It's 4:45 p.m. on a Tuesday, and at least 10 pink "while you were out" slips are piled on top of my keyboard. I've been in rooms for the last two hours, and I'm just landing at my desk to knock out records before the room nurse shows up with the next patient. Suddenly, Susie pops her head around the corner.
"Should I give this painful ear our next available opening in two weeks, or do you think I should send it to urgent care?"
There goes my five-minute window. I could have knocked out records for four rooms, but now this situation has "finish records after 6 p.m." written all over it. The messages are mostly clients calling with questions about their sick pets—calls that should have been handled up front with an appointment. As for the client waiting on the line, two weeks is a very long time. I know it, the owner knows it, and the dog does not deserve that.
