Please note: We will be closed on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day!
So, this funny thing happened where I had one employee quit very suddenly. And then, literally THE NEXT DAY, another one did the same. Two weeks later, another one hit the highway. Funny, right??

Oh, did I ever laugh and laugh and laugh . . .

Did I mention that I had exactly five employees prior to The Great Exodus??

That first part? With the laughing? That was a big fat lie.

To be perfectly honest, tears were shed. I cried because I was under an incredible amount of stress. There was a global pandemic going on, for heaven’s sake. I was trying to keep a fledgling business afloat. There were bills to pay, loans to make good on, pets to treat, clients to call, charts to write up, and on and on and on.

So what on Earth do you do when you lose 40% of your team practically overnight? Well, if you own your own business the answer is: everything. You. Do. Everything.

In the wake of The Great Exodus, I’ve been a receptionist, practice manager, maintenance worker, radiology technician, dishwasher, phlebotomist, groomer, surgeon, and toilet scrubber. Usually all in the same day.

Do I mind it? Not really. You see, when you decide to buy a practice, you better love everything about being a practice owner. Because at some point or another, I can guaran-damn-tee you that you will do every single job in your hospital. It just comes with the territory.

And so, here we are. Down nearly half of our team and working our faces off every day. But this too shall pass. We have a new hire starting soon and we have some working interviews scheduled. Our high school worker has really stepped up and taken on more responsibilities–turns out she’s a natural at a lot of stuff AND has a great attitude to boot!

We’re learning a lot every day. We’re refining our systems so when we do find the right employees, we are as efficient as possible. And believe me, we need to be efficient–it’s crazy busy out there for vets right now.

I’ll keep sharing our ups and downs as we navigate all this madness. I think staffing is one of the major issues all businesses struggle with, but vet med has its own unique challenges. Stay tuned 🙂