In the past two months, our practice has undertaken an ambitious project to build two new exam rooms in the main hospital building. It's ambitious because we're trying to do it within 60 days from start to finish. Currently, our hospital simply doesn't have enough exam rooms for the doctors to see our clients and their pets. As soon as we really started to take a look at this problem and potential solutions, it dawned on us that we could relocate our paper-based medical records and telephone center in order to free up additional space adjacent to our reception area. It didn't hurt that we have a large-scale construction project going on in a building that formerly housed a separately owned and operated equine practice. This gave us easy access to the corporation's construction manager who walked the proposed project with me and signaled his approval. But, this time around, something has been different.
Prior to August 2012, the practice founder and major shareholder would have gravitated to this project and "owned it" in many respects. Instead, this time he has supported the project and me as I've lead the planning, budgeting, and many aspects of the project implementation. Now that we're about 45 days into the project, the phone center has been successfully relocated as have the paper charts. The framing and much of the electrical work has been completed, drywall has been installed and will be textured next week. I'm not convinced we'll meet our 60 day target, but I think we'll be close. Along the way, I've learned a few important things. First, you won’t be given the opportunity to take the lead if you don’t take initiative, and secondly, project managers must keep on going, despite other obstacles.
Early in the process, I outlined what needed to be done, by whom and some approximate timeframes. Everything seemed to be going fine but then things slowed down just a bit and I realized I hadn't done anything that day or the previous to move the project forward. That very afternoon, I phoned the document shredding service, arranged for a massive pickup of material and got that aspect of the project "unstuck." Thereafter, I have purposed to ensure that every day some aspect or another is moving forward. That is true whether it is having construction workers in the building, drafting communications to the staff, researching and sourcing equipment, flooring, cabinetry, furniture, etc. or simply planning next steps. The challenging part has been finding time, especially during this, our typically busiest time of the year, to attend to these matters while still keeping everything else in the practice going. This is not an easy feat when you manage a large, hybrid veterinary practice. Those who own veterinary practices, who pour everything they can, into creating and building them, know very well what it takes to pull off important projects aimed at advancing their practices. I think that too often practice managers are somehow blinded by the magnitude of these types of projects, and although we help with various aspects, we don't truly appreciate the full scope of the work required.
I hear so many managers say that the practice owner won’t let them do this thing or that. The next time you have an opportunity to take the lead put yourself out there for the job; if you can't take on the project, be sure to support the project leader in every way you can and offer to temporarily take on some of their other duties so that he or she can place their full focus on the project. It might earn you the respect to get lead role the next time the part comes around. I can personally attest that practice owners and senior management in corporations, desperately want their managers to take the reins wherever possible and lead. You often have to simply push through the emerging barriers.
Jon Cunnington, MBA, CVPM
VHMA President