Locum work means a different practice every week. Different PMS, different note templates, different expectations for how records should look. The one constant? You still need to write clinical notes for every consult — in an unfamiliar system, under time pressure, with no one to show you where anything is.

Most locum vets end up typing notes into whatever system the practice uses, fighting a PMS they barely know, or scribbling on paper and hoping someone transfers it later. It's slow, inconsistent, and means you're staying late at a practice that isn't even yours.

An AI scribe that travels with you changes the equation. Same tool, same templates, same quality notes — regardless of which clinic you walk into on Monday morning.

The Problem: New Practice, Same Admin

Locum vets face a documentation challenge that permanent staff don't think about. Every booking brings:

• An unfamiliar PMS — maybe it's RxWorks this week and Ascend the next. Maybe it's a system you've never touched before. Either way, you're slow in it.
• No established workflow — the regular vet has keyboard shortcuts, auto-text snippets, and a system that works for them. You don't have any of that.
• Different expectations — some practices want detailed SOAP notes. Others want a brief summary. You're guessing what they expect while also trying to see patients at pace.
• Time pressure — you're being paid to see patients, not to figure out software. Every minute spent wrestling with the PMS is a minute you're not consulting.

The result? Notes get shorter, less detailed, and less consistent across practices. Or they get done after hours — unpaid time that erodes the whole point of locum rates.

"Note taking has always been one of my lowest priorities... And now, they actually get done." — Dr Will Gartrell, Frankston Heights Veterinary Centre

How Whippet Notes Works for Locum Vets

Whippet Notes lives on your phone. You bring it to every practice, every booking, every consult. Hit record, do the consult, and complete clinical notes generate automatically — regardless of what PMS the practice uses or how their systems are set up.

Here's why that matters when you're moving between practices constantly.

Your Templates Travel With You

The custom template system is yours, not the practice's. You set up templates once — a SOAP template for sick visits, a vaccination template, a surgical report template — and they work at every practice you visit.

When you start a recording, the app uses your template. The output is consistent, thorough, and structured the way you want it — whether you're at a small rural clinic or a busy urban practice.

If a practice has specific note requirements, you can create a template for that practice and switch to it when you're there. But the default is your own consistent standard.

For details on SOAP formatting, see our Veterinary SOAP Notes: Complete Guide.

PMS Integration at Practices That Use Ascend or RxWorks

When the practice runs Covetrus Ascend or RxWorks, Whippet Notes can sync notes directly into the patient record. Select the appointment, record the consult, and the finished notes appear in the PMS — no navigating unfamiliar screens to find the right text field and paste notes in.

This is particularly valuable for locums because it removes the PMS learning curve. You don't need to know how to write notes in RxWorks. You just need to know how to select an appointment.

Integration is included free on all plans.

At Practices Without Ascend or RxWorks

Not every practice uses a supported PMS — and that's fine. Whippet Notes generates your notes regardless of integration. You can:

• Copy from the web dashboard or mobile app and paste into any PMS
• Send notes via the client letter output for the practice to file
• Export from the app at the end of the day

The point is that your note quality doesn't drop just because the practice uses a different system. You still get the same structured output from every consult.

"Whippet Notes allows me to focus on my patient and client, knowing the details of our conversation are locked away." — Dr Alana Dowdell, Pets And Their People

Consistent Notes Across Every Practice

One of the underrated problems of locum work is inconsistency. Your notes look different at every practice because you're using different systems and different workflows. If a complaint ever comes back months later, you're trying to remember what you wrote and where it was saved.

With Whippet Notes, every consult is recorded and documented to the same standard. Your notes exist in your own account — accessible through the web dashboard any time. Even if the practice's PMS is unreliable, you have a complete record of what happened.

Four Outputs From Every Consult

Every recording generates four outputs:

1. Clinical notes — structured to your template, ready for the patient record
2. Patient summary — quick-reference overview the regular vet can pick up when they return
3. Client letter — plain-language summary for the owner, which practices appreciate from a locum
4. Billable items — captures everything done so the practice can invoice accurately

The patient summary and client letter are especially useful in locum work. The regular vet comes back to a clean handover. The practice manager sees professional client communications. You leave a good impression — which means repeat bookings.

"Whippet Notes has helped me save a lot of admin time by writing detailed medical notes for me." — Dr David Clifford, Rathmines Veterinary Hospital

What a Locum Day Looks Like

By the end of the day, every consult is documented to the same standard you'd achieve at your own practice — without learning the PMS, without staying late, without handwritten notes on scraps of paper.

Pro Plan: Built for Individual Vets

The Pro plan at $80 AUD/month covers 100 consults — more than enough for most locum bookings. It's an individual subscription tied to your account, not a practice. Take it with you everywhere.

10 consults per month are free forever, no credit card required. Try it at your next locum booking.

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