In the second part of British Veterinary Receptionist Association (BVRA)’s mini-series reflecting on how far the role of the veterinary receptionist has come, Council member Nickie Harris looks, from an equine practice perspective, at how veterinary practices have changed since she started 10 years ago.
Interviews
Ten years ago, my interview was a quick chat with Rachel (one of the practice directors) and the head receptionist at the time. There wasn’t a meeting room – the interview was held in the lab. I was offered the job on the day and started a couple of weeks later. I wasn’t totally sure what the job entailed and had to ask if I could come in a couple of afternoons to get some training and at least get a heads-up of what was expected.
I wasn’t totally sure what the job entailed and had to ask if I could come in a couple of afternoons to get some training
How has this changed?
Now we request CVs with a covering letter beforehand. Interviews are held in a meeting room, and the interviewer will have prepared questions to ask multiple candidates who are seen over a couple of days, all timed to perfection. Interviews are generally held by the practice and office managers. Potential candidates will be asked back for second interviews and, at this stage, will be shown round the practice and asked if they would like to do a trial week to get a feel for the role.
Practice management systems and technology
The computer programme we had when I started working as a veterinary receptionist was for small animals and wasn’t designed for vets out on the road. It had no details for horses, such as the breed, age, sex, passport or microchip numbers. Everything had to be modified per client and animal, with multiple address lines for client/yards and no ability to attach to each horse. Nothing was automated. The system was, however, easy to navigate but needed so much manipulating to make it work for equine practice.
The vets had laptops that were huge, heavy and cumbersome, and the battery life was only a few hours. The vet’s diary could never be live as they did not run on Wi-Fi, and the phone signal was never strong enough to try to create a link to tether the phone to the laptop. This meant there were constant calls from the vets to the office asking us to bill the clients while they were on-yard, as owners wanted to pay, but the vet’s laptop had died or frozen. We were still using paper lists and paper diaries!
How has this changed?
The computer programme we use now is purely for equine use, and the diaries have multiple platforms for vets, nurses, equipment, stables, animals, etc! These systems are much more efficient, and there are much better reports for stock use, financials and auto-route maps, and the auto-address for yards if the account is set up correctly. The system can be used on a tablet or mobile phone, making it easier for vets on the road.
Vets can bill and take payments in real-time, view X-rays and scans, and charge their tablets and phones in their cars. All history and stock are stored on one platform, including live diaries, which, for office staff, is the most important thing when an emergency comes in.
Training, communication and clients
Training consisted of on-the-job learning, although it was, and still is, quite difficult to explain the job of an equine veterinary receptionist to others. The head receptionist explained how the practice management system worked and what you needed to book for each call, whether it be time, equipment, nurses, travel time, area, etc, but the rest was sink or swim! You could be asked many things when you picked up the phone, from breeding, vaccines and castrations to health papers, etc. (Clients also often have nicknames for their horses, and there are hundreds of horses called “Harry” – so understanding and differentiating these on a call is difficult!)
The head receptionist explained how the practice management system worked and what you needed to book for each call […] but the rest was sink or swim!
Everything was written down: there were lists for everything and paper copies for export papers, blood/lab results and more. All the blood results had to be filed and then typed up in the account. There was no facility to scan these in or update the system as the technology didn’t support it.
Alongside all these things, we were also personal assistants to the vets and nurses. We had around 1,200 to 1,500 inbound calls a month, and every call was a job. The practice made around 600 to 800 outbound calls, all made by the reception team.
However, clients were far more accommodating, friendly, flexible and loyal to the vet they liked. They were always pleasant to speak to. They were grateful for the vets’ help over the phone and out in the yard, leading to all round happy, friendly, feel-good days. Clients paid by cash on the day or within 30-day business terms, although the old-school clients wanted to pay with cash to get a discount.
There was no CPD and training courses for receptionists at that time.
How has this changed?
While training is still partly learning on the job, now most of the training is done by me, in the first instance. Then each member of the office team shadows the new employee as they all have different roles. Personally, I learn by doing things – it’s all about on-the-job training – but as we know, everyone learns differently and at different speeds. We have also made many protocols to aid new staff members and to ensure everyone is working to those same protocols.
The growth of the practice and the speed this has happened is apparent in the call volume we receive. We now have between 4,500 and 5,500 calls a month, each one creating a job or a callback. We have the same number of office staff but have doubled the number of vets, hired four additional nurses and opened a new branch.
In the world we live in today, where people are stretched beyond their means, it makes for tough times, and the first point of call is the reception/office team
After COVID-19, clients have become very demanding, wanting everything then and there and at half the price because Google has diagnosed their horse. We still have so many lovely clients, but we are now in a world of WhatsApp, diagnosing via blurry pictures and online price comparisons. Office staff receive more abuse over the phone – more than ever before – especially when money is mentioned and/or an account is overdue. In the world we live in today, where people are stretched beyond their means, it makes for tough times, and the first point of call is the reception/office team.
CPD and training is now more widely available for veterinary receptionists, and there are different career paths which weren’t available 10 years ago.
Final thoughts
This is one of the best jobs you could ever have. It is fast-paced and the kind of job you can’t really sum up in a few words. It’s full of long hours and is mentally exhausting some days. From making appointments and cups of tea to filing drug requests and insurance papers, from chasing debts to arranging euthanasia and collection/cremation, from organising nurses, equipment, cars, client talks and various clinics either on-yard or at the practice, to a long list of jobs that goes on and on.
But the little thank yous from clients, when you have managed to dispatch a vet to a bad colic in record time and the outcome is good, or when a horse goes home after a long stay at the clinic, make it all worth it. I wouldn’t do anything else! It’s worthwhile to see how the whole team pull together as one to reach a common goal: personalised service and professional care.
