Trauma Isn’t a Tradition: Why It’s Time to Fix Weekend Coverage
Me on a rare day off at a gymnastics meet.
“Let’s be real: “I suffered, so you should too” is not leadership. It’s trauma recycling.”
Weekend scheduling. Just the mention of it is enough to make most veterinary leaders sigh in frustration. I’m working with a practice right now that sees this challenge in full force:
High volume Saturdays that absolutely require strong medical coverage.
Sundays that are quiet, but still need to be staffed because they are urgent care only — just in case.
A skeleton crew of regulars bolstered by relief help, because the full-time team often isn’t available or calls out frequently.
Why? Because everyone’s fighting for two or three days off in a row. The conversations with the team go like this:
“I’ve worked here long enough, I shouldn’t have to work weekends anymore.”
“I paid my dues, the newer doctors should be the ones to cover.”
“I worked Saturdays for years—now it’s someone else’s turn.”
Sound familiar? I know I am not alone in this.
But here’s the thing: Weekend coverage isn’t a personal favor—it’s an operational reality. And when resentment builds and teams fracture over who gets stuck working when, everyone loses: the clients, the patients, and especially the people still showing up weekend after weekend. So what can you do when you’re caught in the middle of this tug-of-war?
Let’s break it down — with love, but also with a little edge. Camp Tough Love, style…
1. Data, Not Drama: You can’t fix what you haven’t measured. Before we spiral into emotional debates about fairness and burnout, take a breath and look at the numbers. How many patients are you actually seeing on Saturdays and Sundays? What’s the revenue? What’s the staffing cost? Spoiler alert: You might not need both weekend days.
If Saturday is slammed and Sunday is a ghost town, it’s time to stop treating them like identical twins. Maybe Sunday becomes an urgent care block. Maybe it’s the day you close. But let the data decide—not the guilt trips. This was part of my conversation with this practice leadership. I have friends who opened Sunday because they were insanely busy but chose to be closed on Wednesdays because it was a ghost town for them. Do what works for your clients, your clinic and your team.
2. Get Clear on Coverage Expectations: “Who wants to work Saturday?” is not a scheduling strategy. It’s a recipe for resentment, manipulation, and burnout. If weekend coverage is a non-negotiable for hospital operations, then it needs to be defined as such. Most hospitals have gone through and landed on a strategy that includes “these are the people who complain the least and are team players, so I schedule them more.” I get it. It’s easier to ask the ones who say yes for help than to have the hard conversation. And we are not actually being leaders when we employ this strategy. In fact, we are actively working against our best people!
Set clear expectations: one Saturday a month, rotating weekends, whatever fits your model. The entire team has to participate and give in some way or it doesn’t work in the long run. Once the baseline is in place, then you can sprinkle in flexibility like a generous soul. But don’t build your schedule on vibes and crossed fingers. It won’t hold.
3. Create Rotations with Recovery Time: If your weekend shifts feel like a punishment, the system is broken — not your people. One thing that made a huge difference for the practice I’m working with? They started pairing Saturday shifts with a guaranteed three-day weekend the following week. That changed the game. Suddenly, working Saturday wasn’t a sentence—it was a tradeoff. A rhythm. And people were a lot more willing to jump in when they knew a recovery window was coming. Balance matters. People aren’t machines. And if they are, they’re machines that need regular maintenance and a day off to recharge.
4. Address the “Dues Mentality” Head-On: Let’s be real: “I suffered, so you should too” is not leadership. It’s trauma recycling. Just because you toughed it out through every Saturday for five years without complaint doesn’t mean the next generation should too. That’s not tradition—that’s a cycle of burnout.
Veterinary medicine is evolving. We’re not going to retain new team members (or even mid-career people) if the unspoken rule is that you have to earn your way to humane scheduling. That is hazing, straight up. Experience should give you influence, not immunity. Help shape better systems. Model teamwork. Use your voice to make things more sustainable—for everyone.
But here’s the hard truth: addressing this mentality head-on? It means having some uncomfortable conversations. You are going to say things people don’t want to hear. You may not come out of it as their friend. And that’s okay. Because leadership isn’t about pleasing everyone. It’s about taking care of the team as a whole—even when it’s messy.
This is still a business. We need people, yes—but we also need to stay open to keep people employed. Sustainable scheduling is part of that equation. Build equity, not hierarchy. That’s what keeps people around. That’s what makes teams strong.
5. Consider Creative Compensation or Incentives: If you can’t fill your weekend shifts, the problem might not be your people—it might be the incentive. Weekend work is hard. It disrupts life. It’s emotionally and physically draining. And if the only thing your team gets is a pat on the back and “thanks for taking one for the team,” it’s no wonder they’re ducking out.
Try offering:
A weekend shift bonus
Extra PTO hours
First dibs on preferred weekday shifts
Flex time the following week
Think of it like surge pricing for emotional labor. When the job costs more — compensate accordingly. Your team will feel seen, appreciated, and more willing to step up.
The Bottom Line
Weekend scheduling isn’t going away. But the way we approach it has to evolve if we want to keep our teams intact. Leaders: your job isn’t to make everyone happy. It’s to build something sustainable. Something equitable. Something that keeps your doors open and your people whole.
Let’s stop reacting. Let’s do it on purpose.
💗 Stephanie