A well-trained team can make your life easier and improve your practice’s bottom line.
Instead of trying to do everything yourself, you can delegate to someone your trust—so you can do more.
Delegating is all about balance. There’s always a tug-of-war between giving someone enough responsibility that they feel valued, trusted, and professionally stimulated, while also not overburdening that person with more than they can reasonably handle.
It helps to communicate with your team, keeping in mind that their needs may change over time. It’s also important to make sure your highly qualified team members are fairly compensated, so they won’t need to seek out a better-paying position after they’re trained.
However, done well, there is definitely value in investing in your wonderful team members.
Here are just a few ways to do that…
Formal Training and Certifications
The NAVTA (National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America) offers several official certifications through their Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties. Some of the specialties include…
Emergency and Critical Care Technicians.
Dental Technicians.
Internal Medicine Technicians.
Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia.
Zoological Medicine Technicians.
What does certification mean, exactly?
To take an example, there could be a lot of value in hiring a dental RVT. This is a tech or nurse who specialized in the field of veterinary dentistry.
According to the Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians (AVDT), their members have immense knowledge of pet dental diseases and can help to educate clients on the importance of oral health, as well as on procedures the doctor may need to perform during a dental.
This knowledge comes from a minimum of 3,000 hours of veterinary dentistry training, training under a mentor from the AVDT program, and a 2-phase (written and practical skills) exam.
So, having a dental RVT could save you a lot of time in client communication, while also instilling trust in clients that the whole team is knowledgeable and cares about their pet.
You also know a dental RVT is a person you can trust to help you perform dental procedures efficiently.
So far as this program and other formal training programs go, you could look to hire someone who already has this certification.
Or, if possible for your practice, it may be worth it to help invest in the process for a team member whom you know will be staying with you long-term.
Continuing Education Events
In addition to CE for veterinarians and veterinary students, large conferences such as VMX also offer a wealth of choices for technicians/nurses, practice managers, and other support staff.
Topics covered often include…
Various skills for vet techs, ranging from daily procedures to emergency and critical care.
Hiring and employee evaluation best practices for managers.
Social media and marketing tips.
Communication skills.
And more…
Supporting your team members in learning these new skills could help to add more technical capabilities to your practice, ease team communications, and make your practice’s daily operations smoother.
If sending team members to a big conference isn’t an option yet (which may very well be the case until your new practice gets established), look for local events.
Sometimes, emergency vet hospitals or local veterinary specialists offer CE events for community veterinary practices in topics such as pet CPR.
In-House Training
Having an in-house training program for your new hires is a very common method of bringing new team members up to speed. Done well, it can be very efficient and help new employees bond to their team members.
However, it’s important to go about it the right way. Here are a few tips…
Have a comprehensive resource—such as a staff training manual covering client communication, dress code, fecal interpretation, etc.—in a place that’s easy to access, such as a physical binder or computer file.
Ask your new hire about their previous experience, and what questions they have for you.
Set up a timeline, so the new employee knows exactly what they need to learn and by when.
Decide who is doing the training. Make sure that person is up for the job—rather than viewing it as a burden, they should be someone who enjoys teaching others.
Have check-ins during the training process—both to see if the new hire is doing their part to learn, and to be sure they’re not overwhelmed.
Learning to “Let Go”—So You Can Thrive
As a veterinary practice owner, delegating your tasks can be hard at first.
After all, you’ve just built the practice you dreamed of, and you might feel a strong desire to have a hand in every aspect of your daily operations.
It can be challenging to let go of that need to oversee everything.
Also, delegation is not necessarily something to be taken lightly. You must be sure you have team members you trust to take on important responsibilities.
However, once you allow your talented team to take on the responsibilities they’re trained to do, that can mean better professional satisfaction for them, and less “overwhelm” for you.
It can allow you to do more with your time each day while expanding your reach in terms of both patient care and income potential.
Written by: Dr. Tammy Powell, DVM
