When I was at my physical therapy appointment last week the doctor said this as he pulled me into the room. Of course I said "no problem" and shuffled into the room. Then his assistant said the same thing. I couldn't help but wonder why we are always in such a hurry that we feel the need to say this. Of course this is polite and acknowledges the fact that they had to wait. But at the same time we feel guilty for doing so. Why?
Thinking back to all the clinics I've worked at and the HUNDREDS of times we "ran behind" and had to say this I could fill a whole book. How many people truly appreciated it? Or understood that dying dog needed to come first? I cannot tell you how many times I got people who neither appreciated or understood. It's always my pet is more important than someone else's. Now, I get that as my dogs are personally the best (insert winky emoji). But I also understand my place in line.
Why are we always in such a hurry? (My personal opinion)
TIME MANAGEMENT is incredibly poor. Doctors spend entirely too much time with a new puppy or kitten. Any small amount of time extra spent takes away from the next appointment and then it snowballs. I've worked with A LOT of doctors and only about one or two would stay with me on schedule. However, it's not entirely their fault. We get clients who want to tell us their entire life story in the 15-20 appointment slot we have. We don't want to be rude so we let them go but inside we're dying because we have another 30 appointments to go. Or a routine visit turns into fluffy has been vomiting for a week but can we still get vaccines? They fail to tell the receptionist when scheduling probably because they think we can just "fit" that into their appointment. And you know what? WE DO!
This leads me to my next reason, BOUNDARIES. Veterinary professionals have zero boundaries when it comes to, well, anybody or anything to include themself. We want to help anyone. We are caregivers, it's what is engrained in our brains. So we sacrifice our lunch or bathroom break to squeeze in that walk-in who's bitching in the lobby because they had to wait 20 minutes when THEY DIDN'T HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. But let's cater to them. We need to set boundaries with ourselves and most importantly our clients. When we do a favor for them ONE time it becomes expected. Then one client becomes 100 clients and we can't keep to our promises. Personally everyone needs to be kept to the same standard with no special treatments. If anything the patients deserve the special treatments. The less we cater to these people the less we will feel rushed and the less clients you will have to fire because they don't get what they want. Therefore increasing $$$ which is what business owners really care about. C'mon you know it's true.
We need to set clearer EXPECTATIONS for our clients and ourselves. This ties into boundaries but you really can't have one without the other. If we set clear expectations we should be able to stick within our boundaries. We need to stop just letting someone who didn't plan their life better sneak in when they could go somewhere else OR make an appointment. "Their lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on mine" or yours. Unless it's an actual emergency we need to stop just letting people get away with things they need to be in better control of. Now this isn't yours, mine, or anyone else's problem or fault. It's 100% the clients fault. Let them accept responsibility. Stop double, triple booking appointments just because they suck at time management (see how these all tie together). Now I know people are like well how can we make money as a business if we turn people away? My answer to that is if anything is more important to you than your staff and their wellbeing then you probably should re-evauluate your priorities. Without your staff you don't have a hospital and without a functioning hospital you don't have a business.
We need to be more APPRECIATIVE of our staff. A well appreciated and valued employee will be more willing to give their all for you than if you overwork them. You overwork them by overbooking appointments, falling behind, allowing clients to be dicks to them (sorry it has to be said). When your staff starts becoming priority number one you will have a well succeeding business. I'm not a business professional but I've been that overworked and undervalued technician for many years. It made me resent the profession and the people I worked for. The only way to prevent that from happening is to make sure you treat them well.
We need to be more aware of a better WORK LIFE BALANCE. Listen and repeat after me....STOP CALLING YOUR STAFF ON THEIR DAYS OFF. Period. Knock that shit off. It is super easy for us to fall into this trap because we can't say NO. We are pleasers and we don't want to disappoint. But the more we say yes and burn ourselves out the less available we are going to be when we're actually working. I've been that technician that has literally lost my mind not being able to switch off work when I get home. After I had a lovely mental breakdown at work I learned to let at home life be at home and work at work. If you're short staffed it's because you don't want to hire more qualified people because you're being a cheap ass...you can be mad but it's true. Being properly staffed is important and will lead to less people being bugged on their days off. If you're reading this don't answer that phone if it's work on your day off. They can't legally fire you. If they can't understand you using your time off to relax and recharge then you need a better clinic. End of story.
So why are we always in such a hurry? Bear with me because this is brutal honesty and you might get mad. Because you want to cram as many appointments into your schedule so you can make as much money as possible. There, I said it. You don't care how it affects your staff as long as you get that $1,000 surgery. The crazy thing is, we just sit back and take it because we love our job and our patients. But I'm here to tell you more and more people are less willing to put up with your bullshit. And like I mentioned previously without us you don't have a business. I honestly think this is where clients get the "you're just about the money" thought from. Because it does come off that way. And as a technician of 10+ years it kind of is.
So when I go back to my appointment that got me thinking about this I realized we need to slow the F down. Life is too damn short to be living like we're in a race all the time. Take time to turn your phone off, eat that piece of cake, take your dogs for a walk, dance stupid in your living room, ugly cry at a movie, or sleep in til noon. It's your life and your decisions. Let's stop letting other people rule them like our jobs. You are in charge of your own destiny.
Shena
Not Another Vet Nurse