Supervision of Staff Critical

Posted by dcjack on April 4, 2010 under Articles |

Within the past three weeks I have attended to two separate veterinary discipinary hearings defending practitioners in two different provinces but each dealing with the same issue; that is, allegations that the veterinarian failed to adequately supervise laystaff.  In one case, the practitioner erroneously felt that the technician had sufficient knowledge and training to perform certain tests which were specifically restricted to be performed by a licensed veterinarian.  In the other case the veterinarian had no knowledge whatever (in fact, the practitioner was not even on the premises) that a laystaff member had admitted a patient, made a diagnosis, performed a procedure and discharged the animal only to find much later that significant other medical problems had been missed.  In my view, both cases point to the need for the veterinarian to carefully consider the delegation of tasks to those that are within the competency of other non-licensed staff members and fall within any statutory guidelines.  In most jurisdictions the prevailing veterinary statute will provide some guidance on whether or not a particular task requires indirect supervision, direct supervision or direct, personal supervision.  The prudent practice will establish some clear lines of communication to ensure compliance.