Fall is my favorite season. I love the sunny days and cool, crisp evening breezes coming off the Pacific Ocean near my home in Southern California. California may be devoid of what most areas consider real seasons, but we still experience the shorter hours of daylight and the expected drops in temperature. I have always been a "sweater weather” fan and may own an alarming number of sweater choices. This is a no-judgment zone, right? Yet, with the change of seasons, cooler temperatures, and shorter days come the changing veterinary management challenges. For my leadership team and me, this comes in the form of preparing for the upcoming holidays and grappling with fall seasonal management issues. I thought I’d share some of my fourth-quarter seasonal management pressures and ask if you are experiencing or expecting them too.
A Week-Long Celebration for VTs
October starts with National Veterinary Technician Week during the third week of the month. My general practice has 16 credentialed technicians that we will be celebrating and recognizing. The whole team of 60 staff members will enjoy a week of fun food, games, and treats. We will individually recognize the outstanding contributions our RVTs make to clients, patients, and the team, and highlight the important role they play in the medical care we provide. The managers, including myself, may be asked to repeat a traditional "Waffle Wednesday" performance, where we don aprons and prepare a hot, homemade waffle bar for the morning shifts. Finally, we will recognize the technicians again at our October monthly staff meeting, where they will receive a gift as an extra thank-you for their hard work.
Coordinating the festivities is a fun diversion for the leadership team, but it also adds stress and scheduling coordination to their daily management duties. The added responsibilities for the management team, although in support of staff, can be a mental drain when combined with other responsibilities.
Holiday Hecticness and Demands
The holidays that follow our October festivities come with their own set of challenges. As a practice that has a large boarding facility integrated within our building, the holidays lead to a full kennel! This means the front desk team will be making lots of reservations and checking in and out more clients than usual. A high volume of boarding pets also leads to a jump in requested services, such as a full grooming salon. Plus, there tends to be more work for the medical team in the form of inpatient examinations, vaccinations, and parasite treatments.
And the needs and challenges don't stop there. It is no secret that holiday hazards and emergency spikes put extra pressure on the team. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and early holiday celebrations bring a rise in toxic ingestion and emergency calls. Balancing daytime appointments with overflow emergency cases requires tight triage systems. The management team works to prepare the team to avoid common pitfalls such as lost patient belongings, coordinating increased staffing, and, inevitably, client complaints and concerns.
Keeping Our Facilities in Focus
Also on my fall agenda is facility maintenance and comfort. The facilities often get the short end of the stick when it comes to prioritizing tasks. However, we can't neglect the structural building that houses our livelihood. Cooler weather brings heating system checks, HVAC adjustments, and potential odor or ventilation complaints. The onset of the rainy season brings puddles, wet leaves, and mud that can make our entrances slippery, increasing liability concerns. I’ll see how our roof held up over the last year and whether or not I will need to call for emergency roofing repair. Our upcoming weather report has storms on the horizon. My hair might be standing on end from Halloween spookiness (don’t forget the fall/holiday decorations), or it might be from the added lines on my day planner fitting it all in. Regardless, I am committed to ensuring our facility is ready for the seasons ahead.
Don't Forget to Take Care of YOU!
Yes, we managers have a lot to juggle this season (and, to be quite honest, every season). However, I encourage all my management colleagues to make time for self-care. The upcoming holiday season means not only more veterinary work stress but also the additional stress of family obligations and a busy home life. Take time to pre-schedule something that brings you happiness and relaxation, such as a massage, a book, a hike, or a new hobby. I have added "participating in a community dog walk" to my list. Whatever it is, if you schedule it, it's more likely to get done. I've made a few early appointments to get things pre-scheduled on my calendar; otherwise, I will just skip my "me time." Mental health can be a challenge for many reasons during the holiday time, and you need to put your oxygen mask on first.
I am curious to know if you face these challenges, or perhaps different ones, at this time of year. Regardless of the season, know that the VHMA is here for you with work resources to make your work life easier.
Leslie Boudreau, RVTg, CVPM, PHRca, SPHR
VHMA President