Vets Ask Dr. Dave: Help! I'm being buried by paperwork!

August 18, 2017

Dave Nicol, BVMS, Cert. Mgmt MRCVS

Nicol is a graduate of Glasgow University Veterinary School in Scotland. He initially set out with plans to become a surgeon, but almost immediately was drawn into general practice by the interaction with pet owners and the problem-solving opportunities that cropped up each day. Initially, this meant finding and fixing animal problems, but quickly it became clear that there were plenty of problems with how practices worked as well.

Those reports aren't going to complete themselves. Ehh, just stay a few extra hours.

Get help with time management

Let your technicians assist with notes in the exam room. They're up to the task-and they like it.

Keep your time in line. Constantly make small adjustments..

What else is keeping veterinarian's up at night?

In “Vets Ask Dr. Dave,” CVC educator Dave Nicol, BVMS, Cert. Mgmt MRCVS, answers colleagues' questions on the business of veterinary medicine. In this episode Dr. Bill in Oklahoma writes with this scenario: “I can't do anything in my free time, because I spend a lot of time doing paperwork.”

Dave couldn't agree more that this is a problem: “Vets doing heaps of unpaid overtime is like a serious disease in our industry.” And he has advice, but it's going to be on you to allocate time more wisely. You'll need to be smarter about scheduling and more realistic about how much you can actually get done.

Watch the video for more.

Want more from Dr. Nicol? Go to the full video to hear about faking it until you make it and the peril of being paid on production.

Would you like to get Dr. Dave's take on your veterinary business question? Reach him through all the likely channels: Use the hashtag #VetsAskDrDave on Twitter (@drdavenicol) or Facebook (facebook.com/drdavenicol), or email hello@drdavenicol.com.