Leadership teams (owners, practice managers, and associate veterinarians) must understand where and why their team is inefficient (see Resources below). For example:
Question: Is inefficiency related to a particular role?
Answer: For this example, if the veterinarian provides all of the client education, it slows them down and prevents them from seeing more appointments.
While it is not wrong for DVMs to educate clients, it does prevent a qualified, credentialed veterinary technician from delivering the information while delaying care for other patients.
Question: Why is the inefficiency occurring (e.g., wrong people in the role, lack of training, lack of clear expectations, etc)?
Answer: The veterinary assistant team does not have the skills to deliver client education.
With extensive training and development, veterinary assistants can significantly increase the efficiency of the entire veterinary team.
Knowing where and why an inefficiency exists is important so practice leadership can solve the right problem with the right resources (versus solving the wrong problem).
Describing ideal efficiency and utilization is easy. Getting to that ideal state (and maintaining it) takes work.
Veterinarians should only perform DVM tasks: Diagnose, prognose, prescribe, and complete surgery
Support staff should complete tasks as established by the veterinary practice acts and scope of practice and under a veterinarian's direct or indirect supervision (Chapter 11).
Receptionists should complete tasks that provide an exceptional client experience with autonomy.
Practice managers should complete leadership and management-related tasks, not tasks that receptionists, veterinary assistants, or veterinary technicians can complete.
Review Finding the Time: Empowering Veterinary Teams to Get the Most out of Every Day (see Resources below) and complete the cultural, workflow, and technology assessments to help identify efficiency opportunities that should be built into SMART goals in Topic 4.
