As promised - here is the 2nd part of Rig Vets Guide to Locuming.
Posted on Monday, September 17 @ 19:44:13 BST by jenvetadmin
|
If the practice is providing you with a flat or a car, think about doing a quick scan around
and noting any damage when you first take possession, preferably together with the
practice manager.
Arguments at the end of a placement about whether or not you
scratched the paintwork or broke that chair leg can cause bad feeling and are avoidable.
Well-organised practices will do this with you anyway.
Special regard for sole charge assignments
There are special considerations that apply if you are taking sole charge of a practice.
As well as all of the above, make sure that you have a contact number for the owner in
their absence. Don’t use it, no-one likes to be disturbed on holiday and if you are
accepting a sole charge position, you are expected to be able to cope; but if a real disaster happens, for example you manage to burn down the surgery or kill the receptionist, you will need to be able to get in touch.
Also make sure that you have the
keys to the premises and to the dangerous drug cupboard, or that a reliable member of
support staff has them and you can get hold of them out
of hours if necessary.
You will need the code for the
burglar alarm, and instructions on how to reset it
if it goes off, instructions on how to set, unset
and record a message on the answering
machine and information on how to get help
out of hours if necessary.
If out of hours help
is not available, you need to know this and
be confident that you can cope; but it is far
better to have someone you can contact,
rather than risk spending half the night scouring
the place for a bag of Hartmans and the other
half trying to find a cannula while the patient slowly
expires. When accepting a sole charge job, it is wise to
make sure that you will get at least an hour or two to spend with the boss before they
leave, so you can ask all of your questions and familiarise yourself with the practice,
people and policies.
It is not unknown for a practice principal to just hand the locum the
keys and leave; but the more information you have on how they want you to work, the
better a job you will be able to do for them.
ADDING VALUE.
When a practice takes on a locum, they expect turnover to drop.The popular locums,
the ones who get asked back, are the ones who maintain turnover at the same level as
the regular staff, if not higher.
The skills that you will develop in doing this will also be
invaluable should you return to a permanent practice job. Firstly, never give “freebies” or
discount the fees, even if you think the prices are high: the practice is paying you to sell
their time and products, not to give them away, and you have no idea of the level of
overheads that they have to cover.
Secondly, try to maximise your average transaction
value. If a dog comes in for a booster, it is easy just to give it that booster, but, if you take
the extra few seconds to say “has he been wormed in the last three months?”, you will
be able to sell a worm dose as well to at least half of them, and if you ask if he will be
going into kennels in the next year, you might sell a few kennel cough vaccines as well.
Try to sell a few cans of a suitable diet, as well as medication to the puppy with
diarrhoea; if the cat has bad teeth don’t just say “he needs a dental”, but accompany the
client to the reception desk to make sure that it does actually get booked in for that
dental.
No-one would want you to sell products or services that the patient doesn’t
actually need, but these perfectly valid extra sales, however small each one may be, can
add up to a significant improvement in turnover by the end of the day.
Rather than taking
the easy option and just “doing the job”, try to go the extra mile and improve your
reputation as a locum as well as improving client service and your own job satisfaction.
Keep the clients (and the boss) happy
As well as maintaining turnover, the other factor that will endear you to a practice
principal and improve your chances of being asked back, or at least of a favourable
reference, is fitting in well with the practice team and work ethos.
Try to reassure clients,
who are bound to be worried about seeing a stranger, with phrases such as “I haven’t
seen Fluffy before but Mr X has discussed his case with me” or “I have read through all
of Tiddles’ notes and I see that …”
As a locum you are “here today, gone tomorrow”; it is
not your job to change the treatment plans of the practice’s chronic cases, no matter
how inappropriately you feel they are being handled.
The clients have chosen that
practice because they like the way they do things, and a total stranger coming in and
telling them that they should do something different and change the pills that Spot has
been on for the last five years is unlikely to win their favour.
What is more, if you disagree
with the previous veterinary surgeon, it is not necessarily they who are wrong, not least
because they have a better background knowledge of the patient, the client and local
conditions. A better way to approach things is to put a note in the record for the original
vet saying “are you sure this isn’t a case of xyz?”, or “have you thought about trying
product acb for this, I have had good results with it”.
It is good practice not to criticise
the practice to the support staff either, they may well have limited or no experience of
other practices and think that their boss is wonderful, and, in any event, are likely to
report back what you have said.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COMPLIMENTARY COPY SENT TO YOUR PRACTICE PLEASE EMAIL webmaster@vetpro.co.uk
|
| |
|
Home
Veterinary News :
Veterinary Services:
