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Non-DVM staff: doing more with more.

2006; Canadian Veterinary Medical Association; Volume: 47; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

0008-5286

Darren Osborne, Frank Richardson,

Veterinary Practice and Education Studies

Veterinary hospitals vary greatly in how they use non-DVM staff. Some practices make do with fewer than 2 non-DVMs while others employ more than 4 per doctor. There is a lot of buzz surrounding higher density appointment schedule involving more staff, and the data support the theory that “you can do more with more staff ”. Data from the OVMA Economic Survey (1) show that practices using more non-DVMs earn more revenue. Small animal practices, exclusively, were divided into 4 equal groups based on the non-DVM hours per DVM hours. Practices in the highest quartile employed an average of 4.2 non-DVMs per DVM; 2.6 more non-DVMs per DVM than practices in the lowest quartile. Those practices in the highest quartile earned more Full-time Equivalent (FTE) gross revenue and net income and by seeing more clients, seeing each client more frequently, and by earning more per transaction. How? Practices with more non-DVMs per DVM were able to see more clients through improved bookings, better use of time, and increased efficiency. The significant non-DVM differences among quartiles were found in reception and registered technician positions. Practices in the highest quartile had more than twice the number of non-DVMs of practices in the lowest quartile. More reception time per DVM meant that reception staff could quickly process client payments and spend more time discussing and answering questions from clients. A higher density of receptionists meant that more time could be spent confirming appointments, filling unbooked or missed appointments, and in talking to new clients. Receiving clients promptly is the critical first step (achieved through higher reception density), but the next step is to keep things moving. Practices with more non-DVMs per veterinarian could do this by increasing registered technician hours. The average DVM in high staff practices had the assistance of 1.34 registered technicians. Registered technicians were used as examination room technicians, greeting each client before the DVM sees the client, getting a history, and doing a cursory exam. Practices that used examination room technicians reported that while the DVM did not necessarily spend less time with each client, the DVM was enabled to stay on time. Hospitals with a low staff to DVM ratio can have greater difficulty in spending an appropriate amount of time with each client. On a busy day, the DVM may need to spend more time with a client and without non-DVM support to take the pressure off, procedures can be missed or put off. In contrast, hospitals with a high staff complement can leverage non-DVMs to spend more time with clients or patients that need extra attention. Hospitals in the highest staff quartile that did not use registered technicians as examination room technicians used them to perform all other tasks in the hospital that they were capable of doing. Veterinarians were used to examine, diagnose, prescribe treatment, and perform surgery. Non-DVMs were used for everything else. One DVM in a practice with a high staff per DVM ratio (3.2 non-DVMs per veterinarian) explained that he only touched an animal if it was surgery. Be forewarned. The quartile analysis (Table 1) clearly shows that hospitals with more non-DVMs can create higher revenues and net incomes through increased client numbers and more involvement with each client. This applies to hospitals that can effectively manage more staff. Without proper staff management, more staff can create more stress, more work, and less income. Practices with more staff made greater use of practice managers. Table 1 Quartile analysis of revenues and incomes expressed in dollars An important consideration when planning staffing levels is client demand. If you adopt a, “hire staff and clients will come,” philosophy you may simply end up with higher wages and a lower net income. The data clearly show that higher client traffic and more attention to each client is the key to higher revenues. Measure your active and new client traffic regularly (monthly), so you can see the affect additional staff have on business. Many DVMs are happiest and will be most profitable with a low number of non-DVMs per veterinarian. However, if the demand is there, and the ability to manage is there, hire more staff. As you can see, there is no right or wrong answer to this issue. Delegators prefer more non-DVMs per DVM, while nondelegators are more comfortable with fewer non-DVMS. However, one reality shines through the numbers, — delegators generally enjoy higher net incomes than nondelegators!