PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Summer 2020 - 16

Do you know who
you are hiring?
By Dr. Andrew Heller

Chief Growth Officer, Independent Vets

many more) with a five-star system and share results with
colleagues so we can compare feedback.
2. Reference Checks - It's critical to get feedback from
previous employers and colleagues. It's even better when
you can use your network to find people that know the
person outside the reference list. We also have a standard
set of questions that we ask all references:

Recently there was an exposé about a relief veterinarian who
had stolen another veterinarian's identity and used it to obtain
controlled medications to feed her drug addiction. She was also
caught forging checks and practicing medicine far below the
standard of care. In fact, her license had actually expired. So, this
was a doctor who was breaking lots of laws, and practicing bad
medicine - and yet her colleagues and manager didn't know...
until the damage was done.
Most of us veterinarians are a skeptical bunch. It might take
years before we trust the safety and efficacy of a new drug or
method of treatment for our patients. Then why do we trust just
anyone working in our hospitals without sufficient background
checks and vetting? Are we just so desperate for warm bodies to
shoulder the load that we are willing to risk our businesses with
unvetted and unverified staff? That should go against our nature
as a group.
We've thought a lot about the hiring - and managing process -
and we've come up with some best practices when hiring our
associate doctors. Here is what we do, and what you should be
doing to get it right:
1. In-Person Interview - Everything starts with a faceto-face interview. You can always start with a phone
screen, but there's nothing like sitting across from a
veterinarian and asking the right questions. We have a
list of 10 questions that we ask every doctor, every time.
The consistency allows us to make sure we're hitting all
the right points and that we have a standard that we can
apply fairly across the board. Some of the key areas we
assess are: professionalism, timeliness, and ability to act
under pressure. We rank each of those attributes (and
16 | Keystone Veterinarian

a. How do you know the candidate?
b. Describe your experience working with the candidate.
c. What does this candidate do well (strengths)?
d. What does this candidate need to work on
(weaknesses)?
e. How would this candidate do in a situation like [your
company]?
f. Would you hire this candidate to work alongside you?
The key is listening to the tone of the responses -
sometimes that can tell you more than the actual words
being spoken. This is where we can spot red flags about a
candidate. Any non-positive responses should be reason to
rethink your hire.
3. 3rd Party Background Checks - We've had great
interviews and then been ghosted by candidates when
we send them the link to start the background screen.
Sometimes just going through the process can weed out
candidates with questionable histories. We start with the
basics: Is this person licensed? Are there any complaints
to the state? Remember to check all states where your
candidate worked. The background company we use will
also verify job history, calling each hospital and confirming
dates of work. We also check educational history: Do the
dates on the resume match up with what the schools tell
us? You'd be surprised how often there are gaps. And the
last piece is running a criminal background check. We
look at local, county, state and federal databases. We also
run against FBI databases (terrorism, child abuse, etc.).
Make sure you consult with your HR experts when you're
reviewing background information. There are state and
federal laws detailing how to handle "red flags."
4. Drug Screens - I know these can feel awkward, but it's
important because there are controlled drugs in your
hospital. And this is one way to know if your candidate
has a problem they may be bringing with them. We've
found that clearly identifying the reason you're testing can

PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Summer 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Summer 2020