Time to value nursing clinics
Libby Sheridan
"If you are going to put your heart and soul into something, then make sure that it is the right thing!" said Libby Sheridan at the BVNA Congress in Telford. She was speaking on the subject of 'Nursing clinics as a business – taking ownership' and emphasised the importance of looking at them from the perspective of 'Why?' not just 'How?'
Libby suggested to delegates that the secret is to have the end point in mind before beginning to run a nurse clinic. Is it harnessing skills that are currently being wasted or not being recognised?
Nurse time and skills should be valued both professionally and financially, so as to move it from being a 'passive' income generator to an 'active' income generator – so look upon nurse clinics as an overall practice initiative and a service offered to clients. Charging clients for nursing clinics reinforces their value and significantly improves attendance and compliance.
"If a particular clinic is not working, then don't be afraid to bin it," said Libby. "There is nothing wrong with learning from experience and changing direction. And are your colleagues – especially the vets – fully on board and referring cases and clients to your clinic?"
It should always be possible to measure the success of a nurse clinic at any point in time – not just from a financial point of view, but also in terms of client attendance, loyalty and satisfaction, and compliance to therapy and programmes.
The importance of career development and personal satisfaction should not be underestimated. Many nurses are strongly motivated by being empowered to run nursing clinics and their commitment to the practice will be strengthened.
They should be encouraged to monitor the efficacy and efficiency of their clinics by using SMART – specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-driven – techniques that utilise readily available practice data and take into account the overall strategy of the practice.
Concluding her presentation, Libby told delegates, "Educate the whole practice team to make nursing clinics a 'non-negotiable' part of case management."
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
