These are my personal opinions based on my time with the company. Where I say “you”, it’s the metaphorical “you” as a placeholder for the sentence.
I feel that scheduling sucks. 9 hours is a long time to be on shift doing this kind of work since it’s non-stop, even with the paid break. The schedule is also made 4-6 months in advance, so unless you know what you’re going to be doing in the next 4-6 months, you can’t really request off for anything.
To me, training is bare minimum. I got about 4-5 hours total where she whizzed through a rapid rundown of programs and systems, with no actual formal training materials, packets, documents, images, etc. Absolutely nothing was provided to me to reference, study, read (until long after I had started working and some helpful things another CL made were given to me). It was literally just me doing a conference call and watching her screen as she breezes through it because she knows it like the back of her hand, barely slowing down for questions and seeming annoyed if I ask them, then condescending in her answer like it was a stupid question to ask. There is no option to shadow a shift or two first. On our last training day, I got to practice on maybe 3-4 cases but the online version of their software wouldn’t work well.
After this "training", you get thrown into the deep end of a job that requires you to run 7-8 tabs/programs at one time, 2 of which are extremely complicated in learning how to use them, learn the controls and commands, where to find things, how to work things, etc, You spend 9 straight hours handling multiple departments and sources needing your attention and addressing all at the same time -- requests coming in from radiologists, requests from Support, requests from you TO Support, requests from Customer Support (which is different from Support), requests from you TO Customer Support, DVM phone calls/emails/voicemails, report questions that need handling, communication with other CLs......all while you have a steady stream of cases coming in that you are reviewing and approving or putting on hold, and often calling the clinics to get more PE or Hx details, markers on images, clarification, better images, etc. To compound it, Support, Customer Support, and Reception are all outsourced so there are regular communication/language barriers. It is NOT easy at first and very confusing.
I also strongly feel their system is currently a mess -- all the programs and tabs they currently utilize have better ways of being operated, or better options out there, and could easily be combined into one platform aside from the email. Right now they have one program for scheduling, one program for pay/timeclock, one program for email, one program for handling the X-ray/CT/MRI/Ultrasound images, one program for the case details/reviews, one program for chat from clinics, one program for communication with fellow CLs/radiologists/support/customer support/receptionists, one program for making/taking phone calls. 90% of that could be combined into one functioning platform, but instead, you must manage and sort through chaos, and even with two screens it is difficult. If you make a mistake or face a situation that is among one of the 51,238,472,387 things you didn't get trained on, you are treated as ignorant and chastised instead of encouraged and instructed for the next time.
There is only one management person outside of our company owners/medical directors, and she handles every aspect aside from technical things and HR/payroll. To me, she is condescending, intolerant, impatient, rude, cold, intimidating, and unapproachable. I have never worked with someone who made a job so uncomfortable in my life. She advises you to contact her if you have questions about something or need help, but I feel she responds to you in such a way that makes you terrified to do so ever again and dread doing so. It feels like there is no effort made to get to know people or better understand their thought processes, learning methods, or reasoning, and no encouragement at all. Nothing but negative, no positive. To me, you are never told what you are doing well, just everything you are doing wrong. Repeatedly. I feel you spend every shift walking on eggshells. I have never had a manager cause me more anxiety and fear, all because of the constant negative feedback and zero support or encouragement/guidance. I have never had a job culture and direct management line that made me feel so inadequate, useless, self-doubtful – like I shouldn’t even be in this field that I have loved for 10 years. I ended some shifts honestly feeling like the world would be better off without me because clearly I can’t do anything right, all because of this person and the way they spoke to me. My mental health absolutely TANKED after taking this job, and it breaks my heart because I loved the work itself and I love VetMed.
I strongly feel that to successfully work here, you do not try to be helpful, do not make suggestions or ideas, do not try to go above and beyond, do not answer questions if they are not directly to you, do not take on more hours or the extra duties, do not try to stand out in any way. I feel that to succeed here, you need to be absolutely silent and keep to yourself, do your bare minimum work, let everyone else take all the questions and voicemails, keep your head down, don't try to have fun or make friends, and avoid the team management at all costs. Maybe, just maybe, you'll have a chance.
