The Penn Foster Blog

Whether you call it burnout, brownout, or compassion fatigue the extreme stress faced by veterinary healthcare teams is a serious problem. When Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians burn out, both the team and the patients suffer. In some cases, experienced veterinary care providers and support staff may even leave the profession entirely. However, with the right strategies, your team can avoid falling victim to these mental and emotional stressors.

Requiring job applicants to have college degrees might be artificially constricting your talent pipeline. Thousands of competent employees have never earned a college degree. By adjusting job posting requirements, you can tap into a broader talent pool to fill gaps in your workforce, then train them to meet the demands of the job.

You provide high quality care to pets and exemplary service to clients. So, why aren’t your veterinary practice sales growing? Many veterinarians find themselves overworked and overwhelmed without the profit to show for it. Many are looking for a solution that will support financial success without putting them at risk for burnout. One of the best ways to drive veterinary practice sales is to fully utilize each member of the healthcare team. “The more people work at the top of their license the more revenue you can generate,” said Douglas Carlson, Senior Director Veterinary Health Education at Penn Foster.

Your business offers paid apprenticeships with the goal of training workers to fill open jobs. You know that apprenticeship jobs are particularly well-suited for closing skills gaps, because they allow you to hire curious, motivated employees and then train them to meet your needs. If this sounds like a win-win scenario, that’s because it is.

At the 92nd annual Western Veterinary Conference, a record number of veterinary professionals met in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on growth and knowledge. Over the course of the conference, one thing became clear - many practices are struggling with the same issues: a crowded market and difficulty attracting new talent and clients. For practice managers, who are often held directly responsible for the success or failure of a clinic, finding a solution to improve retention rates, while also increasing practice revenue is a must. The key? Effective marketing.

Training veterinary technicians should be a top priority for your veterinary clinic or hospital. With the right training, they can improve efficiency, elevate patient care, and help create strong relationships between clients and the practice. Dr. Jim Hurrell, Penn Foster’s Veterinary Technician Program Director Emeritus, suggests five best practices for training your staff.

It’s a well-known fact in the healthcare industry that few hospitals have all the medical assistants they need to meet staffing demands. The industry is changing, and recruitment and training haven’t caught up yet to new expectations. However, for hospitals to remain viable, they must embrace the rise of the medical assistant role.

The demand for CNAs is rising and nursing facilities are feeling the pinch. Around the country, nursing facilities are facing the need to turn away patients - not because they don't have to space to accommodate them, but because they don't have enough Certified Nursing Assistants on staff to see to the care of another person. This scenario is all too common in nursing facilities across the country. As the demand for CNAs skyrockets, healthcare organizations struggle to recruit and retain enough staff to meet patient needs. Responsible nursing facilities would rather leave beds empty than risk their reputations and patient health by compromising patient care.

There’s no doubt that declining retention rates plague the healthcare industry. Turnover rates have risen year after year across all positions, hitting a high of 19.1% in 2018 according to a 2019 National Healthcare Retention Report. High-stress roles and the 24/7 nature of the industry make employee burnout not only likely, but difficult to prevent. And with the demand for competent workers only increasing over time, the struggle to fill positions with employees who will stay is putting even more stress on those workers who do, compelling hiring managers to find any means possible to close the gap.

At VMX 2020, one of the world’s leading veterinary conferences, over 17,000 industry leaders and professionals gathered to engage in immersive workshops and continuing education opportunities, sharing thoughts, practices, and guidelines for improving quality patient care. Throughout the event, one trend became increasingly clear: the health and wellness of dedicated veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants is crucial to ensuring employee retention and practice growth.