How To Support Overloaded Team Members

Have you been there? A team member takes in your directives, but doesn’t really appear to be present. You ask a coworker a question, and are met with a blank look. Veterinary medicine is A LOT. And it is a lot, ALL OF THE TIME. Did you remove that IV bandage? How long has that CRI been running for? Did you remember to send home pain medication with the 8:00 AM appointment?

There’s no question that a veterinary professional’s mind is running 24/7, often times on a broken railway with incoming traffic. This is the job. You signed up for it. So this shouldn’t be a struggle, right?

Overload happens!

And it is real.

Now that leaves us with the question, how do we best support overloaded team members?

The most important step is to recognize it.

Recognize it, ackowledge it, and support them.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes an important medical question just needs an answer. Sometimes the patient can’t wait. But here are some simple ways to help ease the pressure;

• How dire is the situation? Can this wait until they are in a better head space

• Tone down the situation. Never place somebody who is overloaded into an added level of anxiety. There is a difference between urgency and anxiety

• You may not be able to avoid adding to their load. But can you help ease the weight of it?

It can be extremely helpful to communicate with your team members that you are there to support them. “What are you dealing with this afternoon? Can I help with any of it?”

It may feel so inane to ask these questions.

But more often than not, you’ll get a response resembling:

“Oh, if you could call this client for me, that would be amazing. They’ve been waiting for a call since noon.”

“I’ve been meaning to get vitals on this morning’s emergency, but time’s slipped away from me. Do you think you could check on them?”

In some situations, supporting overloaded team members looks like;

“I've noticed you’ve been having a tough evening. Let me take over this case, and maybe you could take five minutes to get some air.”

“Do you need me to take over this anesthesia for a few minutes? I’ve noticed you haven’t had a pee or fuel break in a while.”

It may sound so simple. But this is what supporting overloaded team members looks like. We all have overloaded moments. This is veterinary medicine. This is the job. But this is where the importance of working as a team comes in.

Let us know if any this was helpful or resonated with you! What are some ways that you’ve been working to support overloaded team members?

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