How Your Veterinary Software Can Help You Manage the Summer Rush
Summer is notoriously busy, placing extra strain on veterinary practices and their teams. With school out, clients have more time for wellness care, and pets have more opportunities for injuries and illnesses arising from outdoor adventures and travel. At the same time, teams juggle a maze of PTO requests, impromptu schedule changes, and the addition of seasonal help.
Summer staffing and veterinary workflow management require leaders to remain nimble. The Shepherd team shares how to survive the summer rush with your sanity and staff intact.
1. Project staffing needs with accurate reporting
Looking at past summers can help you anticipate and plan for future demands. You can use your software to run reports and determine which summer month is busiest and which days or times demand more staff to keep up. Then, hire additional seasonal team members during those busy times. Consider also keeping relief staff on deck to fill in when team members go on vacations or you anticipate a pre-holiday or back-to-school rush.
2. Build in schedule flexibility
Summer doesn’t follow your normal rhythm, so your staff schedule must adapt. In addition to scheduling more staff during busy times, consider adjusting shift length or structure for team members who need to work around childcare or activities, or when you have an overabundance of seasonal help. Some strategies to try include staggering start times, adding a cross-trained floater role, splitting shifts, or cross-training team members.
3. Stay ahead of time off requests
Set clear guidelines for time-off requests before summer hits, including any changes that apply specifically to busy seasons. Define blackout dates if needed, including times before or after holidays, or set a rule that one team member cannot monopolize those holidays to ensure fairness. Try using a schedule management system that integrates with your cloud-based veterinary software to keep track of larger teams.
4. Lean on automation for appointment reminders and more
Use automation to lighten the summer workload. Appointment reminders, refill approvals, vaccine due notices, and post-visit follow-ups can be automated so team members can spend time on more pressing tasks. Choose a veterinary software system with built-in automations or that allows integrations with third-party client engagement platforms to do the hard work for you.
5. Communicate efficiently with SOAP-based workflows
When things get hectic, documentation and clear communication can save the day. Hunting down case notes, the last doctor to see a particular patient, or the person who talked to a client on the phone wastes time. Your team should know from a quick look at the patient’s chart why they’re visiting, the care they received last time, and the instructions they were given before arrival.
Electronic medical records with clean, easy-to-read veterinary SOAP notes, digital discharge instructions and treatment sheets, and real-time status updates help teams stay on the ball. Internal communication systems built into your veterinary software can also help you stay current on clinic activities, regardless of your physical location in the building.
6. Implement daily huddles with your team
A quick morning huddle can head off confusion and ensure everyone knows the game plan, especially when you have frequent staff changes and seasonal team members. Iron out all the details—what’s going on with hospitalized patients, who’s in surgery that day, which clients might give you trouble, and anything else that will help the day run smoother. Rotate the veterinarian in charge or shift lead each day so that no one feels overwhelmed by running the huddles.
7. Watch for signs of veterinary burnout
Summer appointment pacing can be relentless. If you’re busier than usual or short-staffed, monitor your team’s well-being with frequent group and one-on-one check-ins. Take action quickly if you notice short tempers, mistakes, or disengagement. Sometimes minor tweaks, such as assigning callbacks or prescriptions to a designated person or simplifying intake forms, are enough to restore a positive, productive culture. If the entire team feels overwhelmed, larger scheduled changes might be needed.
Breeze through summer crush with Shepherd
Whether automating routine tasks, improving communication, or adapting schedules on the fly, the right veterinary software can act as your command center for the chaos. Contact us to schedule a demo with the Shepherd team to see how our vet-designed software, automated workflows, and AI tools can help you get through the busy season without a hitch.
