3 minute read
Flexible Staffing
Great for Veterinarians and Veterinary Hospitals
By Marisa Brunetti, VMD, Chief Medical Officer, IndeVets
At IndeVets, we are on a mission to make veterinary medicine better. We unite top veterinarians and veterinary hospitals to deliver excellent patient care through what we call flexible staffing. As a veterinarian myself, flexible staffing is a new concept, but in my three plus years with IndeVets, it has become a way for veterinarians to improve their own wellbeing while decreasing the burden that our partner veterinary hospitals are facing.
As a profession, we have been on a rollercoaster since the beginning of COVID-19. We are one of a few industries that has done well despite the pandemic. Survey responses from over 100 of our partner hospitals earlier this year showed 90% of respondents had an increase in appointments between March 2020 and March 2021 because of the demand from new pet parents (pandemic puppies!) and because of new client acquisitions from other veterinary hospitals that can’t fit in these appointments.
What Is Flexible Staffing?
Relief work is a component of flexible staffing. The difference is that a flexible staffing group has a team of full- and part-time veterinarians available to veterinary hospitals in need. Our team provides educational, financial, and emotional support to our veterinarians while they work in hospitals for short or long periods of time. This gives flexibility to veterinarians looking for more balance and coverage for hospitals during staff leaves, vacations, or times of increased demand.
How Can a Flexible Staffing Team Benefit Me as a Veterinarian?
Relief work can provide more flexibility in your schedule, but it will also produce more individual work such as finding your own clients, and providing your own advertising, accounting, and benefits. Working with a team like IndeVets provides the support you would expect as an associate veterinarian, without someone dictating your schedule:
Choose Your Own Adventure
Veterinary hospitals partner with IndeVets and post their needs. You balance your work around your life and get more c areer and personal enjoyment.
Collaborate With the Team
Our Associate IndeVets have an internal communication network to post cases, get clinical and personal advice, change shifts, and meet up. When you work with one IndeVet, you are really working with over 100 veterinarians in multiple states.
Lead by Example
Veterinarians are lifelong learners and educators. Working in multiple veterinary hospitals gives you the ability to elevate veterinary medicine, as well as learn new ways of practicing medicine and helping other people.
Mentor Others and Be Mentored in Return
At IndeVets, veterinarians are led by other veterinarians. We mentor, shadow, and review each other’s medical records to ensure high-quality medicine and consistent care. We have veterinarians on our team with special skills like acupuncture, surgery, dentistry, and fearfree handling, that are shared with the team when help is needed.
How Can Flexible Staffing Benefit My Veterinary Hospital?
If your staff is feeling the burden of increased client demand with shortened hours because of COVID-19, consider using flexible staffing to decrease their stress and retain your staff. We need to open our minds to a new way of practicing medicine, and it involves helping each other.
Don’t think of flexible staffing as relief medicine that you use when your veterinarian is on vacation. Other ways to use flexible staffing are to experiment with new or expanded hours, help fill gaps left by a departing veterinarian, and for recurring, long-term staffing placement at your hospital. Outsourcing your workforce has become a more viable option. This gives you the veterinary help you need quickly, easily, and without the need to provide additional benefits.
Plus, working with a flexible staffing team is easy, efficient, and consistent! Our IndeVets are fully vetted before they join our team and are overseen by veterinarians if you have concerns. Posting your hospital’s needs takes less than 2 minutes on our online portal so you are in control of your hospital’s schedule.
Veterinary medicine is evolving, and many are looking for more balance and freedom to choose how and where they work. Let’s all work together to help as many animals as possible!
About the Author: Marisa Brunetti, VMD, was raised in PA and graduated from Penn Vet in 2010. Since graduation, she has worked in private and corporate small animal practice as well as shelter and forensic medicine. She has been helping IndeVets grow since 2018 and still practices in over 20+ veterinary hospitals in the greater Philadelphia area. Dr. Brunetti is the newest Board Trustee for PVMA, covering District 7. Please check out IndeVets at indevets.com, and contact Dr. Brunetti at
