THE BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: HIRING PROFESSIONALS FOR YOUR PRACTICE


experience they bring. Properly leveraging all team members for their expertise and experience is important in achieving team satisfaction, patient care, and profitability. Team members who have graduated from an ac- credited veterinary technology program, passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE), maintain their credentials in the state they practice in by fulfilling requirements, and pay their creden- tialing dues are considered Licensed, Registered, or Certified. These team members are eager to assist their veterinarians and to be leveraged to their high- est potential. By empowering the entire veterinary team to


take an active role in completing tasks within their scope of practice, the efficacy of the entire veterinary healthcare team improves and goals are broadened. The greatest asset veterinarians can control is


how they use their time. In any given day, when a veterinarian can solely focus on patient care, client service, and the tasks he or she is trained to do, greater productivity and profitability follow. There- fore, developing teams in veterinary medicine around shared goals, shared knowledge, mutual re- spect, and effective communication is important to the productivity and, in turn, the profitability of a veterinary practice. The AVMA states, “The veterinary profession is enhanced through efficient utilization of each member of the veterinary health care team by appropriate delegation of tasks and responsibili- ties to support staff” (AVMA policy on veterinary technology). When veterinarians leverage their teams, they


will see more patients and serve more clients, di- rectly impacting productivity and profitability. In support of the profitability that a veterinary practice can achieve by leveraging members of a veterinary practice, a survey conducted in 2008 found that for every credentialed veterinary tech- nician a practice employed, the practice generated $161,493 more in gross revenue.a The study at- tributed the increase in revenue to the freeing up of the veterinarian’s time by allowing qualified technicians to complete tasks veterinarians tradi- tionally oversaw.


5. Benefits of Delegating and Empowering


There is more to delegating than meets the eye. There is a large amount of leadership, trust, train- ing, and empowering of team members involved. You may have worn so many hats for such a long time that it may be challenging and feel as if you are losing control when you begin divvying up responsi- bilities to your qualified team. The benefits in delegating and empowering far outweigh the drawbacks.


1. Personal sanity is defined as the condition of being based on reason or good judgment or


532 2019  Vol. 65  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


having a healthy mind. No longer juggling all the tasks of your business or wearing all the hats, you are focusing on the tasks you are trained to do as a veterinarian.


2. Profitability can be measured by your time spent doing “Doctor Duties” instead of man- ager duties. Economists use the term “Op- portunity Costs” when the veterinarian is not generating revenue because he/she is spending the time managing the prac- tice. One study, performed by Dr. Neal Was- serman along with the NCVEI (2008–most recent data in my research), showed veteri- nary practice owners essentially lose $122 of gross revenue for every managerial hour spent. Conversely, clinics see an additional $119 for every hour a practice manager works. Another survey completed by the Ontario Vet- erinary Medical Association reported small animal hospitals with a practice manager gen- erate 13% more than a hospital without a practice manager.


3. Wellbeing may be a goal of yours. It may be defined as going home with the ability to focus on yourself and your family. It may be defined as the ability to carve out time to exercise in a mindful way, knowing your business is running smoothly. For many veterinary professionals, wellbeing is living with less stress. Through appropriate delegation, these concepts in well- being may be achieved.


What other benefits can you identify supporting


you in your career when choosing to delegate and empower your team?


6. Letting Go


Beyond the aforementioned benefits of letting go, it can still be a challenge and even scary. You may feel anxiety and trepidation in letting go. You are the veterinarian and it is your license on the line. However, there are valuable, highly skilled parapro- fessionals that are eager to support you in your success. “I am a perfectionist. Nobody will do it as good


as I can” are sentiments frequently heard and are hindering your chances to have a fulfilling, profitable, and sustainable life (personally and professionally). In the article, Choose Progress over Perfection, you


may find a sentence or two that resonates with you. Instead of striving for perfection, aim to do your best in each moment, for you and the expectation for your team. One veterinarian said he burned through veterinary team members like they were going out of style, mainly due to placing unhealthy attitudes of perfectionism onto them. Once he experienced a paradigm shift in letting go of this unrealistic expec- tation, he began forming stronger, more satisfying working relationships with his team, resulting in better retention rates.


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