Do you get a lunch hour?

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:28:18 GMT

Either that or they're undercharging,so the gross margin is so minute everyone has to run around like headless chickens to make a living-not the way todo things

Wynne

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:30:34 GMT

There's always going to be an odd day when all hell lets loose and there is no time for anything, but for it to be routine for there to be no time for breaks is insane, it is bad for health and moral and in the end has to be bad for the welfare of the patients as everything inevitably ends up being rushed. If the practice is that busy someone somewhere is making a lot of money and not passing the benefits down the line by employing enough staff to cope with the workload and give everyone the ability to do their job properly and its doubtful that someone who works his/her staff that hard would pass financial benefits down the line either to make it worth their while. If the boss chooses to work all hours Godsend that's up to him but he shouldn't expect his staff to do the same. Thus speaks a boss.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

plantagenet — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:30:18 GMT

hectic day, no chance to nip to shop before afternoon surgery but I found a packet of porridge in the cupboard. Duly put in microwave but then something else happened so lunch (cold porridge) at 4.15, I was so bl***y starving I really enjoyed it. Still at surgery unfortunately, so not sure about next meal - I'll have a hunt for another pack of porridge.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Sarah Keir — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:04:21 GMT

Yes, still alive! In the end I didn't leave until after 11pm. Today is another no luch day but at least I have home made brownie to keep me going until I get home and see what my husband has made/found in the freezer!

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 23:38:17 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]I am still at work and have decided to brave a Pot Noodle[/quote]

Still with us Sarah?

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Jillian Hall — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:06:47 GMT

I saw practice somewhere where the local bank was next to the bakery so the daily banking run was always followed by most of the practice sitting round a table for warm scones, strawberry jam and a pot of tea. However I'm sure if there were more urgent things to be done the lay staff would be the only ones enjoying such a luxury

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Hanna Bennett — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 22:26:55 GMT

we run shifts, and each shift has a set lunch hour. we are open 8am-8pm but the longest shift is 10 hours and that includes 3 hrs after we close, which may involve an op or just being on call. our vets like knowing when they will finish, and while occasionally they run over this is more choice cos of an interesting case than need.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Cat Henstridge — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 10:04:09 GMT

When I was a student I saw practice at the local PDSA hospital. I stll remember one morning being asked to find something in a cupboard and after spending a good few minutes ferreting about, remerging to find what had previously been a busy prep room full of people, absolutely deserted. I walked the whole length of the building and there was no-one to be seen in the office, reception, lab. I thought it was some sort of joke but eventually I found them all in the kitchen enjoying their morning break. These and lunch hours were sacrosanct and never missed. Obviously it's easier to down tools when your clients aren't paying but they did make busy days much more managable!

Also, I have worked since for a local (very good) chain of low cost clinics. Here they also adhere to the WTD for all staff and each vet has an hour for lunch, staggered so the work can continue. It is a good system, the day continues smoothly and no-one gets too tired.

Maybe the more traditionally run local vets could learn from these types of practice, rather than just expecting the staff to run themselves ragged!

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Jo Cobbett — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 09:32:25 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]

Had lunch today. Just as well as it is a 12hour day. I am still at work and have decided to brave a Pot Noodle so I don't have to go home to come back in an hour to do late checks on in patients.

[/quote]

We have 2 chinese restaurants within 5 minutes walking distance, many's the evening I've sat in the flat upstairs with my chinese rather than bother with an hour round trip to go home, then come back again to check the inpatients!

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Sarah Keir — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:47:47 GMT

Had lunch today. Just as well as it is a 12hour day. I am still at work and have decided to brave a Pot Noodle so I don't have to go home to come back in an hour to do late checks on in patients.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Jon Bray — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 18:27:02 GMT

I have a feeling that there are rather too many employers who rely on the fact that vets will work into/through their lunch hour and leave phoning clients, reading around cases etc until after they have finished consults (plus the extra few that turn up) - most of us feel bad leaving an owner waiting for blood results until the next day when we could just spend an extra few minutes of our own time sorting it and probably don't begrudge each individual case - it's just when you look back on a couple of weeks/months/years work and realise that you've averaged an hour of unpaid work each day one get get a little disgruntled.

Now I'm a locum I feel a lot more comfortable - I get to do a mental check to see whether it really is beneficial for the practice/animal that I stay late (bearing in mind that I charge by the hour) and if the answer is "no" I can go home in the knowledge that it's what my client/boss would want :-)

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Robin Grimmer — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:49:53 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]

[quote user="HERETIC"]I have often seen young vets happily waste time on the internet mid morning instead of getting on with the ops. -" Its ok I'll get them done later."[/quote]

Hell no. Delaying ops eats into my lunch too. I have the opposite problem at my practice - alot of the time I have to wait for the ambulance to come back from collecting all the admits from our branch practices before starting! Can be quite frustrating getting in to start at 8.30, having to wait until somethings admitted at the main branch, do one neuter and then wait until around 11am then the ambulance arrives.

[/quote]

+1. I want to get cracking with the ops as soon as I can. It all depends on how well organised the practice is. One where I work, has a vet starting ops first thing - not consulting first. There is a good team of nurses who do all the admits and get things premedded, so even if you've got a long ops list you can get through them. And it's better for the animals/owners to get done early.

One other practice I have worked in is a nightmare. You don't start ops til gone 11, and there's lunchtime consults as well so no lunch break at all, and still faffing about doing ops well in to the afternoon.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:41:55 GMT

[quote user="HERETIC"]I have often seen young vets happily waste time on the internet mid morning instead of getting on with the ops. -" Its ok I'll get them done later."[/quote]

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Mark Hedberg — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:19:39 GMT

Never mind lay staff - the other vets would eat you for lunch!

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Utlendigur — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:15:28 GMT

[quote user="HERETIC"]The flip side of this is do you think about the lay staff? I have often seen young vets happily waste time on the internet mid morning instead of getting on with the ops. -" Its ok I'll get them done later."[/quote]

Do we just have very fierce lay staff in our practice? - no vet would dare do that- or not more than once (Ve have vays of making you suffer...). Lay staff lunch hours are sacrosanct - and if the vets are so busy they're operating through lunch the staff just run a tag-team monitoring the GA

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Julie Innes — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:58:03 GMT

Well, I'm not sure I would really call it a lunch break, but on finishing ops I rush the dog to the park for a 20 min walk, then take her home, feed/clean the rabbits, prepare dinner and tidy up, remembering to grab the kids karate suits etc if they need them after school.

I then consult 1.20- 2.50, then, usually running late, I sprint up the hill to pick the kids up from school and bring them back to the surgery, supervise their homework/ go to the bank/ phone clients/ do paperwork, then start consulting again at 4-6pm.

Even with scheduled "breaks" there are never enough hours in the day. There always seems to be a client in 15 mins early, or turning up without an appointment and who "doesn't mind waiting". Even a phone call can really eat into any time you might have put aside for something else. Our days seem to mostly maniacally busy, with the odd unsettlingly quiet day thrown in at intervals- there's no rhyme or reason to it, is there?

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

HERETIC — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:28:17 GMT

I used to regularly skip lunch until I had a really severe bout of gastric pain - so bad the medics were considering pancreatic cancer as a dd. There was nothing found when I finally had the ultrasound and endoscopy after about 4 months but I am now more careful to always have a brief sit down and feed even when busy.

The flip side of this is do you think about the lay staff? I have often seen young vets happily waste time on the internet mid morning instead of getting on with the ops. -" Its ok I'll get them done later.". Result nurses still washing up kits mid afternoon and no lunch break for them .Good planning is for everybody.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Matt Valentine — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:32:47 GMT

it is impossible to do your best work when working like that. all you want to do is shift a problem rather than solve it. since I have been on a 4 day week and consult less I find I am interested in clients problems and take time to explain things. hence clients understand the need for investigation and spend more money in the practice

unfortunately you usually have to vote with your feet

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

plantagenet — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:01:11 GMT

Just had lunch, just as well since evening surgery starts in 5 minutes. Alas the kettle's broken and I didn't have time to replace it today, microwave tea leaves a lot to be desired.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:43:33 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]Breaks between appointments for vetsurgeon [/quote]

Seriously though, we have consultations from 1pm till 7pm but with half hour gaps every 1 1/2 - 2 hours. You need those gaps - not only for a breather and a cup of tea-but also to catch up if running late, check in-patients, deal with lab results and arrange referrals. You can't leave everything until you finish!

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:21:10 GMT

Usually about 2 hours off in the middle of the day for lunch/banking Breaks between appointments for vetsurgeon

Wynne

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Gillian Mostyn — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:47:56 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]

[quote user="CatherineThomas"]We consult from 8.30 til 12 and 2.30 til 7. I think this is part of the problem. [/quote]

Completely mad - I'd leave.

[/quote]

me too. Nuts.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

bob lehner — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:08:32 GMT

[quote user="CatherineThomas"]We consult from 8.30 til 12 and 2.30 til 7. I think this is part of the problem. [/quote]

Completely mad - I'd leave.

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:18:42 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

We're fairly quiet this afternoon (although just admitted a dyspnoeic parrot which may keep me busy - once it comes out of the oxygen box) so I'm doing the few consults we have and my assistant has gone for a run.

Would rather do the consults....

[/quote] You'd never guess bit I'm pretty quiet as well today!! Anyway this thread is far to civilised and sensible and I have to say: lunch time, what's lunch time? In my day all I had time for was a bogie and bit of ear wax while I was running around between a pyo, a GDV and a caesarian with a broom up my arse as I simultaneously swept the floor clean with 2 broken legs and a broken arm and that was after I'd had to lick the road clean. You youngsters......

Re: Do you get a lunch hour?

Gillian Mostyn — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:25:33 GMT

Would rather do the consults....