Virtual Veterinary Care Helps Promote Work-life Balance Among Veterinary Professionals

Why become a virtual veterinary care provider?

Many working professionals experience different phases of their careers. For veterinary professionals, this can include searching for alternatives to an in-clinic position at a veterinary hospital. Veterinary professionals across the industry are increasingly exploring veterinary telemedicine opportunities and finding new and fulfilling to expand their careers. Working as a professional partner with a platform like Vetster offers veterinary professionals complete autonomy over hours of work, consultation fees and of course physical location (since the internet is boundary-less!). The package deal of flexibility, portability and an ability to augment their income can greatly reduce work-related stress for many veterinarians and technicians.

My story

After I sold my vet practice, I traveled around Ontario for years providing relief veterinary support at numerous veterinary practices in the province. It was exciting, I met many wonderful people, and learned a lot during my travels. Gradually, however, I realized that I wanted to stay home on my farm more and travel much less. I am currently building up my Vetster practice so I can do just that, and I am loving it! Practicing over the internet has been very good for my personal work-life balance.

There are many veterinary professionals who may find work-life balance benefits practicing in the virtual veterinary space including those who:

• Are the parent of small children and with occasional time at home they would like to put to use
• Are caring for an ailing loved one
• Unable to actively be present in-clinic due to recent surgery or illness
• Interested in earning extra income "moonlighting" from a regular in-clinic role
• Need a completely COVID safe work environment due to pre-existing health conditions in themselves or loved ones
• Are frequent travelers and can support a job that can be taken with them on the road
• Find themself in between in-person jobs
• Want to be their own boss
• And many other situations!

Helping pets and their owners leads to great job satisfaction

One of the most delightful things about providing virtual veterinary care is the overwhelmingly positive client feedback. Many of the pet owners (particularly since the COVID pandemic, or those living in remote locations) that find themselves in a virtual appointment have experienced challenging, and often frustrating, experiences seeking in-person veterinary care. Sadly, this is a common pattern over North America due to a combination of a general shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, time-consuming COVID-19 protocols and a huge increase in the number of pets as so many locked down folks added a new puppy or kitten to their family. Pets and their owners have been sadly falling through the cracks. Now, with virtual veterinary care, pet owners are able to speak with a veterinary health professional an hour after contacting Vetster. The overall process has most clients so appreciative that they treat the veterinary professional helping them like a hero.

Personally, I also really enjoy being able to take the time to discuss wellness issues such as nutrition, weight management, and dental hygiene. Clients are always very grateful for this information and I feel good about giving them the tools they need to take the best care of their beloved companions.

Providing virtual veterinary care can be a very practical way to achieve a better work-life balance for many veterinary professionals with the decided advantage of being a very pleasant way to help both animals and their people.