Aug. 16, 2021

042 - How to embrace and retain part time vet mums at your veterinary clinic with Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets - part 1/2

Send us a text Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence t...

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Send us a text

Julie South interviews Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets + High Street Veterinary Clinic in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

Jocelyn’s vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best in an encouraging and supporting place…. That women can return to veterinary practice after the birth of their babies with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need, to work in clinics that are supportive and flexible … where everyone works together - like a community - to achieve everyone’s goals.

Over the course of her career, Jocelyn’s experienced many areas of the veterinary profession – from the cattle industry through to mixed and small animal clinics.

She’s held positions on Australian national and state boards and committees and has taken time out of her career to raise her children.

Today, as the owner of High Street Veterinary Surgery in Rockhampton, Queensland, she’s had hands-on, day-to-day experience of what it’s like to be a practice owner in today’s veterinary marketplace.

Jocelyn understands the complexities of running a profitable practice, while having an excellent lifestyle for herself and enabling everyone on her team to have excellent lifestyles too.

As the founder of Smooth Operating Vets, Jocelyn is working to create mother-friendly veterinary practices. She believes that creating mother-friendly vet clinics is essential to help reduce the number of highly skilled veterinarians who leave the profession because they can’t find positions that support, nurture and respect them as veterinarians and mothers.

In this episode she talks about buying her practice – and then not long after she bought it two vets and a few nurses resigned … Jocelyn’s first foray into recruitment to replace her departing staff was to do what everyone else does because that’s what she thought she had to do … but then she realised she didn’t need to do it that way at all – because “that” way doesn’t work.

The way Jocelyn now recruits, together with the systems and procedures she’s put in place, is non-traditional but it works. This is what Smooth Operating Vets is all about.

Struggling to get results from your job advertisements?
If so, then shining online as a good employer is essential to attracting the types of veterinary professionals who're a perfect cultural fit for your clinic.

The VetClinicJobs job board is the place to post your next job vacancy - to find out more get in touch with Lizzie at VetClinicJobs

WEBVTT

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Hi, I'm Julie south, and you're listening to paws, claws and wet noses.

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The veterinary sector podcast, celebrating all creatures great and small, and they're fantabulous professionals who look after them all welcome to episode 42.

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This is episode one of two with Dr.

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Jocelyn Bert baker, veterinarian clinic, owner of High Street Veterinary Surgery in Rockhampton Queensland mother, and the founder of Smooth Operating Vets and I talk about changes.

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Veterinary clinics can make to embrace working mums into their practices to create a smooth operating veterinary clinic.

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Jocelyn's vision at Smooth Operating Vets is to ensure all veterinary women have the opportunity to work in a team where everyone knows their talents and calmly does their very best.

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And an encouraging and supporting place that women can return to veterinary practice.

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After the birth of the babies, with the skills, knowledge, and confidence, they need to work in clinics that are supportive and flexible, where everyone works together like a community to achieve everyone's goals.

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Now, over the course of her career, Justin's experienced many areas of the veterinary profession from the cattle industry through to mixed and small animals.

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She's held positions on Australian's national and state boards and committees, and has taken time out of her own career to raise her children today.

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As the owner of High Street Veterinary Surgery in Rockhampton Queensland, she's had hands on day to day experience of what it's like to be a practice owner in today's veterinary market place.

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Jocelyn understands the complexities of running a profitable practice while having an excellent lifestyle for herself and enabling everyone on her team to have excellent lifestyles.

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As the founder of smooth operating vets, Jocelyn is working to create mother friendly veterinary practices.

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She believes that creating by the friendly vet clinics is essential to help reduce the number of highly skilled veterinarians who leave the profession because they can't find positions that support nurture and respect them as veterinarian.

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And mothers.

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And this episode, Jocelyn talks about buying her practice and then not long after she bought it, two vets and a few nurses resigned her first foray into recruitment to replace her departing staff was to do what everyone else does, because that's what she thought she had to do.

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But then she realized she didn't need to do it that way at all, because that way it doesn't always work the way Jocelyn now recruits together with the systems and procedures that she's put in place is non-traditional and it works.

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Boy does it work?

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And this is what smooth operating vets is all about.

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And this episode, I want you to listen out for when Jocelyn talks about how she manages Encore and after hours rosters, because they work, it wasn't a system that she inherited.

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It was something that she implemented herself.

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And I want you also to listen out for when she shares, how her Encore system works.

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Her team earned really good money when they work on core as, and they earn really good money when they're called out in the middle of the night.

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And it sounds like they don't mind doing it either.

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Listen out for how she primed.

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Clients with her on-call after hours message, which means that there's no quibbling when it comes to clients, paying their bills.

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Jocelyn does a lot of things different.

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So stay tuned to the end of the episode, because I'll summarize these for you because there are a lot of very powerful nuggets coming up,

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an old vet, or my father when he was a student in Glasgow, he said, if you want to be a success in veterinary practice, Just to keep the bubbles open and just arrested.

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God, nutrition is not an opinion.

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It's a science.

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They called me that weird herbal needle.

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That, and I, I just remember thinking, well, I'm still gonna do it cause I know it works and I've got the research to back it.

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Okay.

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From reminiscences of the real James Harriet son to Pete, you Tricia.

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To acupuncture, the VR podcast discusses current animal health issues from around the world.

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I'm veterinarian, Brian Gregor from New Zealand, just search for the vet podcast, wherever you get your podcasts,

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paws, claws and wet noses is sponsored by Vetstar.

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If you've never heard of it, staff it's new, Zealand's only full service recruitment agency.

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I start by asking her why she became a veterinarian.

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long story way back.

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I was actually born in Zambia and, um, yeah, my parents brought me out and my brother and I over here, because there was so much more of a future here and stuff.

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As there definitely is.

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And, um, we had a bit of, we lived out of town and we had a bit of a farm.

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I just loved animals work with animals.

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And, um, this was back in, I finished high school in 78, 77.

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So it's a long time ago and yeah, I decided I'd like to become a vet and it was really hard because people just, oh yeah, whatever.

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Um, it was a small town.

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We had a one teacher school.

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And then we went off to high school, which was the biggest school and then yeah.

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Kept with the program and just so I cane, um, and really wanted to have a career and do something.

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Fairly interesting and fun with my life.

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My dad always said to me that your eight hours a day working enjoy it.

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And, um, I really thought I would enjoy being a vet.

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So packed up finally got into vet school, um, to Brisbane for five years, which is pretty scary for a little go from quarrel anyway, got through that.

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And, um, And then it was 83.

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I graduated and it was really very hard to get a job, which you wouldn't believe that now, but there were way too many graduates.

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And, um, I did, uh, uh, a locum for two weeks in my hometown and I thought, yeah, hopefully I'll get this job because those jobs going and I didn't get the job.

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And I was so disappointed because I really wanted that job.

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And one of my peers from uni got it.

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And I was a boy and I was a girl and I had honors and he didn't and that's the way it was and that's okay.

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And I went down to Brisbane.

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I did some part-time work, but when the lad left the clinic after, right.

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Six or seven months they asked me to come back.

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So I worked there, so did mix practice for a while.

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And then as girl does fell in love, got married, moved out west, worked on a cattle station.

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There did some locum works and property work got involved with the beef industry.

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And so I worked on national and state boards and committees through that had done my children and then the children I packed up and came back to Rocky.

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So I had two children, single mum I needed a job.

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I needed some work that I feel that phoned me up and asked me if I'd like to work with them.

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And I said, yeah, I haven't done a spy for 10 years, you know?

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And I said, that's okay.

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That's okay.

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I did get positions.

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I moved a little bit now.

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And then as the, as the kids grew up, I understand I am.

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I had to have flexibility.

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So I guess this is where I'm seeing moms.

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Now I had to have flexibility.

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I had to be able to pick up my children.

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I had to have time off to spend with my children.

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Holidays was so important to us because the girls did competing with their horses and, and that was my life, my children and my work.

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So I was very blessed and yeah.

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And that's how I see moms now.

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They, they need to work.

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They want to work.

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They're highly educated professionals and they should have this opportunity.

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So we went through that, my children grow up and then I had an opportunity to buy a practice.

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Um, a lady I had worked for for a number of years, she was going to sell a practice and I said, yep, I'd love to do that.

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I always wanted to do again.

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I had to wait until the children were of an age that I could do that properly.

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So, and my partner and I had a partner, then we bought the practice and we've had it nine years now when I bought it, two of the vets and a few of the nurses left, there wasn't much left.

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I was very distant concerting.

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So the first thing I had to do was find staff.

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And that was a huge lesson.

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It was very hard even though.

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To find vets particularly rural regional areas, but we found some, and I learned a lot from that group of girls learn a lot more about managing and looking after people and understanding and listening, all that sort of thing.

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They had gone through the years.

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And now I have just this really good bunch of bunch of ladies working there.

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When you first started work, when you actually started as a veterinarian and a full-time position, how many other women.

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Were there at the time with you?

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None.

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There was none in Rocky.

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Okay.

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Can you, can you just describe for international listeners?

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Whereabouts is Rocky and yeah.

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Just describe it.

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Uh,

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Rockhampton is in central Queensland.

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And so Brisbane stand on the close to the border Cairns right up Australia.

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Yep.

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That's about it.

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Yep.

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And we're kind of in the middle there.

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So we have the beautiful Keppra, Keppel, Keppel islands, just off the Capricorn coast yet the Capricorn line goes through us.

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Yeah.

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And

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what's the, what's the lifestyle like there?

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What sort of animals do you treat?

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We do all small animal clinic.

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Funny there's I worked in mixed quite a lot.

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Most of the clinics were mixed in Rockhampton and new Poon, except when Hendra came, a lot of the vets just went, no, no vaccine.

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I'm not working on your horse.

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So there are a few equine vets around, but most of the clinic, it's a small animal now.

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Okay.

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And can you just explain Hendra please?

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Uh, Hendra is, um, I think it's a virus that comes from the bat.

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Right to the horses.

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And then two people, the horses die within 48 hours.

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They did.

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And they had this huge hemorrhagic discharge, um, from their lungs and that's or anyone treating them, managing the handle, them getting contact with that can die.

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Right.

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One of our local vets here has died that I worked for.

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Yeah.

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It's, it's terrible.

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So they develop the vaccine, but a lot of horse people are very hesitant to use.

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There's all this vaccine concerns they had then, and obviously still have now is a good vaccine.

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Okay.

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And the population of Rockhampton that's 60,000.

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And then we have Yeppoon not far from us.

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Yeah.

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That's our closest other little town in Gladstone's about an hour and a half away in what your clinic, where that's, where you are now.

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Yes, yes, yes.

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And, and people live.

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I know, it's worry.

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Isn't it?

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What happened?

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How did you get from there to here?

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Because I had worked there.

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I kind of knew the girls.

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I did not realize.

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That they weren't happy.

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They didn't talk to me about it.

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Yeah.

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They weren't happy.

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And they actually had an argument between themselves and two of them left.

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So that was my beds, the owner of the practice advertised.

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And we did get another girl who was six months out.

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So she was, she was grand and the nurses one was retiring and other one was studying, doing something else.

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And you know, they weren't that interested in it.

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So it wasn't, it wasn't a problem that they went and I think that's a really, that's the big lesson I learned.

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There is really fun.

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People who want to be there, want to work with, you want to say the animals, they really, uh, that's what they want to do.

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They don't want to just kind of work and shrug their shoulders and go home.

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It's just not what we want.

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When you first started hiring, did you use the.

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Yeah, this is the way we've always done it.

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So this is the way we're going to continue hiring or did you and things didn't work out or did you intentionally realize that you had a clean slate and you could do things your way?

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No, I stayed.

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Well, this, I guess this is what we're supposed to do because I didn't know any better.

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The lady who did stay with me, the vet, she is just amazing.

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And she fell pregnant.

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So I learned about how to work that, um, but she and a partner have Borden practice now.

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So she's like a neighboring practice, which is really lovely.

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No.

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I thought, yeah, we're supposed to put them on full-time.

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So I put them on full-time I had young ladies, then another lady came and she said, well, I only want to work part-time and I went, okay, that's that's fine.

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And then they sort of moved on and new graduates, you know, they move on.

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I was pretty stuck.

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Then I got a lady who.

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A new grad, but her family was in Rocky.

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So she came home to Rocky and she was really happy to stay here.

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She stayed with us three years and it was just amazing, but I could see that she would get quite tired and stressed.

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And I thought, well, and I was too, because I was working full-time as a bed and also trying to manage the practice, do the rosters, do the, fixing, everything, all that stuff.

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So Sam, I mean, she said, I'm going to go overseas.

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Good on you.

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That is so exciting.

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That is wonderful for you and my girls had just gone.

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So.

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It's great.

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It's such a huge opportunity.

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I think they should do it if they want.

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Absolutely.

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So then I thought, well, I'm going to put on two visits because I can't keep doing this and we're growing anyway.

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So they weren't so traditional.

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I, um, one of them had done prac work with us before and I sort of stayed in touch and I phoned her up and said, Hey, are you doing how's work?

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And she said, it's awful.

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Okay, well, we're looking for someone and she said, all right.

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And yeah, she eventually, okay.

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Um, the other one I advertised for Facebook and she phoned and her husband came up and we interviewed him first because he was being interviewed for another job, but he was just lovely.

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And then Kirsty came up and she spent, she interviewed with a lot of the practices in the area and lucky for us, she chose us.

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So that was really wonderful.

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Since I've had those two girls, I've been a lot more flexible.

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And then, you know, they say, I would like to have a baby and we go, okay, well, how are we going to fit this in the process?

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Because I want you to come back Kirsty, you are just amazing bed.

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Um, I really want you to come back.

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And I guess that made me really think because.

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We got those two.

00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:04.129
And then I was talking to another lady who had two babies, wanted to come back to work, but wasn't sure how she was going to do it.

00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:06.019
So I thought, how could I make this happen?

00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:13.519
And then she spoke to another friend who said, gee, I'd like to come to work day too, because I've got the three kids.

00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:17.210
I just want to do some part-time work and get back into it or not.

00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:18.379
Otherwise I won't do it.

00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:21.350
Um, I need somebody that I'm happy at.

00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:24.919
And then we had a lady from Western Australia that phoned up and she.

00:16:25.669 --> 00:16:29.240
So moving to Rocky, looking for a position, a simple come and visit us.

00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:30.740
And so she's with us as well.

00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:39.799
So then yeah, by then I was absolutely non-traditional um, we've got really good information on our website, on our Facebook so that people can look at our clinic.

00:16:40.820 --> 00:16:44.210
That is, or isn't a type of place that I would like to be.

00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:46.429
And these all ladies knew each other.

00:16:46.429 --> 00:16:48.049
So it's a community as well.

00:16:48.049 --> 00:16:53.299
These ladies know each other and they come and talk to each other and come and see how we work.

00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:59.120
And I've got another lady just find me out the other day and said, I'd like a few days work.

00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:04.400
So she's going to start in a few in a week or so too, or part time except the permanent.

00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:04.609
Yeah.

00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:09.460
What would be the average number of hours that your part-timers would work?

00:17:10.325 --> 00:17:12.035
Probably between 20 and 30.

00:17:12.154 --> 00:17:12.545
Okay.

00:17:12.575 --> 00:17:14.404
So that's, that's significant.

00:17:14.805 --> 00:17:15.815
It's reasonably, yeah.

00:17:15.815 --> 00:17:18.744
It's more than just a couple of hours here and there.

00:17:18.744 --> 00:17:19.295
Yeah, yeah.

00:17:19.325 --> 00:17:19.775
Yeah.

00:17:20.345 --> 00:17:26.134
How do you make it easy for them to be working mums?

00:17:27.634 --> 00:17:31.595
I first asked them what times would suit them?

00:17:31.595 --> 00:17:32.684
What days would suit them?

00:17:32.704 --> 00:17:33.275
What times?

00:17:33.275 --> 00:17:34.744
What are they looking for?

00:17:34.805 --> 00:17:37.174
And then I try and fit that into our system.

00:17:37.684 --> 00:17:47.855
And you really find gems when you do that, because the lady Kirsty that's coming back, she said, I can do Thursdays, but she'll finish early.

00:17:48.214 --> 00:17:50.244
And she said, I can also do every second week.

00:17:50.914 --> 00:17:56.015
So that frees up all the other bits from every second weekend, because that's when her partner looks after the baby.

00:17:56.015 --> 00:17:57.575
So baby's happy.

00:17:57.575 --> 00:17:58.174
She's happy.

00:17:58.174 --> 00:17:58.984
Her husband's happy.

00:17:58.984 --> 00:17:59.615
I'm happy.

00:18:00.184 --> 00:18:03.994
So if you actually ask them what they're looking for most, I'm pretty flexible.

00:18:04.025 --> 00:18:09.634
Uh, and well, what they will tell you is I can't do Thursdays because that's the day this, and this happens.

00:18:09.634 --> 00:18:18.335
I mean, I don't mind what happens, but I can't do Thursdays or I can't do, um, we cans or I can't do on call.

00:18:18.365 --> 00:18:18.994
Just let me know.

00:18:19.654 --> 00:18:22.055
And I'll, I'll see what we can do to work around it.

00:18:23.345 --> 00:18:24.244
And I think that works well.

00:18:24.805 --> 00:18:28.555
And is your clinic part of an on-call roster?

00:18:29.484 --> 00:18:30.325
Yes, we have.

00:18:30.384 --> 00:18:35.875
We're on call and we share it with another clinic, which reduces our uncle time to half.

00:18:36.414 --> 00:18:41.664
It does increase the number of co-ops we do, and I pay the girls really well.

00:18:42.904 --> 00:18:44.255
I know what it's like to be on call.

00:18:44.315 --> 00:18:45.275
It's even harder.

00:18:45.275 --> 00:18:45.545
Probably.

00:18:45.545 --> 00:18:50.194
If you've got kids at home, partners are generally very good, like pay them really well.

00:18:50.224 --> 00:18:55.055
And they often make quite a bit of money over those times that they do it.

00:18:55.789 --> 00:18:58.160
But, um, and then they will share a weekend.

00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:08.329
Sometimes you'll have one of them on Friday, not said day morning, and then another one will start Saturday night and do the Sunday and another one that's on it.

00:19:08.329 --> 00:19:08.599
I know.

00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:09.559
They're just incredible.

00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.410
I just got, oh, I've got to go to such and such.

00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:13.130
Can you do this?

00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:13.609
Sure.

00:19:13.670 --> 00:19:14.299
That's fine.

00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:15.500
Yeah, I'll be there.

00:19:16.250 --> 00:19:16.400
Yeah.

00:19:16.430 --> 00:19:20.319
They chat and organize it and it doesn't matter how it's done as long as it's.

00:19:21.545 --> 00:19:22.085
That's right.

00:19:22.115 --> 00:19:23.015
They talked to each other.

00:19:23.015 --> 00:19:23.914
This is the case.

00:19:23.944 --> 00:19:25.654
This is all the history is down there.

00:19:25.654 --> 00:19:28.055
I mean, it has to be there anyway.

00:19:28.265 --> 00:19:29.375
So they write really well.

00:19:29.375 --> 00:19:32.315
They set up their plan that we use the plan a lot.

00:19:32.315 --> 00:19:39.154
So that the next bit that goes in and goes, okay, that's such and such was heading towards this and this and this for this dog, but now it's.

00:19:39.154 --> 00:19:39.244
Yeah.

00:19:39.934 --> 00:19:45.875
So I bled in this year on, I need to add that in to the system and work with that.

00:19:45.934 --> 00:19:57.355
And if they have any real concerns, I'll find each other, but hopefully it all just flows from the work that they put on the practice management software own and paying them really well.

00:19:57.865 --> 00:19:59.335
How did that come about?

00:19:59.424 --> 00:20:03.144
And if you're okay to answer it, what does that look like?

00:20:03.174 --> 00:20:06.095
And you can absolutely say no, if it's commercially sensitive..

00:20:06.785 --> 00:20:07.125
Yeah, I

00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.440
think we should all talk about these sort of things.

00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:13.759
The lady I worked with, who, who I bought the clinic off, she paid well.

00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:32.299
So I think her after hours call-out was 140 and she paid 120 of that call-out fee plus half the professional phase, where now at, I think 200, the owner pays 200 and I pay the girls a hundred now.

00:20:34.609 --> 00:20:34.849
Yeah.

00:20:35.509 --> 00:20:48.680
And we tell people that on the phone and when the answering machine, when they call and that helps them make a decision as to whether they're going to call that bit and kick her out of bed or not, because I won't have people phoning up, kicking the vet out of bed and then saying, well, I'm not paying them.

00:20:49.414 --> 00:20:51.005
No, make a decision.

00:20:51.065 --> 00:20:53.345
And then, and that filters a lot out.

00:20:53.404 --> 00:20:56.944
Um, I did talk, one of our vet said this doesn't happen at the previous clinics.

00:20:56.944 --> 00:21:03.125
And they had a lot of, had to have that discussion when they half asleep and the owner's so upset.

00:21:03.484 --> 00:21:11.305
So it just steadies everything down right on the after hours message.

00:21:12.204 --> 00:21:17.394
The, the client knows before a vet is woken up.

00:21:18.230 --> 00:21:20.269
Well, they're up for, yes.

00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:25.910
They're told the call-out fee will be$200 and then extras depending on what the problem is.

00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:26.420
Right.

00:21:26.809 --> 00:21:29.359
And please find a bit for an emergency only.

00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:30.779
And yeah.

00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:31.119
Okay.

00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.299
So, so you do pay well extremely well.

00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:36.130
Okay.

00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:39.819
The girls can make a thousand dollars a weekend and that makes them happy.

00:21:39.849 --> 00:21:41.650
They feel like they've achieved something.

00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:42.609
They've done something good.

00:21:42.609 --> 00:21:46.805
They've said an animal it's um, Yeah, it's, they've got the backup.

00:21:47.285 --> 00:21:50.585
Um, we have a nurse on call and as well for the knots that were on.

00:21:50.585 --> 00:21:50.974
Cool.

00:21:50.974 --> 00:21:52.505
So that they can just pick up the phone.

00:21:52.505 --> 00:21:53.315
I've got to seize it.

00:21:53.434 --> 00:21:59.345
Could you please come in and not try to find someone they know who to call and how a noose is remunerated.

00:21:59.825 --> 00:22:03.214
They get a call out fee as well, and, um, paid per hour.

00:22:04.164 --> 00:22:09.714
When do you, I know, well, here in New Zealand, there are some.

00:22:10.444 --> 00:22:17.375
Tweets who don't like going to middle of the night, call out as a solo sole operator.

00:22:17.674 --> 00:22:24.845
They want to go with a nurse in some clinics, don't have a two person policy, some do.

00:22:25.355 --> 00:22:26.825
What is your policy with them?

00:22:28.535 --> 00:22:29.734
Because we're a small animal.

00:22:29.734 --> 00:22:33.184
Only they go to the clinic like we're doing outside calls.

00:22:33.184 --> 00:22:37.924
So it is a lot safer, but the girls, no, they do not answer the phone while they're driving.

00:22:38.224 --> 00:22:39.305
They do not come in.

00:22:39.335 --> 00:22:44.345
If they're uncomfortable with the person that they're talking on the phone, they just don't come in.

00:22:44.674 --> 00:22:46.085
They call me any time.

00:22:46.174 --> 00:22:47.855
And there's Jamie now available.

00:22:47.855 --> 00:22:49.025
She's a practice manager.

00:22:49.025 --> 00:22:52.414
She's more than happy to any of them will talk to any of them anytime.

00:22:53.539 --> 00:23:01.750
Yeah, you just don't go in if you don't want to, and you can call in a nurse if anytime you want to, when you implement it.

00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:16.660
So, so did your, did you implement this after hours remuneration right from the get go or did you, did, was it something that you changed and if you changed it, what changes did you notice?

00:23:18.724 --> 00:23:20.224
I didn't have it from the get-go.

00:23:20.555 --> 00:23:21.964
We do open on Sunday.

00:23:21.984 --> 00:23:25.265
So very often animals are coming on a Saturday night.

00:23:25.984 --> 00:23:36.214
I would have a nurse on Sunday to help me do whatever do x-rays, whatever I needed to do, but I still could call in a nurse and I would pay the extra.

00:23:36.724 --> 00:23:41.224
We've just probably made it more official now because we got so many bits.

00:23:41.224 --> 00:23:42.575
They need to know who to call.

00:23:42.575 --> 00:23:46.424
It's not just, um, Sam and I, the clients always pay because.

00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:53.660
They've been told and new ones pay a deposit and the animal stays in.

00:23:53.750 --> 00:23:55.759
Otherwise they pay the full amount.

00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:02.930
The workups done with these animals is great because they have someone they can call because they're there, they get paid.

00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:09.019
They will sit with that animal and do whatever they need to do to get that animal feeling good and going well.

00:24:09.904 --> 00:24:10.835
When they leave.

00:24:10.954 --> 00:24:16.414
So that again gives you great satisfaction because you've looked at that after that animal's best you can.

00:24:17.164 --> 00:24:23.644
And that animal is great because it's been looked after and honestly, the clients are grateful because you've done everything you could.

00:24:23.644 --> 00:24:35.015
If you can, if you can call in a nurse, get some x-rays done, um, vantage it up, do whatever it is, if it really needs ditching up and you can get in a nurse and get it stitched up that night and it's going to be better for it.

00:24:35.015 --> 00:24:36.545
The next day, we can do that.

00:24:37.565 --> 00:24:38.015
And then.

00:24:39.184 --> 00:24:44.015
Bonus as well because the girls are working part time.

00:24:44.994 --> 00:24:49.045
And so they're on call and I do a not call and it's late.

00:24:49.525 --> 00:24:51.265
They don't, they're not expected to come in.

00:24:51.265 --> 00:24:58.315
And the next morning nor the nurses, because we've got the practice management software, it's easy that it's on the cloud.

00:24:58.704 --> 00:25:07.535
We can say that I've been working online in the morning when we have a look and go, oh, I better call them and tell them not to come until then.

00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:15.680
And I learned that from my daughter who is a radiographer and used to be on call and with the government, they, they have to have eight ass break.

00:25:15.950 --> 00:25:18.470
People said that, oh, that's too hard, but it's not too hard.

00:25:18.470 --> 00:25:19.549
It's necessary.

00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:20.930
We need to give them breaks.

00:25:20.930 --> 00:25:22.039
They need to sleep.

00:25:22.069 --> 00:25:23.900
They need to re-energize.

00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:26.029
And, um, want to come back in.

00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:29.049
My husband is an airline pilot.

00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:35.950
It's mandated that they have to have a minimum of 10 hours at their place of risk.

00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:42.259
From because often, you know, pilots, well region I'm domestic pilots in New Zealand.

00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:48.619
There'll be the, the last flight N at night and in the first one out the next morning.

00:25:49.009 --> 00:25:52.880
And the pilots are there long after the passengers have left.

00:25:53.059 --> 00:26:02.720
And they're there, I think 45 or 45 minutes or an hour before the passengers have to arrive, it has to be 10 hours minimum at their place of work.

00:26:04.690 --> 00:26:06.335
Fatigue is cumulative.

00:26:06.615 --> 00:26:06.974
Yeah.

00:26:07.005 --> 00:26:07.694
Yeah, yeah.

00:26:08.005 --> 00:26:10.285
I mean, they're doing it at the mines.

00:26:10.285 --> 00:26:11.664
Now you've got to have your rest.

00:26:11.664 --> 00:26:13.555
You you're not, not even allowed to drive home.

00:26:13.555 --> 00:26:20.515
I don't think until you've had some rest because you know, the drive in drive out, it's being shown everywhere, all the data's out there.

00:26:20.994 --> 00:26:21.474
So.

00:26:22.065 --> 00:26:25.505
Listen to it and respond to it and look after our people.

00:26:25.805 --> 00:26:26.015
Okay.

00:26:26.125 --> 00:26:38.904
What, what others are you, you, you offer very, very flexible hours and days, and you empower your team to be able to, to work their own rosters.

00:26:38.994 --> 00:26:45.714
If you like to, to swap and change around you remunerate very, very well.

00:26:46.315 --> 00:26:47.575
What else do you do?

00:26:47.575 --> 00:26:48.515
That's different.

00:26:50.464 --> 00:26:54.605
Or against the norm, perhaps wait,

00:26:54.634 --> 00:26:57.454
well, just at the beginning of the day, we have a lovely meeting.

00:26:57.724 --> 00:26:59.434
Everyone catches up with everyone.

00:26:59.464 --> 00:27:03.545
Have I been, and then just talk about the flow of the day what's going to happen.

00:27:03.545 --> 00:27:05.795
If something's broken, who's gonna fix it.

00:27:05.884 --> 00:27:07.204
When's it gonna be fixed by?

00:27:07.234 --> 00:27:17.494
Um, if we have any clients that we need to follow up or, um, Specialists to follow up and then we do have a moment of gratitude and that's always lovely.

00:27:17.734 --> 00:27:19.134
Tell me about that please..

00:27:19.625 --> 00:27:20.345
Ah, well,

00:27:20.404 --> 00:27:22.835
I was just say the other day, how did it start?

00:27:22.865 --> 00:27:23.464
How did it start?

00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:25.430

042 - How to embrace and retain part time vet mums at your veterinary clinic with Dr Jocelyn Birch Baker of Smooth Operating Vets - part 1/2

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