First, we’d like to thank everyone who gave the site a go. It was a unique idea that we thought was worth a try, it helped a lot of people find the work / staff they needed, but it just wasn’t sustainable.

We’ve asked Kick Ass Vets to host this page as we believe they have the right idea on what needs to change in the profession for things to get better.

Below is just a brief synopsis of VLL.

We started Vet Locum List after becoming frustrated by a veterinary world where clinics needed staff but couldn't find them, veterinarians and nurses needed work but were hidden from clinics, and middle managers charged a fortune to 'connect' people with not-so-transparent conditions. Finding work shouldn't be this complicated.

Vet Locum List was designed to be a focal point of communication between clinics and staff, where shift and worker availability was easy to find. We wanted everything to be simple, affordable, enjoyable, and most importantly, transparent. Sounds simple enough, right?

The system was designed as a freemium model, where single shifts were free to post, but job postings would have a fee (still relatively cheep). This worked for some time, however one large group in particular began posting bogus single hour shifts as a recruitment strategy to siphon vets into their system. After a few complaints, we switched to a subscription model so at least they would have to pay to do this…. instead the problem went away…

The major problems with Vet Locum List are a microcosm of the larger problem, where veterinarians feel mistreated and undervalued by clinics, and therefore seek to find work elsewhere.

With significant staffing shortages felt across the veterinary world, the nature with which clinics handle their staff is surprisingly short-sighted. We often got complaints from our (very employable) veterinary members that clinics were ignoring a lot of their shift applications. We would then need to reach out to these clinics to encourage them to at least inform applicants that a shift had been filled or was no longer available. This rarely happened.

In turn, veterinarians lost confidence in the site because they wouldn’t hear back from clinics, and stopped applying. After this, clinics started complaining that they weren’t getting any applications, and stopped posting.

It is surprising how often this effect feels novel to so many people, ignore people and they'll stop coming back. This isn't so different from the underpaying leads to less staff concept. If you don't see how they're related, we strongly recommend you add this site to the top of your reading list.

Kick Ass Vets hosts a lot of excellent information on how veterinarians can value themselves and how clinics can value their veterinarians. Everything on this site is worth a read, and so far, is the best approach to fixing the problem that we’ve seen.

All The Best
VLL