You are driven to achieve, and this same drive that got you through veterinary school drives you to other goals as well. For you, it isn't good enough to be "just" a parent.  You need to be the best possible parent, which means leading the scout group, coaching the soccer team and being active in church youth activities. You're motivated to serve on the local humane society board. In addition, you have developed your artistic side and are starting to create and sell pottery at a variety of craft fairs.  

 

Does this sound like you? This hypothetical example is consistent with the "Type-A" personalities that are disproportionately represented in the veterinary profession.  

 

It is difficult to do this many things and to do them as well as our personality demands of us! In a perfect world, we would work part-time, in order to make more time available for all of the other demands in our lives. However, working as veterinarians is our primary means of income, so it isn't always feasible to cut back to a part-time position, especially when there is a high student loan balance hanging over our heads! 

 

While at some point in our careers, most of us may consider the choice of being a part-time or a full-time associate, how many of us have considered part-time practice ownership as an option?

 

The Benefits of Ownership

There are numerous benefits to being a practice owner and one of the biggest benefits is control. You have control over your compensation, over your work schedules, over the philosophy/style of practice, the mission, the core values, etc. You decide what type of equipment to buy, what the hours of the practice will be and what areas of expertise the practice will have. In addition, you have control over your own job security.  

 

There also are a number of positive financial benefits to practice ownership. Like buying a house, when you develop equity in a practice, you have something of value that ultimately can be sold. Buying a practice is a sound investment for most practice owners.  

 

Unlike a home, a business is also a source of ongoing revenue and profit. Not only do you have equity that can later be sold, you have a source of revenue that is available to you on an ongoing basis.

 

Owners of veterinary practices derive their income not just from clinical work, but from management work and profit distribution as well. Therefore, unlike associate veterinarians, practice owners have the ability to cut back on clinical duties while still maintaining (or even exceeding) the level of compensation of a full-time associate. However, ownership requires significant interest and competency in business management, so you need to be prepared to put in the extra time to ensure practice success. Remember, LEADERSHIP is NOT a part-time proposition! 

 

The Responsibilities of Ownership

Ownership isn't all butterflies and rainbows! As a practice owner, you are asked to learn about a wide variety of business systems, including finance, marketing, human resources, customer service and so on. In order to be a successful business owner, you need to develop at least a baseline level of competency in each of these areas.  

 

A key to successful part-time ownership is to have a full-time, competent manager in the practice. Management issues come up every day at all different times and you cannot handle these issues adequately if you are 1) working in clinics or 2) out of the practice. Having readily available on-site management expertise is an important part of a successful practice.

 

The most successful hospitals are those that have developed a clear set of values and standards of care that are the basis for all client, patient and staff interactions. When the doctors and staff share a common frame of reference and a clear vision of how to practice, it is much easier for you to be away from the practice, because the quality of care and of staff interaction is not dependent upon your presence.  

 

Holding regular meetings is also an important part of effective management. Meeting regularly with the doctors as well as the staff ensures that there is a consistent standard of care, not just for the patients, but for the team and the client interactions as well. Giving staff the platform on which to stimulate and nurture change while still operating within a shared vision will empower the staff and make the day-to-day onsite presence of the owner less necessary.  

 

The more the practice is client- and patient-centric and not owner- or staff-centric, the more valuable it will be to a future buyer. In other words, if you have worked hard to have systems in place so that the operations of the practice are not dependent upon you being in the hospital, then it is more likely that these systems will be able to transfer and persist under new ownership. This ability to "transfer goodwill" reduces the risk to the buyer and makes the practice more valuable in the long run.  

 

Conclusion

If you are a person who has an interest in the leadership and management aspects of veterinary practice, then practice ownership may be for you. If done the right way, ownership can offer you much more flexibility and can create the opportunity to pursue outside interests while still maintaining a successful practice.  

---