and a cartoonist, speaker, and Veterinary Medicine Practitioner Advisory Board member from Thousand Oaks, Calif. His thoughts in "Mind Over Miller" are drawn from 32 years as a mixed-animal practitioner. Visit his Web site at http://www.robertmmiller.com/.