Working in veterinary medicine is often viewed as a calling rather than a job. Clinicians are passionate about their patients’ well-being and committed to providing the best care possible; however, this dedication can blur the lines between one’s professional and personal life, especially when clients or nonclients send messages outside of practice hours. Following are tips for establishing clear client communication boundaries.
Balancing Care With Boundaries
Social media is good for client (and nonclient) connection and education but can be an avenue for receiving unwanted messages outside of working hours. Whether the preference is to engage with questions on social media or keep personal and professional lives separate, boundaries should be set and respected.
Clinics should establish a clear policy on how social media communications are handled across all public-facing platforms, ensuring team members are aligned. Guidance can be provided on how to respond and redirect messages received on personal accounts, including providing a template message for easy copying and pasting, educating team members on the appropriate way to redirect clients, helping the team understand the reasons behind protocols, and ensuring team members are familiar with after-hours care, triage, and referral information.
Although it may feel obligatory to respond when someone reaches out to a personal social media profile, it is acceptable to ignore these messages, tags, and mentions. Messages can also be redirected via a standard reply. For example, Thank you for reaching out, but I’m unable to answer medical questions via social media. Please send questions to the clinic [email/app/portal/preferred channel], and I’ll respond when I’m back in the office. If this is an emergency, after-hours information can be found on the clinic voicemail and website.
Privacy on social media can be maintained by updating privacy settings, removing job titles and places of employment, limiting visibility of personal information, and avoiding engaging in neighborhood or community closed Facebook groups and responding to online reviews with personal accounts.
Proactive Communication Strategies
Unwanted social media contact may be prevented by proactively establishing avenues for clients to communicate veterinary needs.
Offering easier communication avenues (eg, practice app with a chat feature, automated website chat widget, visible hospital email address) and discussing these options during appointments can help ensure clients know what options are available and when to expect a response. An after-hours triage service can help manage questions, calls, and bookings outside normal clinic hours.
Ensuring clinic hours are visible on social media platforms and using an after-hours message autoresponder on social media channels can provide information on care options and response times.
Making patient information accessible can reduce after-hours inquiries. Postvisit summaries and discharge instructions should be provided via a print out or an email, and educational materials should be easy to locate on the clinic website, app, or social media channels.
Not accepting friend requests from clients on social media can avoid blurring professional lines and increasing liability. Guidelines for interactions can be included in the clinic’s social media policy.
Conclusion
Clinicians are dedicated to patients’ well-being, but it is equally important to care for ourselves. Protecting personal time by setting clear boundaries and proactively communicating with clients can still allow provision of high-level patient care. It is okay to refuse after-hours and personal profile inquiries, and doing so is a vital part of maintaining a sustainable and fulfilling career in veterinary medicine.