Veterinarian Dr. Bowie on High Efficiency Hospitals
A veterinarian friend recently shared insight on how clinics become high efficiency hospitals and how by reaching that status, a practice becomes more desirable to doctors looking for work. Please take a moment to read this message from Dr. Peter Bowie:
A veterinary hospital in hiring mode must stand out from the competition in the current job market. The CVMA polled veterinarians about the importance they place on different aspects of a job or job offer and found these are the top 5 factors that influence a veterinary associate’s evaluation of a potential job: positive work environment, clinical quality of the practice, owner’s vision, work/life balance and schedule.
High efficiency hospitals highlight at least 4 of those 5 factors. My evaluation of busy, high efficiency hospitals suggests that employees are happiest in these hard working and high intensity environments that also happen to maintain a positive team-oriented workspace. Also, a high efficiency team allows the veterinarian to have the time, the team, and the hospital expertise to practice the kind of medicine they imagine for themselves. In high efficiency hospitals, associate veterinarians tend to leave work on time, work less shifts, and even less hours, but they often make more money than equivalent associates in less efficient hospitals, which supports factors 4 and 5 as listed above.
They also share characteristics that lend themselves to becoming a busy, efficient and rewarding hospital. First, they focus on training and retaining quality staff that develop their skills to the highest level of their credentials. Further, those same staff, including veterinarians, do not spend time on tasks that could be completed by others in a less expensive job category. Veterinary technicians do work that is defined by their legal title, their education and their skilled nursing job descriptions. Veterinarians do not do technician work and technicians do not perform tasks that could be accomplished by skilled veterinary assistants. Doctors can then focus on the very things they went to veterinary school for, making medical decisions for patients and then can follow that up with excellent client service while effectively communicating those medical recommendations and test results to the clients. Formal, ongoing staff training should support staff growth to the highest level of their job description and if desired, challenge staff to reach for advanced credentials.
Hospital design and workflow must be intimately connected. Workflow should be designed with the hospital in mind and vice versa. Workflows are modified as necessary to account for the team and the premises. Training should be codified for every job title and progress should be monitored frequently. Technology should be instituted to reduce time spent on administrative tasks and improve hospital flow. The team should be a part of any major decisions to change workflow or technology, and the team should be continuously asked for ongoing feedback on processes.
In practices that I have polled, veterinarians in efficient practices saw more appointments per hour, more cases per day, had a busy but numerous and efficient staff, experienced greater levels of staff retention, and ultimately a more contented veterinary team. Ultimately, they had a staff that worked harder but made more money and were more bonded to the hospital. Marketing for veterinary positions should highlight the efficient hospital’s features and the hospital should then focus on these features during interviews and working interviews. Then, they can truly be the employer of choice in the region.
Dr. Peter Bowie has been practicing veterinary medicine since 1998 in California. He began his career working in emergency medicine and ultimately became part owner and Medical Director of the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center of Marin. Dr. Bowie is president-elect of the California Veterinary Medicine Association, a member of the Board of Veterinary Insurance Services Company and now a consultant for TowardHealth Consulting (towardhealthconsulting.com) which works with private practitioners, corporate management, and startups in the veterinary space.
Do you need help with finding associates to join your practice? DVM has been in the recruiting business for more than 30 years, and since 2020, we have submitted 575 veterinarians to 236 privately owned clinics. We understand the special requirements of finding the right doctor for private practices, and our team has consistently put our method to work for our clients, resulting in an 88 percent success rate in presenting quality candidates within the first 90 days of the recruitment process. Allow me the chance to explain how we can find the right match for you and your team.