BUSINESS PRACTICE

Redefining Roles to Sustain an Equine Practice

By Cath Paulhamus

Burnout, especially among solo practitioners, is often cited as a reason for leaving equine practice, according to the AAEP Retention Task Force. However, there are many other reasons, too, the task force said.

Presenters at the AAEP 67th Annual Convention and Trade Show proposed various strategies for equine practitioners to consider to control their time and redefine their practice to prevent burnout for themselves, their associates and other staff.

Begin with limiting your scope of practice.

This may seem counterintuitive to the standard business plan of unlimited expansion, serving the needs of more and more clients. However, equine practitioners may find that being more selective improves their profitability and decreases their stress.

A more focused practice requires less equipment and inventory. In addition, specializing in areas (such as dentistry) can limit emergency and on-call services.

For owners, scaling back time spent on less profitable or less gratifying aspects of their jobs can create personal time away from the practice, preventing practice fatigue.

More practices are limiting their scope of practice and specializing, noted Caitlin Daly, DVM, the owner of Mid Coast Equine in Maine. “If you want to be successful, happy and healthy—both physically and emotionally—while in this profession, you need to have strong boundaries. Finding success in solo practice has to come with the understanding that there is no possible way for you to be everything to everyone, all the time. Clients want and need a variety of services, and even if you don’t do them, you can always be the hero that refers them to where they need to go.”

However, redefining one’s practice often requires contracting with others to fill additional roles. Associates, technicians, support staff, temporary and emergency veterinarians and other solo practitioners can be strategic assets to provide necessary services more efficiently and profitably, they said.

Potential employees may prefer part-time or flexible hours, allowing practitioners to design a workable schedule that takes better advantage of employees’ capabilities when they’re needed.

A better life-work balance is often “perceived as a lack of effort or commitment to the job, and I think that’s a huge problem that many of these newer associates have,” explained Kelly A. Zeytoonian, DVM, MBA, CERP, the owner of Starwood Veterinary Equine Service and Starwood Veterinary Consulting in the San Francisco Bay area.

Emergency services—one of the major causes of burnout—can be coordinated among practices, so that no one is on call 24/7. Reassigning practice responsibilities to others—allowing them to care for clients and represent the practitioner—involves assessing capabilities and clarifying expectations, an effort that may require a series of adjustments until the right balance is attained.

Exploring the advantages of forming an emergency cooperative among practitioners, Martha Mallicote, DVM, DACVIM, clinical associate professor at University of Florida, who participates in a successful cooperative, explained, “All you have when it comes down to it, is time. You have the opportunity to make plans, when you can truly unplug, know you’re off call, and know that you’re being backed up by a very competent colleague.”

Redefined roles and schedules may require rethinking fees and salaries, they said. Practice space, equipment and inventory could be adjusted to decrease expenses. Colleagues who share emergency or other services should discuss fees and billing.

Dr. Zeytoonian used the fees charged by her plumbers to illustrate how practitioners should reconsider their fees and the value of their time. “What’s important is [plumbers] know their value, they know they’re in high demand and have a skill set that only they can offer—and so do we. If you hear nothing else from my talk today, it is to be the plumber. And in addition to that, be the plumber that continues increasing your prices. Know your value and continue to raise them,” she said.

Additional revenue allows more freedom to implement changes in the practice.

Career goals and roles are rapidly evolving to address the demands of a changing society. Changing the old paradigms for practice may help retain talented and enthusiastic equine practitioners.