🌊 The Flex Staffing Wave Is Here – Is Your Practice Ready?

Across industries, the concept of “a full-time, permanent workforce” is being redefined – and veterinary medicine is no exception. The rise of gig-style working models, flexible scheduling, and portfolio careers is reshaping how professionals work, how businesses plan, and how patients are served.

And for those of you managing practices or leading veterinary groups, you already know that shift is becoming impossible to ignore. Relief and locum work are no longer edge cases or fallback options – they’re increasingly central to how veterinary talent chooses to engage with the profession. It’s a tectonic shift to understand, accept and prepare for…

Find new Team Members…the Fresh Way

We’re Encouraging the Adoption of the Term “Flex”

Throughout this article, we use “Flex” to reframe the conversation away from last-minute locum-relief fixes and toward a more modern, intentional work model that reflects the needs of both practices and veterinary professionals. The term better captures the growing shift toward flexibility, choice, autonomy, and agility – qualities the veterinary industry needs to embrace to meet the expectations of professionals, clients, and owners alike.

A Workforce Reset – Why Flex Is No Longer the Exception

Flexibility in work isn’t just a veterinary story – it’s part of a major reset in how skilled professionals operate across industries. From human healthcare to law to senior executive roles, careers built on shorter-term, high-skill contracts are moving into the mainstream. What used to be seen as temporary or unstable is now a conscious, strategic choice – and increasingly, the preferred one.

In human medicine, for example, nearly 9 in 10 U.S. healthcare facilities used locum tenens physicians or advanced practice providers during the pandemic, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. And many continue to do so – not just to plug gaps, but as a strategic layer of staffing that supports flexibility, retention, and care continuity. In law, the contract workforce has been growing steadily too – with interim counsel, freelance attorneys, and legal ops professionals becoming permanent fixtures in both firms and in-house departments. Similar shifts are happening across corporate roles, with “fractional” CMOs, CTOs, and HR leaders now standard in fast-scaling businesses.

If you’re seeing echoes of this in veterinary medicine, you’re not imagining it. According to AVMA data, relief and contract-based veterinarians now represent roughly 9% of the active U.S. veterinary workforce – a number that’s been steadily rising. In the UK, self-reported data from recent years puts the percentage of locum veterinarians at 23% in some segments. In Australia and New Zealand, major corporate groups like VetPartners actively promote national locum rotations as a desirable lifestyle and career path. The ripple effect is already here – just with a slightly different name.

Flexibility, once a backup plan, is fast becoming part of the plan – Tara M., Medical Director, Portland, Oregon, USA

✅ What you can do this week

1. Audit your current staffing model – Review the last 6 months of rostering. Where did gaps occur, and how did you solve them?
2. Understand how Flex models work in human healthcare – This article shows how hospitals are using locum staff strategically, not just reactively:
   https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/new-survey-shows-widespread-use-of-locum-tenens-providers-during-pandemic.html
3. Raise the question with your leadership team – Ask: “What would it look like to build Flex into our model – not as a backup, but as a core workforce layer?”

Inside Veterinary Medicine – The Quiet Growth of the Flex Workforce

The rise of Flex roles in veterinary practice has gone from informal workaround to quiet revolution. What was once a last-minute fix is now becoming a standard layer of operational planning. Clinics across the U.S., UK, Australia, and New Zealand are increasingly turning to Flex professionals – not only veterinarians, but also nurses and technicians – to support rosters, extend hours, and reduce strain on permanent staff.

Flex roles today are highly varied. Some professionals build entire careers around relief work, moving across cities or regions with purpose and autonomy. Others pick up occasional shifts between contracts, during family leave, or while gradually stepping back from full-time roles. In some clinics, Flex workers cover known crunch points – Friday evenings, long weekends, or post-surgical recovery shifts. In others, they serve as a bridge to growth – allowing teams to trial new services without immediately hiring permanent staff.

What’s changing fastest is how practices plan for Flex, rather than panic for it. Many now maintain a small pool of regular relief professionals they trust. They book proactively – not reactively. And increasingly, they’re offering the systems and respect that turn one-off shifts into reliable, repeatable partnerships.

Having a small group of regular relief nurses and vets has transformed how we handle workload and time off – Melanie R., Lead Nurse, Wellington, New Zealand

✅ What you can do this week

1. List your known pressure points – Identify repeat scenarios where Flex staffing could reduce burnout or extend capacity.
2. Reach out to your top 3 past locums – Start building your own trusted Flex network, even if you don’t have an immediate need.
3. Read: How to Be Their #1 Practice – This guide shows how to attract and retain great Flex talent, from systems to scheduling to culture:
   https://www.veterinarylocumotion.com/blog/locum-relief-talent-how-to-be-their-1-practice/

Why Flex Roles Are Now Strategic, Not Stop-Gap

The clinics seeing the greatest success with Flex professionals are those that treat them as part of the plan – not just a patch. Relief, locum, and casual team members are being written into annual rosters, budget forecasts, and service expansion strategies. In other words: Flex is being operationalised.

Some corporate networks now maintain their own regional pools of Flex professionals – rotating them across hospitals to support leave, trial new offerings, or fill skill gaps. Smaller clinics are creating “surge rosters” using known, trusted relief staff to cover post-holiday peaks or seasonal waves. In both cases, Flex professionals are not just keeping the doors open – they’re helping teams grow sustainably, without overextending permanent staff.

This shift also unlocks new options: launching weekend urgent care, expanding surgery blocks, offering dedicated recovery days – all without the overhead of a full-time hire. It’s workforce agility. And it’s increasingly the difference between reactive management and strategic leadership.

We plan our annual roster with Flex time already factored in – it gives us space to test new services and support staff wellbeing without overcommitting – Dominic F., Hospital Director, Chicago, Illinois, USA

✅ What you can do this week

1. Forecast coverage needs, not just hires – Look ahead three months and highlight where Flex staffing could unlock services or protect core staff.
2. Build a mini Flex strategy doc – Just one page: What roles? What days? What outcomes would justify the investment?
3. Review how structured Flex models work – This analysis from BMJ Quality & Safety explores the implications of locum working for quality and safety in the NHS:
   https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/33/6/354

Licensure – The Elephant in the Exam Room

If Flex work is the future of veterinary staffing, outdated licensure rules are the biggest barrier standing in its way. Despite the growing acceptance of locum and relief professionals, the systems that govern who can work where – and under what conditions – remain rigid, fragmented, and often deeply inefficient.

In the U.S., veterinarians must still hold an active licence in each state where they practice, even for a single relief shift. That means a vet licensed in Texas can’t legally work a weekend in Arizona without extra paperwork, fees, and often, significant delays. In contrast, Australian states and territories offer automatic mutual recognition, making national mobility far simpler for vets and nurses. The UK, meanwhile, is navigating new post-Brexit credentialing limitations that may further restrict cross-border work within Europe.

While licensing bodies often position these barriers as protections for clinical standards, many inside the profession recognise a more uncomfortable truth: much of this is about protecting local control and limiting competition, not improving patient care. And in a profession already stretched thin, these outdated systems hurt practices, professionals, and ultimately, the animals they serve.

I’ve had to turn down great clinics just because of licensing delays – it’s exhausting and unnecessary – Rachel G., Relief Veterinarian, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

✅ What you can do this week

1. Map out your cross-border pain points – Are you in a tri-state metro area or near a state/provincial border? Where are licensing restrictions holding you back?
2. Follow the Veterinary Licensure Compact (U.S. only) – A 2024 initiative aims to streamline interstate mobility for vets:
   https://www.aavsb.org/licensure-compact
3. Add your voice – Whether you’re in the U.S., UK, or Australia/NZ, reach out to your local association and push for licensure reform that supports modern workforce realities.

The Cost (and Value) of Going Flex

Yes, Flex professionals often charge more per day or hour than a salaried team member – but comparing those numbers directly misses the bigger picture. While a full-time hire comes with predictability, it also brings long-term obligations: salary, benefits, insurance, paid leave, continuing education, onboarding time, and the ever-present risk of a poor fit. In contrast, Flex professionals offer targeted capacity with no ongoing liability.

In the UK, experienced locum vets routinely bill £475 per day – the hourly equivalent of a £120,000+ annual salary, with no employer on-costs. U.S. rates vary by region and specialty, but emergency relief shifts and short-notice weekend coverage often command rates 25–40% higher than base salaries. With hiring challenges still persistent in many areas, that premium has become the cost of access – and increasingly, a strategic expense, not just an emergency outlay.

Some practices are now budgeting for Flex roles alongside permanent ones – as a layer of operational agility. Others are calculating the cost of lost revenue from closed consult slots or burned-out core staff – and finding that a day rate is a small price to pay for maintaining service, morale, and momentum.

Paying more for the right person at the right time isn’t a cost – it’s an investment in capacity – Aidan K., Operations Lead, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

✅ What you can do this week

1. Run a scenario forecast – Compare the cost of using Flex cover vs. canceling high-revenue appointments or pushing permanent staff past capacity.
2. Review this profitability breakdown – See how locum costs stack up with permanent hires in healthcare economics (U.S. perspective):
   https://alumnihealthcarestaffing.com/blog/2024/2/12/the-cost-of-hiring-permanent-staff-vs-locum-tenens
3. Revisit your budget assumptions – Does your current forecast include Flex as a line item – or is it still filed under “unplanned”?

Culture, Continuity, and Reputation in a Flex-Heavy World

As Flex professionals become embedded in everyday veterinary operations, they introduce a new challenge for practice leaders – not just in scheduling or cost, but in preserving culture and consistency across a dynamic, mixed team.

Flex clinicians often move quickly between clinics. They may see your clients once, and your protocols for the first time that morning. Without clear systems in place – structured handovers, streamlined onboarding, access to digital records, a clear chain of command – even the most experienced Flex Vet or Nurse can feel like they’re walking in blind. And that’s when mistakes, miscommunication, and frustration occur.

Forward-looking practices are solving this not with more paperwork, but with operational clarity: simplified SOPs, easy-to-access clinical notes, shift briefings, and clear points of contact. Some corporate groups have introduced digital “Flex onboarding packs” for every new shift – outlining expectations, processes, and preferences – making the experience smoother for both sides. Others are integrating Flex clinicians into team meetings, WhatsApp groups, or post-shift debriefs to build rapport and continuity, even across irregular schedules.

But the bigger shift is reputational. Flex professionals talk – and what they say about your clinic is fast becoming a strategic asset or liability. If your culture supports clarity, respect, and teamwork – even for those just walking through your door for the day – word spreads. And so does the inverse.

I have a shortlist of clinics I’ll always say yes to – and a longer list I’ll never return to – Priya S., Veterinary Nurse (Flex), London, England, UK

✅ What you can do this week

1. Develop an onboarding checklist for Flex staff – Include key information about your clinic’s culture, protocols, and client expectations to facilitate smooth integration.
2. Implement standardized handover procedures – Ensure that all staff, permanent and Flex, follow consistent documentation practices to maintain continuity of care.
3. Communicate transparently with clients – Introduce Flex professionals to clients, emphasizing their expertise and role in providing high-quality care.

Closing thoughts…

The veterinary workforce is changing – and the most resilient, profitable practices will be those that adapt deliberately. Flex professionals aren’t just filling gaps anymore; they’re shaping how veterinary care is delivered, scaled, and sustained. For practice owners and managers, the opportunity now is to stop firefighting and start planning – to design a model where Flex staffing supports growth, not just survival.

This doesn’t mean overhauling your business overnight. It means starting small, systematising what works, and building the tools, relationships, and internal culture to make Flex a functional part of your business model. Done well, it can give your team more breathing room, your clients more consistency, and your bottom line more agility.

---

About Veterinary Jobs Marketplace…