Veterinary nursing census data around the world reveal a common trend; we are underpaid compared with most other qualified occupations, and we are underutilised compared with the skills we gained in our professional qualifications. The implications of chronic low pay of veterinary professionals are extensive, reaching all aspects of the sector from operational efficiencies, and public service, to clinical effectiveness, and animal welfare. Despite the reasons and issues that need to be resolved, one thing is for certain, we need to pay our veterinary nurses fairly and in line with our level of professionalism, credentials, and responsibility.
There is extensive research looking at operational efficiencies in sectors that have low wages. Some trends in this research show dramatic consequences to wellbeing, performance, and creativity when people are underpaid. Mental and physical health suffers; cognitive functions are impacted, with decreased creativity, and efficiency. Evidence shows a 13 point drop in IQ when there is a daily struggle to make ends meet. Workers struggle to pay the bills, their health suffers, their performance declines, and consequently they don't get utilised, promoted, or empowered to take on advanced roles. The flow-on effects of this process to the workforce includes low productivity, decreased profits, decreased confidence in employees, poor organisational culture, and high staff turnover. Low wages are both a cause and effect of designing for mediocrity. It's a vicious cycle.
When people feel valued, they add value — this is supported in psychology and behavioural economics. Efficiency wage theory outlines how employees who are paid fairly and generously are more productive, employee satisfaction and retention metrics score higher, and profits go up because employees are more focused, motivated, valued and take pride in what they do. Employees are driven by a desire to offer value for money, and the company benefits by attracting high quality recruits, and by having healthier employees.
What does all of this mean to an average veterinary clinic? Practices must determine what the extra effort from workers, and the boost in productivity, is worth to the business. This is the maximum that can sustainably go toward wages. If this amount is low, it is worth determining ways to simplify systems to improve efficiency, measure areas of inefficiency including optimal staff utilisation. Employers can consider value-based healthcare strategies, such as systems and processes to measure service cost and health outcomes; development of patient-centred care, as opposed to supply-driven care; measurement and transparency of outcomes, including patient, performance, and service quality outcomes.
Generous pay is most effective when linked with organisational culture that sees each worker as a whole person worth investing in. This translates to investments in economic strategy, emotional literacy, and employee wages. As a sector, we need to upskill in these areas if we hope to get out of this vicious cycle.
While most of us entered the profession to care for animals, we are not just bystanders to evolution of our profession, we are part of it. Veterinary nurses can lead in this space, by gathering the economic and behavioural scientific evidence, building emotional literacy skills, and developing capabilities in building a strong organisational culture. By developing awareness of financial acumen, profits, and risks we build capability to influence our profession's strategic vision. If we don't lead it, who will?