Does Your Veterinary Practice Need Social Workers?

Whether you should hire a part-time social worker or a full-time social worker depends on your veterinary practice size, says Sandra Brackenridge, LCSW, a veterinary social worker and consultant.

"It can be a social worker who works either full-time or part-time, it can be either, and it really depends on the size of your hospital, how many services you need or you want. And so, for example, the hospital that I work for I work for part-time and I supervise. I've supervised up to 8 interns, but our hospital is about 100 employees. And so, a part-time social worker can do it effectively whereas the hospital in Pittsburgh—Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center—I helped them hire a social worker and within 6 months they hired a second full-time social worker. They have two full-time social workers and interns, and I think they have over 300 employees. So, it differs depending on the size of the hospital and how many clients are seen every day, too."