WHETHER they’re booking in a pet for a routine vaccination or dealing with an emergency arrival, veterinary receptionists have one of the most demanding and challenging roles.
Now receptionists working in VetPartners’ family of practices are boosting their skills by earning fully accredited status with the British Veterinary Receptionist Association (BVRA) after we provided them with the opportunity to join the association.
VetPartners has partnered with the BVRA and it is leading to a transformation in the role of receptionist.
Our receptionists are blazing a trail within the veterinary sector by achieving the prestigious BVRA awards that enable them to train online in all aspects of the role, including greeting clients, customer care, clinical awareness and dealing with emergencies.
From boosting confidence levels to learning new skills, VetPartners has been delighted with the feedback from our reception teams on the support provided to develop knowledge, skills and competencies to succeed in their role.
Our receptionists who have achieved the BVRA gold standard award are Emma Harrold, from Ashfield House Vets; Fay Footner and Sharon Purbrick, from Hale Vets; Kate Finlay, pictured right, and Margaret Morton, from Westway Vets, Sam Haggett, from Quantock Vets, above, and Sheila Fleming, from Galedin Vets, main photo.
VetPartners Head of Organisational Development Rob Williams said: “We recognise the value of continuous learning and development and we encourage all our colleagues, whether they are receptionists, vets, veterinary nurses or admin teams, to grow together.
“We have created an environment of support and belonging, where everyone working at VetPartners has an opportunity to thrive and where we develop everyone to their potential and support them with their career goals.
“The BVRA provides training in all aspects of the reception role and gives positive solutions in the day to day challenges our teams encounter in practice. We are encouraging everyone taking up a BVRA membership completes the online training.”
Sheila Fleming, left, who works at Galedin Vets in Coldstream, was one of the first to achieve her gold award and is now a Registered Veterinary Receptionist.
“Doing the BVRA training has equipped me to deal with many different situations,” she said.
“It is a good qualification to have and provides the opportunity to stretch yourself by learning new aspects of the role.”
The team of 53 receptionists at Westway Veterinary Group are proving they’re a match for any situation, after boosting their skills through achieving fully accredited BVRA status.
Westway head receptionist Amy Laverick said: “We are so proud to be driving the Westway team to be BVRA qualified and the goal is to have every member of the team qualified.
“Our expectation is to deliver exceptional customer service to all our clients, whether that’s for preventative care such as flea and wormer enquiries right up to emergency triage for those client’s calling at the most worrying times. The training is second-to-none and doing the course has really boosted the confidence of the team. We are receiving impressive feedback from clients.”
VetPartners collaborated with the BVRA, enabling anyone working in a reception role to join the association.
Everyone taking up a BVRA membership is encouraged to complete the online training and enjoy benefits like the annual veterinary receptionist conference and online forum.
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners Senior PR and Communications Manager, on 07970 198 492 or email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk