How many of the practices you have worked at believe in having protocols? Protocols outline how the practice operates, what is expected of staff and it creates calm in the midst of chaos, which is vital when emergency medicine. These protocols are rather handy to new staff members starting at a practice, but how often are they revised? When you just come back from a CPD event and you are excited to try the new techniques mastered – does your clinic allow you the freedom to explore – or do you go back and do things the way it has always been done because “that is the way we do things around here?”
Protocols are designed to ensure standardization and a consistent client experience. Your clients will trust the new face as they receive the same level of care that they expect from the practice. This is essential in large hospitals where the likelihood of you having continuity with a case is limited due to scheduling and the number of veterinarians who work at the practice. However, standardization of services can certainly take away the problem-solving ability and opportunities to explore different treatment options. It makes treating cases faster, but often symptoms are treated rather than the root cause of diseases or the patient presented in front of you.
1. Setting Protocols
Setting up protocols are great when you desire a certain standard of care for your patients. It makes staff members feel more secure as they know what is expected of them and it can ensure that the desired cleanliness is achieved in a practice. In emergency medicine, it can be the time saver that helps save the patient’s life as everyone knows what is expected of them. You cannot reprimand someone for not doing what you expect if they were never told – this is true for every person within the practice.
2. Do protocols invite thinking and challenge status quo?
The main idea behind protocols is standardization aimed at improving the quality of outcomes. Checklists also help the veterinary team provide evidence-based care to their patients. So why then could this be a bad thing?
When protocols are so ingrained in our brains, we rarely stop and challenge it. It becomes our brain’s default response to the problem at hand: every diarrhea will be treated with Ringers, Augmentin, 1 vial of potassium in the drip and Cerenia (this can be different for each practice) but often we forget to assess the patient and we automatically go with the treatment plan that we so religiously follow.
Most vets and nurses enjoy the challenge – solving the problem and doing that without our patients telling us exactly what is wrong with them. The type of person drawn to veterinary medicine is someone who is passionate, compassionate, has a want to help animals and is academically strong. Yes, there are several other attributes that veterinarians display, but we are highly intelligent people who can become despondent when not intellectually stimulated. There is even a greater impact when you know that you can save a case but are not given the opportunity to explore your ideas (be it for lack of available funds, client demands or a more senior vet disagreeing with your treatment plan).
So, if protocols encourage standardization – where is the fun in thinking, questioning your treatment and exploring diagnostics available to find out the cause of the problem.
3. Time for Reviewing
Often when we attend CPD event, we get introduced to new techniques, updated on current research, gain practical experience and have conversations with specialist friends; then we return to our practice and forget about the new learnings. Or we get despondent when colleagues do not share our excitement of the new information gained.
What if you can have regular practice meetings – where you discuss what our protocols are and decide what needs to change? It will help make all staff members aware of the standard at which you want to operate, what you want your clients to experience and everyone can work towards a common goal. What if you brainstorm and come up with new ideas for nurse clinics, client seminars, treatment plans, or as a practice decide how you want to manage skin cases (based on the latest evidence). Then, once everyone agrees, the protocols set in place will not act as an inhibitor of thinking but rather act as a tool that you want to use, challenge and change regularly; and always drive innovative practicing of platinum standard veterinary care that will make every one of your clients feel that their pets are receiving the best care out there!
