10 Most Important Questions When Considering Your First Veterinary Job

Join UVC’s Dr. Bast and Dr. Leinen in exploring essential questions to consider when evaluating your first veterinary job, helping you make informed decisions for your career.

Starting or Buying a Practice: The Financial Side

Are you thinking about starting or buying a veterinary practice? Join Josh Ervasti of R² Financial Strategies as he breaks down essential considerations for aspiring veterinary practice owners. Business ownership can be incredibly rewarding. Tune in to gain invaluable insights!

TBD

TBD

Pros and Cons of Buying Into a Practice

Engaged with students about the logistics of buying into a practice and his personal journey through vet school. Mentioned the impact of VPP on his career path and ability to start practice ownership early on during his career + what goes into owning a practice in general.

Practice Management VETM5300

VETM5300

Practice Management VETM5300

VETM5300 Course

Navigating Clinical Competency

join Tufts’ own Dr. Louge for an Italian dinner and casual conversation about clinical competency including things like listening and communication skills, as well as responsibility and accountability!

Resume Workshop

Join us with Dr. Farris as we walk through how to set up a resume to get you the offers you want out of vet school!

Mythbusters- Early Career Vet Edition

Join us with Dr. Farris as we learn about common myths associated with the start of your veterinary career out of school.

Financial Adulting

The topic is financial adulting, In this presentation, Dr. Anna Uhl, a veterinarian in primary care practice, will explain what she did to prepare to be a ”financial adult” after vet school and what she would have done differently. Learn the basics of some common financial and retirement accounts you’ll encounter, in order to increase your awareness about these accounts and know what to keep in mind while evaluating different jobs/contracts. Accounts covered will be the following: high-yield savings, HSA / FSA, 401(k), Roth IRA, traditional IRA, and brokerage accounts. It is important to know the fundamentals of these accounts as early as possible in your career to set yourself up for success. A few principles for personal finance and wealth building will also be discussed such as compounding interest and lifestyle inflation. Will this be your lightbulb moment to encourage healthy habits in personal finance?

Presenting Your Best Self. An Interactive Interview Prep Workshop.

Are you ready to conquer interview anxiety and secure your dream job? Join our transformative Interview Prep Workshop and unlock the keys to success! Gain essential skills, knowledge, and confidence to excel in externships and future career opportunities. Our expert facilitator will guide you through mock interviews, practical exercises, and interactive activities, providing personalized feedback and valuable insider strategies. Elevate your interview skills, confidently answer the dreaded ”why should we hire you?” question and showcase your passion as a veterinary professional. Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your confidence and secure your dream job.

Spectrum of Care in Rural Veterinary Practice, a Practitioners Perspective

Dr. Plaisance will share his experiences in the application of the principles of “Spectrum of Care” in rural mixed animal practice in Alabama. 

Understanding Employment Agreements and Compensation Models

Join us for Chick-fil-A and a discussion from Dr. Coronado from Thrive Pet Healthcare as they dive into employment agreements and compensation models.

Veterinary Virtual Care 101

Dr. Tran will be introducing the concept of veterinary virtual care.

5 W’s: Imposter Syndrome

A who, what, where, when, why approach to imposter syndrome and tips for recognizing it and combating it with mental resiliency.

The Power of We

Last meeting of the semester! Join us as Dr. Jessi Coryell, DVM, MPH shares how she’s been able to create a positive culture through leadership and collaboration as a recent graduate (c/o 2021). Her experiences in her rotating internship at BluePearl and her current work at Medtronic allow her to shed light on corporate leadership, team collaboration, accountability. It is important to recognize the many layers of being involved that creates a positive work culture. She will also touch on the value of DEI and STEM initiatives in veterinary medicine.

Practice Ownership

Dr. Staten, practice owner of Adobe Veterinary Center, will share her experience with owning a mixed-animal practice. Please bring your questions, as this will be partially a Q&A-style talk.

“Landing The Right First Job.” Resumes, LinkedIn, and Interviews.

Dr. Lester will be talking about how to land the right first job and educate us about Resumes, LinkedIn and Interviews.

“Landing The Right First Job.” Resumes, LinkedIn, and Interviews"

Dr. Lester will be talking about how to land the right first job and educate us about Resumes, LinkedIn and Interviews.

Career and Opportunity Preparation

Discuss with the students about how to prepare for and what to be prepared for, in the future, post-graduation.

Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for a wonderful dinner lecture where Dr. Cicchelli walks us through some of the modern challenges in veterinary medicine.

GTP x VBMA Resume Writing

Join Lynette, a representative from Global Talent Partners, as she provides valuable insights tailored for vet students on crafting an effective resume for launching your career post-graduation. Discover essential elements to incorporate into your resume, learn about optimal structure and layout, understand the crucial components that increase your chances of securing an interview, and gain valuable tips on creating impactful cover letters. Prepare yourself for the job hunt and set the stage for success in the veterinary field. Global Talent Partners will be sponsoring the lunch so be sure to secure your spot!

Veterinary Industry Changes and Ownership

This presentation provides an overview of some of the recent shifts affecting the veterinary industry and how they affect the future of hospital and clinic ownership. The presentation also discusses the financial aspects of ownership, including funding, revenue streams, and budgeting.

The Raw Do's and Don'ts of Conflict Resolution

”The Raw Do’s and Don’ts of Conflict Resolution”

Customer Interactions

Every interaction is a reflection of you and your business, how do you interact?

Private Practice Ownership and Networking Opportunities presented by the Macomb/Oakland Management Seminar Group

Join Dr. Kristi Yee for lunch and the opportunity to network with over 30 private practices in Southeastern Michigan. This presentation will focus on private practice ownership, owners with a collaborative business approach and a sincere interest in supporting veterinary students.

Reptile Medicine and Cases

Dr. Powell is coming to speak on reptile medicine, and how more veterinarians can integrate exotic medicine into their practice! She will offer insights into scheduling and pricing through engaging cases.

Nice Areas of Veterinary Medicine

Lead to Thrive: The Art & Science of Positive Veterinary Leadership

He will discuss the positive leadership framework laid out in his book, ”Lead to Thrive: The Science of Crafting a Positive Veterinary Culture”. He provides positive team outcomes from current research, and shares some basic action steps people can take to be stronger positive leaders.

"What it means to own your own clinic and how to financially prepare for it"

Join us for a relaxed meeting style in which we will go through a real practice example and analyze their financial statements. During this, it is open ended for questions regarding things they could improve on, how you could improve, and recognizing trends (seasonality market trends).

Trends in the Veterinary Medical Practice Marketplace

An overview approach of how the veterinary field has changed from a CEO’s perspective. Lots of information regarding salary changes, benefit perspective, corporate vs private practice changes, and more!

The Unexpected Battle Against Avian Flu

Dr Luis Pena-Levano, an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension in Dairy Cattle Production, Health and Management Economics at the University of California, Davis, will take us through his recent research around the 2024 avian flu A(H5N1) outbreak in U.S. dairy cattle. He will focus on its potential economic impact, biosecurity challenges, and the need for enhanced protocols, transparent communication, and government support to prevent further crises. This will be an interesting talk that blends veterinary medicine with the wider economic landscape!

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

This workshop will teach you how simple, practical strategies can significantly improve access to care and ease the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet. 

Ensuring Access to Patient Care

Aimee St. Arnaud is a business partner in two full-service veterinary clinics (Community Pet Care Clinic in Ohio and Open Door Veterinary Care in North Carolina) that focus on removing barriers to care and increasing access to veterinary services while still maintaining a net positive revenue. She created Open Door Veterinary Collective, a non-profit that mentors practices that want to replicate this business model to help more pet families get care while reducing the moral stress for the veterinary team. Ms. St. Arnaud will speak on managing a staff within a non-profit environment, and how that differs from other practices. She will also address how to manage staff well-being when the focus is on seeing higher patient numbers, and how compensation in this field works.

Innovation with Intention Merging Technological Advancements and Team Dynamic in Vet Care

Building a corporate practice (with a focus on relieving burnout)

Not all corporate practices are created equally. The presentation will discuss efforts to provide a culture of quality general practice veterinary care while prioritizing well-being and minimal stress for our veterinarians and team members. 

POPO - Iowa Equine

Join us for an exclusive opportunity to meet clinic owners in their own spaces and gain valuable insights into their businesses. POPO events include a tour of the clinic, an overview of staff and services, and highlights of unique features specific to each clinic. You’ll also have the chance to engage in one-on-one conversations with the owners, providing a platform for personalized questions and meaningful discussions.

Pricing Strategies

Guidance on what to consider, both external and internal, when setting prices for products and services. Why we should care about prices, how to set prices in practice, what to keep in mind while doing so, and when to use the technology to your advantage.

Mentorship: Who, What, When, Where, Why?

Finding the right mentors is one of the most crucial components of promoting mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary profession. But what does mentorship really look like in the veterinary industry? How do you identify the right people to guide you as you navigate the challenges and opportunities of your early career? In this session, led by Danielle Alleman, DVM, MS, we’ll explore the fundamentals of mentorship—who to seek, what to expect, when to initiate a mentoring relationship, where to find great mentors, and why mentorship is key to thriving in your veterinary career. You’ll leave with practical tips on how to assess potential mentors, establish meaningful mentoring relationships, and leverage mentorship as a tool for personal and professional growth.

How to: Work/Life Balance, Family Life, and Team Collaboration

In this talk, Dr. Ferris will provide advice on how to keep a healthy work/life balance as a veterinarian and mother. She will discuss the power of open-mindedness and collaboration.

Clinic Scoreboard - Using Financial Data & Reports

We’re going to discuss the key factors that affect a clinic’s financial performance and what we look at to dig into them and understand where opportunities may lie. We’ll also spend some time on things a new doctor should look at and think about to when it comes to compensation and potential future salary negotiations.

C = Success: Communication + Conflict Resolution for the Early Career Veterinarian

In this workshop, we will review core communication styles, discuss how style conflicts emerge in common settings, and how to resist the temptation to pour emotional gasoline on a conflict fire! Regardless of your path in veterinary medicine, you will need to communicate well, navigate conflict, and adapt your style to a variety of situations.

“Survey Says…!” Let’s ‘spin that wheel’ and ‘make a deal’ on how to win (some parts) in Veterinary Business!

There are a LOT of things to consider other than medical knowledge as a veterinary professional. Let’s discuss some important considerations across a variety of topics to help you take home the ‘top prize’ when starting your careers!

The Power of Dialogue

Join us for an engaging session on mastering the art of dialogue! Discover how dialogue differs from debate and deliberation, and why it’s key to collaboration and finding common ground. Learn how to navigate challenging conversations, embrace diverse perspectives, and create a supportive environment where everyone can thrive. Perfect for students looking to foster a more inclusive and connected community.

Handling Angry Clients

A presentation and discussion on handleing client emotions, including angry clients, with case examples.

Thrive Lunch and Learn

Dr. Spencer Graham will be discussing his personal experiences working and the challenges and

Approach to AI: Cutting Admin Time, Focusing on Care

Dr. Long will discuss how AI can streamline operations, enhance client experiences, and support out veterinary staff. Join us to explore the future of AI-driven tools in veterinary practice and how they’re transforming the way we work.

Contract Negotiation

Interview Tails - Insights from Both Sides of the Table

Tailored to equip vet students with essential interview strategies from both the perspective of the hiring manager and the candidate. During our time, we will empower you with the knowledge and confidence needed to navigate the interview process effectively, ensuring that you stand out as a promising candidate in the competitive veterinary industry. As a future leader and business owner, you also need to be prepared to host the interview. We will cover questions to avoid, as well as best practices to make sure your practice stands out as a preferred employer.

Internships vs Mentorship Determining your Priorities and Weighing the Pro's and Cons

Start-up Finances for New Graduates

Dr. Joshua Swarb will discuss the pros and cons of various topics including; self-funding, SBA loans, Bank Loans, and business lines of credit in addition to providing an overview of revenue and expense streams .

Canine Rehabilitation and Acupuncture

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Alissa Edoff as she discusses her career journey in Canine Rehabilitation and Acupuncture. Dr. Edoff is not only certified in Veterinary Medical Acupuncture and Canine Rehabilitation, but also runs her own mobile Canine Rehab and Acupuncture practice one day per week. The rest of the week, she works as a Talent Acquisition Specialist at CityVet.

Practice Ownership: You Can Do It Too

In the lecture, I will cover things I personally did and made note of during vet school, especially in my 3rd and 4th year to prepare myself for future business management and/or practice ownership. This will include some experiences of my unique clinical year at Lincoln Memorial. The latter part of the lecture will then cover things I myself have rapidly been learning over the last few months on managing finances, managing people, but also allowing your vision and passion to come to light in a setting that is ”yours”. I will share meaningful advice passed on from 3 of my greatest mentors in regards to having and retaining a vision and mission, hiring for culture, and ridding yourself of the infamous imposter syndrome.

Paws on Practice Ownership

The Paws on Practice Ownership Event allows current VBMA members to connect with practice owners and learn more of the behind the scenes that go into running a successful practice!

New Vet Boss Strategy: Ways to Bring in Revenue in Your 1st Year

Clinics do have to invest to take in a new grad but Dr. Z has some tips and tricks for bringing in revenue in your 1st year, especially in General Practice. From Cytology to Surgery, she will share how she became the top producer in her clinic in only one year!

Lessons in Leverage

A story that covers the becoming of, and exploring beyond, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Return on Investment for Ultrasound

Dr. Marc Bordelon will be discussing how to calculate Return on Investment and pricing of ultrasound.

Doctor Dealing with Finances

Learning new procedures as a veterinarian can increase profitability for the practice and attract more clientele. In our philosophy, veterinarians avoid discussing finances with clients and prioritize providing excellent patient care in its place.

Circle of Life of a Practice Owner: How to Evaluate, Acquire, & Exit Practice Ownership in your Career

Sean Coyle will discuss what he advises to do post-graduation as an associate veterinarian and as a future practice owner, the pitfalls, and rewards of practice ownership, and what it means to retire from ownership. Sean brings a decade of experience working with Veterinarians. He has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars in his career. Sean is excited to bring his experience and what he has learned on the buy side of the transaction to help owners navigate their transition.

From Donor To Patient: The Essentials of Canine and Feline Blood Banking And Transfusion Medicine

Veterinary blood products are a precious and often limited resource, leaving many clinics facing long wait times—sometimes months—during critical situations. This scarcity can put you in a difficult position, prompting some to consider using staff-owned pets as donors. But how can you ensure the safety of these donors while providing the most appropriate therapy for the patient in need? In this lecture, we will explore the crucial aspects of canine and feline donor selection, management, and blood collection, along with the advantages of utilizing component therapy. We will also briefly cover pretransfusion testing and product administration to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the transfusion process.

KPI's: Using Data to Drive Practice Success

We’ll be discussing what KPIs are, some common and less common measures, and looking at real-world examples of how this data can impact the practice’s success.

Culture of working Partnerships

Working partnerships can elevate work-life balance by allowing colleagues to share responsibilities and workloads, leading to reduced stress and increased productivity. Creating a positive culture and effective human resources practices are crucial to the long-term success and sustainability of a veterinary practice.

Revenue and Expense Streams - The basics of practice finance

Dr. Gonsky will explain Revenue and Expense streams ins and outs. He wants to break it down for us into relevant terms and help us to understand how it works clinically as well!

Resume Workshop

This is a resume workshop held specifically for first year students at VMCVM, the goal will be to help refine and build resumes in order to prepare them for job applications and manage their future career.

Starting Your Practice w/ The Gibbings'

Did you join VBMA because you are thinking of opening your own practice one day? Does the idea of practice ownership scare you because you don’t know where to begin? Or are you just curious about the path that practice owners embark on when they decide to open a hospital? In 2017, this pair launched West Coast Animal Hospital in San Diego, building it from the ground up. In the years since, they have grown it to a nine-doctor practice and boast a large staff with a high tech to doctor ratio. They will share the path they took to get here, and the decisions they made along the way to grow into the successful practice they have now.

Cooperate Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Tim Loonam will be hosting a zoom to talk to us about Cooperate Veterinary Medicine.

Is an Internship for Me? How to Keep from Making a Bad Decision

This talk looks at the professional, clinical, and financial pros and cons of applying for an internship (and residency) through VIRMP ’Match.’ This evidence-based presentation is supported with current data from the AVMA as well as tips and strategies for getting the internship you want, and how to choose between the over 200 small and large animal programs available.

Corporate Veterinary Medicine: Is Winter Coming?

This presentation will discuss the rapid increase in Corporate-owned Veterinary Practices, what specifics and metrics those groups look for in acquiring practices, what opportunities exist for new graduates , and what this means to practice owners. It’ll also present evidence proving that there always be plenty of opportunities for young DVMs to not only buy private practices but also to start them up.

Do You Want to Make Money?

Join us as Dr. Zachary Joseph, the Medical Director from Scott Lake Veterinary Center, to discuss their transformation from rags to riches during ownership by Blue River Petcare. He will also talk about understanding the gold standards for financial statements such as costs of good sold, labor costs, general and administrative costs, building costs and EBIDTA. Then, he will also talk about tips for increasing profitability, growing revenue, adding clients and increasing efficiency and compliance. All of which are great to know for anyone interested in finishing their Honors Portfolio in the spring!

Clinical Use of Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Aaron Smiley, a dynamic storyteller, will share the future of veterinary medicine and the application of large language models that allow veterinary teams to work efficiently. In addition to his many experiences, he currently sits on the board of the Veterinary Virtual Care Association (VVCA) while working as the Chief of Staff at Devonshire Veterinary Clinic.

Confident Financial Conversations

Flying in from Arizona, please hear from Stephanie Visonci, from Care Credit, who will help us explore how consumer spending is influenced by economic conditions and driven by key motivations and decision-making factors. You will learn best practices for leading successful financial conversations, including using the right approach, developing a clear plan, and creating an environment that fosters trust and informed decision-making.

Writing a Business Plan

VBMA & Thrive Present: "Marketing Yourself for the Future"

This talk will cover how to prepare for externships, how to negotiate a contract, and what key considerations students should make before choosing a job.

Paws On Practice Ownership: Ankeny Animal and Avian Clinic

Join us for an exclusive opportunity to meet clinic owners in their own spaces and gain valuable insights into their businesses. POPO events include a tour of the clinic, an overview of staff and services, and highlights of unique features specific to each clinic. You’ll also have the chance to engage in one-on-one conversations with the owners, providing a platform for personalized questions and meaningful discussions.

Wag More Bark Less: Communications Tips for Working with All Behavioral Styles

Each person in a work environment has differing behavioral styles. Some people may be dominant and fast-paced, others may be detail-oriented and slower-paced, and some may be more sensitive, social or people-focused. Team members tend to judge others in the workplace who are different from themselves rather than recognizing and valuing the differences each behavioral style brings to the team. Using Everything DiSC® Workplace as a model, participants will learn about their own style, learn how to recognize the styles of other people and learn how to better manage conflict. They will gain insight on how others interpret their behavior and learn how to adapt to other communication styles. This produces a more productive, enjoyable and efficient workplace where conflicts are easily resolved, and healthy communication occurs with your entire team.

"Career Fair Follow Up - Career Fair Workshop "

Fortune is in the follow up! You had a memorable introductory meeting with an industry professional at the Career Fair. Following up is crucial to establishing a strong connection with those you have met. Nurturing this relationship through communication is vital to building a diverse veterinary medicine network. Learn tips on communicating effectively via email, text, phone calls and serendipitous crossing of paths! Thank you notes are a MUST!

Starting your own Veterinary Practice

Hear from Dr. Ashley Geoghegan, owner of VetNaturally, on how she opened her own clinic focused specifically on her veterinary niche - integrative medicine. Dr. Geoghegan will discuss how she created a successful practice that allowed her to focus on her specialty & how you can do the same!

Bringing Down the Legends and Myths about a 'Career' in Veterinary Medicine

In this talk, Dr. Mack will discuss great interviewing techniques, dive-deep on what ”mentorship” means and discuss the challenges and perceptions of having a ”career” and a life in veterinary medicine. All of these talks are through Dr. Mack’s lens; the lens of a now ten year graduate, rural, mixed-animal practice owner, entrepreneur, mom and partner. Dr. Mack always aims to be honest, transparent and spark some real thought about reality and accountability.

Professional Attire and Interviewing Skills - Career Fair Workshop

Consider your audience in all your job seeking actions. Knowing who you are interviewing with, and understanding the responsibilities of the position you are interviewing for will drive your decisions for dressing and prepping for your first meeting with a prospective employer. Learn tips on making a memorable first impression and how to research questions that will help you gather your thoughts before your interviews.

Know Your Value: A Production Report Workshop

In this session, each participant will have the chance to review the critical components of every contract, learn the top 3 factors that influence each new clinicians earning potential and complete their own mock production report for their first year in practice!

" Budget like a Boss"

Balance: Private/Non-profit and Work/Life

In this talk, Dr. Crow will discuss how to balance working as a private practitioner and leading community outreach. With these two different positions comes a new challenge to work/life balance, which Dr. Crow will help us put into practice as well.

Blueprint for Financial Success

Explore the basics of building financial security, including managing debt, growing savings, and safeguarding against risk and unexpected events.

Company Culture

Dr. Langhofer will be speaking on building company culture

"Can You Hear Me Now?!"

A practical discussion of communication and leadership focusing on listening skills and conflict resolution.

The Business of Companion Animal Welfare

Please join us with Dr. Graham Brayshaw, the Chief Medical Officer from Animal Humane Society, as he breaks down the animal welfare industry as a business. He will review the basics of a 501c3, and compare service based revenues with philanthropic giving. Additionally, his point of view will show us how veterinarians can get involved in animal welfare beyond being a veterinarian such as leadership, volunteering (including fostering), board membership, and fundraising.

How your gross production is spent

In this presentation, we explore how gross production in veterinary medicine is allocated across essential categories. Significant expenditure is directed towards medical supplies, equipment, and labor costs, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care by veterinarians and technicians. Facility maintenance, medication, treatment costs, and diagnostic testing also receive considerable investment. Additionally, resources are allocated to continuing education, insurance, regulatory compliance, administrative tasks, and capital investments to sustain operations and enhance service quality. Through this comprehensive approach, veterinary practices prioritize animal well-being while maintaining operational efficiency and compliance.

How to Rise Every Time You Fall!

Join Veterinary United and VBMA for a talk with our Director of People Operations, Velva Flowers, to discuss ways to combat stress, effectively communicate, and learn resilience. You will also have the chance to explore the amazing opportunities VU has to offer!

Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch

Dr. Dan Fonza, DVM with the Hippo Veterinary Group and Mentor of The 5th Year Mentorship Program will guide you through how you can create and maintain good company culture to eliminate high turnover and foster constant employee development. Examples of how to calculate company turnover rates, ideas to increase employee retention, and principles to apply to ensure success will be given and Dr. Fonza will answer your questions throughout the presentation. When completed, the listener will understand what good company culture looks like and how to evaluate future employers for a good culture fit.

Start-Ups: from Vision to Opening the Doors

Join VBMA in welcoming Dr. Davis from SynergyVet as he discusses what it takes and the process that is involved in opening De Novo practices - and our company’s partnership role in that process.

Contracts: Private vs Corporate!

Join Dr. West Hamryka for an insightful and interactive lecture on understanding the differences between a contract from a private practice and a corporate setting. Gain valuable insights to help you approach your job search with confidence, understand what to expect from different contract types, and learn which questions to ask during interviews.

Tips for Early Career Success

This presentation will focus on tips for early career success in veterinary medicine from a financial standpoint.

Finding Happiness and Sustainability in Equine Veterinary Medicine

Retaining and attracting new grads to equine vet med

From Vet Student to Million-Dollar Practice Owner in 3 Years

Dr. Lauren Anthony graduated from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020. She met her husband, Dr. Daniel Anthony, Class of 2021, here at the annual VBMA conference. Known as 'The Anthony Vets,' they are active on Instagram and other social media platforms, where they share interesting cases and insights from their veterinary journey.   In 2023, they co-founded Atlas Pet Vets, an advanced general practice serving small animals and exotic pets in Frisco, Texas. Atlas Pet Vets has earned multiple community-based awards and was featured on the Emmy Award-winning television show Destination Dallas on CBS. The practice holds prestigious accreditations, including AAHA Accreditation, Fear Free Practice Certification, and designation as a Certified Cat Friendly Practice by the American Association of Feline Practitioners.   Dr. Lauren Anthony and Dr. Daniel Anthony serve as mentors for many veterinary students, new graduate veterinarians, and international veterinarians transitioning to small animal practice in the United States. They also connect with aspiring practice owners nationwide, providing guidance and support to help them successfully launch their own family-owned practices.

Practice Finances 101

Penny example of practice finance Defining/explaining 3 Basic financial statements – P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement What drives revenue growth in a practice EBITDA – what drives it and how to grow it. Who Alliance is based on our partner track early business finance model <10 min

The Diverse Path to Leadership in Veterinary Medicine

In this discussion, Dr. Roth will share her personal journey from an associate veterinarian to the Chief Veterinary Officer of Digital Pet Health for Mars Veterinary Health. As a first-generation college student, her story is one of resilience and determination, beginning with her transition from benchtop research to bedside care. Along the way, she gained invaluable experience in international veterinary medicine, navigated motherhood while advancing her career, and embraced leadership roles. Dr. Roth’s path from clinical practice to nonclinical leadership is complemented by her role as a children’s book author, inspiring future generations. Through storytelling, Dr. Roth will illustrate how veterinary medicine can be a viable and fulfilling career for anyone, regardless of background. The discussion will also explore the importance of veterinary mentorship and early recruitment to address the shortage of clinical veterinarians and ensure accessible veterinary care for all families.

Building Your Brand

What is a brand? Learn how companies set themselves apart by building a culture centered on core values; and how can you leverage your own values to cultivate your own personal brand!

Mortality insurance and general farm insurance.

Discussion on the different options of commercial farm, mortality and other liability insurance.

Equine and Veterinary Practice Insurance

From Mentee to Mentor: Leading your Team on the 1st Day!

As a new graduate you will go from a major positional change from being a mentee and learner to dropped into a clinic where you are responsible for being a mentor and leader. Dr Z gives clinical examples and expectations for your first year out on how to manage staff, your boss, and clients too!

"The Journey of Ownership Early in Your Career"

Owning a veterinary practice early in your career can be both a rewarding and challenging experience. This presentation explores the benefits, hurdles, and strategic decisions involved in taking the leap into practice ownership as a young veterinarian. We’ll discuss the advantages of building long-term wealth, autonomy, and leadership, as well as the steep learning curve of managing a business, balancing clinical and administrative roles, and navigating financial risks.

Elevator Speech and Networking - Career Fair Workshop

Your resume tells your story and describes your skills. Your elevator speech tells your story, describes your skills, and creates a first impression in 30 seconds! Learn how to create an impact on others you meet and leave them wanting to learn more about you. Networking includes first time introductions and meetings, some accidental and some planned, and following up with intention to make connections.

Resume Building - Career Fair Workshop

Your resume tells your story and describes your skills. Learn how to design your resume to fit the veterinary practices you desire to work with. Understand general formatting and learn how action verbs can enhance the description of your talents and knowledge base.

“Difficult Conversations: End of Life Care”

One of the most difficult conversations to have with clients involves end of life decision making. These conversations must balance the patient’s needs with the emotional and financial needs of the client and can take a large emotional toll on the veterinary team. We will discuss management of cases where clients refuse euthanasia in a critically ill patient and others where clients request euthanasia for a patient that could be treated. How do we, as veterinarians, handle these conversations advocate for our patients, serve the human-animal bond, and preserve our own wellbeing?

“Can I Have It All? Parenting in Vet Med…”

Is it possible to have a family and be a successful, happy veterinarian? This presentation will explore the answer to this question using data from the literature on parenting in veterinary medicine and personal experience of veterinary mothers. We will discuss considerations on family planning, challenges faced during pregnancy, and how to successfully create work-life integration as a working veterinary parent. We will also explore the question of what makes work places ”family friendly” and what individuals can do as manager and practive owners to create this type of positive workplace culture.

Situational leadership, what is your leadership style and how to flex between

Join Dr. Schimmel with NVA as she discusses the different leadership styles and how you can determine what your leadership style is as you pursue as career in veterinary medicine! She will discuss leadership theory, the history of leadership, how leadership has evolved over time, and how leadership is a crucial skill to have as a veterinarian.

From Clinic to Contract: How to Successfully Interview and Compare Job Offers

What to Expect in the First Year

Dr. Daly will be speaking to us about the craziness of that first year out of vet school. She’ll discuss how to communicate with team members and clients. Give advice on how to give and receive feedback, and most importantly, calming your nerves in the chaos.

Mentorship, Meeting People and Mastering Contracts

Dr. Rachel Courville (BellaVet) with BLVD will be hosting a lunch and learn talking about mentorship, networking and contracts. Dr. Courville will be discussing the characteristics of effective mentorship, how to network and brand yourself and what to look for when signing a contract.

Finding Your Ikigai in Veterinary Medicine: From Parachute Kid to Thriving Veterinarian

Dr. Liao will be talking about his story, Asian American upbringing, and how was able to translate that into a purposeful career in veterinary medicine.

Planning to Start a Vet Clinic

The talk details the hurdles one would have towards becoming an owner, including getting your medical skills down, what banks look for when evaluating you for a loan, connections to make now, etc. He will get into contract negotiations briefly in this talk as well.

Steps to Create a Strong Financial Future Early in Your Career

Current DVM candidates will quickly become high-net-worth individuals once they begin their careers. Basic financial literacy and good habits can help them achieve their financial goals early on. Dinner will be provided after the lecture from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a cocktail hour!

Vet Dollars & Sense: Navigating Compensation with Confidence as a New Doctor

This presentation explains the different compensation models that new veterinarians may encounter, including straight salary, base salary plus production, production-only, and hourly pay. It discusses the advantages and challenges of each model, helping to better understand financial implications. A section covers how production is calculated, percentages, and how to track and balance production with patient care. It also touches on bonuses and additional income opportunities, such as signing and retention bonuses, performance-based bonuses, and non-cash benefits like health insurance, CE stipends, and profit sharing. The presentation offers guidance on understanding veterinary contracts, including compensation clauses, non-compete agreements, and tips for negotiating salary and benefits. Real-world scenarios are provided to illustrate different compensation structures in practice. The session concludes with a Q&A to address audience questions and recap key takeaways for understanding veterinary compensation and negotiating contracts effectively.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet. Learning Objectives: Analyze the impact of rising veterinary costs on access to care. Evaluate different strategies to enhance access to veterinary care. Explore techniques to discuss care options with pet families, considering their unique needs and financial constraints. Apply communication skills in case-based scenarios to recommend personalized care options to pet families.

Bookkeeping 101

7-8 PM on Zoom. We are going to talk about bookkeeping at this meeting. What does that mean? I had no idea how to do this when I started my business. My accountant showed me how to do most of the things I needed to do.

Retirement Plans as a Medical Professional

Kyle will be presenting the various types of accounts and strategies for retirement planning that veterinarians can utilize in their careers. Whether you are a practice owner or working for a clinic, his presentation will educate you on what options are available and how to properly strategize building a wholistic retirement.

Growing an International Veterinary Clinic

Dr. Lefkowitz, who has grown a multi-doctor practice in the UK, has observed differences in practice and organization compared to those in the US. She will speak on the challenges of obtaining licensure in a new country, and how she has managed her mental health and work/life balance while working to grow her practice

Key Performance Indicators

Can’t wait to hear about how to improve performance!

Understanding Financial Statements

What are financial statements? Just like a chemistry panel, financial statements provide indicators of the health of a practice. Why do you need to understand financial statements? You need to know if the practice is making any profit. If you know where your income is from and where you’re spending money, you can make wise decisions about pricing and purchasing.  If you have an employee handling any of the financial tasks, you need to be aware of what’s going on as a prevention for embezzlement

Creating and Leading A Positive Culture in the Veterinary Field

Veterinary medicine comes with many challenges not related to the actual practice of medicine. Many would argue that it is those challenges that lead many veterinarians to compassion and mental fatigue, which can lead many veterinarians to leave the field and question their worth. In this talk we will discuss those challenges, the importance of creating a positive culture, and some steps to creating a positive culture so that we all can continue to love and practice veterinary medicine.

Things I wish I'd Known Prior To Starting a Business

Navigating Difficult Client Conversations

Veterinary medicine is a People profession. To communicate with owners is essential to providing the best care possible to the animals entrusted to our care. The Clients we can view as difficult are often people in difficult situations looking for help and hope from you. Understanding and recognizing what 4 types of ”difficult” clients look like can help you engage, communicate, and empathize with them resulting in better outcomes for everyone - the pet, the client and yourself.

The Basics of Veterinary Financials and What Causes Profitability Losses Within a Clinic

Introduction to basic veterinary financials and diagnosis of what causes loss of profitability.

How to be Comfortable with Risks

Dr. Leith will be providing valuable insights from her personal experience starting a partnered practice. She will dive into leadership skills, delegation of tasks, specific loan types, and overall difficult aspects of business ownership. She will share how she overcame obstacles and provide guidance on future start up procedures.

6 Reasons Why You Should Own a Practice

Dr. Karla Cunningham and Dr. Ray Ramirez will be speaking on why you should own a practice from both a male and female perspective! Bonus talk included about 5 Simple Tips to make any board complaint go smoother and quicker so you get the complaint dismissed.

8 Things to Avoid So You Avoid Getting Dragged to the State Disciplinary Board

Dr. Ray Ramirez has been on both sides of the State Disciplinary Board and wants to share some insight about how to avoid being dragged there.

Paws On Practice Ownership: Pet Medical Center

Join us for an exclusive opportunity to meet clinic owners in their own spaces and gain valuable insights into their businesses. POPO events include a tour of the clinic, an overview of staff and services, and highlights of unique features specific to each clinic. You’ll also have the chance to engage in one-on-one conversations with the owners, providing a platform for personalized questions and meaningful discussions.

How Fear Free is Good For Business

In this meeting Dr. Johnson will be discussing how ”Fear Free” is good for both the wellbeing of patients and the business. She will discuss marketing and gaining new clients, as well as increasing client compliance. She will also discuss how a ”Fear Free” practice can make you the employer of choice and decrease staff turnover and increase team engagement.

Raising the Bar on Pricing: Tools for developing a pricing structure

Of all the decisions a practice makes, none has the ability to impact revenues or profits as much as pricing. Despite the impact, many practices still rely heavily on older methods. As a result, prices in our industry tend to be static and many practices are not profitable enough to improve wages for all employees. It is time to raise bar by developing effective pricing structures aimed at enhancing profits. Together we will explore four proven pricing strategies practices can use to build a pricing structure and outline steps your practice can take to implement these changes.

Being Your Authentic Self as a Leader

Tune into this talk to learn about the difference between honesty and authenticity. Have you wondered if you had more than one ’persona?’ This talk seeks to address the pros and cons of the different ’selfs’ we have and how to use authenticity to be a more impactful leader.

Private Specialty Practice

A discussion of the pros and cons of mobile vs. traditional specialty practice and things to consider when opening up a specialty practice.

Veterinary Financial Management

For those that studied how to spay a cat and not be a CPA

Compensation, Non-competes, & Sign-Ons: Planning Your Future Career

Graduation might be a couple of years away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your first career. Join us for a discussion to help you be better prepared to understand, negotiate, and compare employment offers.

Hill's Pet Nutrition Social Media Best Practices 2024

Learn how to navigate social media as a veterinarian

Financial Planning Basics/Disability Insurance

financial planning basics for DVMs/vet students

3 Practical Feedback Mechanisms

3 Practical Feedback Mechanisms

Paws on Practice Ownership

The Paws on Practice Ownership Event allows current VBMA members to connect with practice owners and learn more of the behind the scenes that go into running a successful practice!

Nontraditional species and a profitable business

Dr. Chiosi is the owner of Sayrebrook Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey. The focus of his talk will be how to balance working with non-traditional species including aquatics, reptiles, and amphibians while still running a profitable business.

How To Get A 5 Star Review On Google AND From Your Team

Alyssa Mages has said that when a veterinarian steps into an exam room, that person a doctor AND a leader. How do we as students develop into both? In this talk, Alyssa will help us learn how to build a healthy work environment and lead an effective team.

Debt, Toxicity, and Financial Freedom

Have you ever gotten ”threatened” that you will be in debt for the rest of your life from vet school? Have you had previous experiences working in toxic environments? Do you have dreams about ”Financial Freedom”? This lecture will be interactive and will debunk a lot of negative natter regarding the veterinary industry and discuss what it takes to run a private practice in today’s world.

Navigating the Digital Era: The Strategic Value of Social Media for Veterinarians

Join us to hear from panelists Dr. Mike Walker, Dr. Kyre Larrabee, and Dr. Ryan Gibson as they discuss how to effectively use social media and other communication tools in your veterinary career.

Treating Osteoarthritis and How Vet Med Is Improving

Osteoarthritis is a painful disease plaguing many of our patients in vet med. In this talk, Alyssa Mages will discuss current common treatment options as well as up-and-coming ways to assist our patients and improve their quality of life.

Prepare for Your Profession, Best Practices for Personal and Professional Social Media Use

In a world where social media and professional marketing are becoming increasingly interlaced, it is important for all veterinary professionals to have a social media presence that sends the right message to employers. This presentation, given by Dr. Caitlin DeWilde, DVM, will give tips and tricks to vet students to help them succeed in the professional world.

Private Practice vs Corporate Practice

Corporations have a wide reach. Names such as Banfield, Blue Pearl, and Pet Partners have hundreds of locations across the country and continue to buy up smaller practices. Today, Banfield, the largest vet practice in the world, has 1,100 practices across the United States and Puerto Rico. With this extensive brand reach comes both pros and cons. Having a large corporation heading a clinic allows for streamlined policies to be in place, such as a starting bonus or other benefits. However, as corporations continue to grow, the drive to meet increased financial goals can become overwhelming to practitioners. I’ve spoken to vets who feel burnt out from the sheer number of clients that corporate clinics demand they treat. These companies can also push sales of products and services, adding to the feeling of exhaustion that many vets face. On the other hand, locally owned veterinary clinics prioritize client care. Whereas the benefits may be less, and the number of patients may be fewer, private practices have the ability to set their own guidelines and take the time to establish relationships with clients. They can also prioritize employee well-being, as they are not focused on meeting a national quota of patients or sales. Rather, the practice can grow at a healthier pace for both clients and employees. The question comes down to a personal preference. Do you place more emphasis on the benefits, or is a closer client relationship more important?

Starting your Practice: The Story of an Equine Veterinarian and her Journey to Practice Ownership

This discussion will outline one path to practice ownership during the ”Great Recession”. We will consider the decision of starting a practice from scratch vs. purchasing existing, identifying funding, and creating a budget for the first year.

Marketing Your Local Vet Hospital

Marketing is a vastly important piece of owning your own business and it can be hard to know where to start. In this presentation, he will break it down to the basics with some ”Marketing 101” tips and tricks.

Content Creation as a Marketing Strategy

Explore how storytelling can enhance your future practice with our talk on ”Content Creation as a Marketing Strategy.” Learn from the real-world success of Craig Road and Lone Mountain Animal Hospitals, which have effectively used content creation to connect with pet owners, build trust, and grow their businesses. This session will demonstrate how integrating storytelling into your clinic’s marketing can go beyond advertising services — it creates emotional bonds with clients and promotes a loyal, engaged community. This talk offers practical insights into how strategic content can drive both business success and client relationships in veterinary medicine.

Preventive Care: Digging Into the Data

This seminar will be a discussion around preventive care as a tool for optimizing health and longevity in pets. Topics will include what preventive care consists of, age-appropriate assessment, the benefits of patient-specific information that can be trended over time and strengthening the vet-patient-client bond. Updated health stage-guidelines for dogs and cats will be reviewed.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet.

Getting Paid More: Understanding Production and Compensation in Veterinary Practice

The session will cover veterinary compensation and how it relates to the doctor’s personal production. Methods for increasing personal productivity will be discussed. Pro-Sal compensation plans will be discussed in some detail.

Top 10 Tips for Successful Contract Negotiations

Want a better work-life balance, more money, or that new ultrasound? Enhance your contract negotiation skills to unlock greater opportunities and benefits. In this presentation, we will focus on 10 practical ways to maximize your compensation and benefits while still respecting the employer’s needs. We’ll cover techniques for crafting compelling proposals, handling counteroffers, and reaching win-win agreements. Join us to grow your negotiation skills and achieve great outcomes in your contract dealings.

Veterinary Medicine: The Art of Practice & Business Management

Lectures and group discussion with focused independent study of the art and business ofveterinary medicine. This course will emphasize non-technical skills desired to pursue a successful veterinary career.

Business Essentials: KPIs, Practice Reputation and Fraud

Practice Reputation, Success, Fraud +/- KPIs

Wine Etiquette Event

At this event, VBMA members will be taking a trip to Good Vibes Winery to learn about proper wine etiquette and maintaining professionalism during cocktail hour networking events. Owner, Jennifer, will be discussing how to properly sip and hold wine glasses depending on the different types of wine.

Unlocking LinkedIn: Crafting a Profile That Stands Out

You’ll learn how to optimize your LinkedIn presence and stand out to potential employers. With 97% of HR and staffing professionals using LinkedIn in their recruiting efforts, it’s essential to have a well-crafted profile. We’ll cover tips like selecting the right headshot, writing a compelling headline and summary, customizing your URL, and showcasing your expertise. You’ll also discover how to leverage LinkedIn Learning and build a powerful network to enhance your career opportunities.

The Other AI: An Intuitive Understanding of Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT, Apple Intelligence, Siri, Alexa, and DALL-E (ChatGPT’s image generation model) are just a few of the popular AI models that have entered our lives to in the past few years. In the medical domain, AlphaFold is predicting 3D protein structures from amino acid sequences, and Med-PaLM2 is showing state-of-the-art performance on medical licensing exam questions. In the veterinary domain, Scribenote is taking SOAP notes, and Zoetis Diagnostics’ vetscan imagyst is providing diagnoses from fecal, urine, and dermatological scans, blood smears, and more. The technology underlying all these forms of AI? Deep neural networks. In this talk, we’ll go over how these networks learn patterns from data and explore their limitations. You’ll learn to evaluate these new technologies as they come out, so you can make decisions about which forms of AI to use – and not to use – in your future veterinary practice. Topic Requests: Have a specific AI technology you want me to cover? Send it to me at mariateleki@tamu.edu and I can cover it into the talk!

Resume & Interviews

This presentation will cover the basics for creating an effective resume and to establishing a professional and memorable interview at future employers.

Navigating Difficult Client Conversations

Veterinary medicine is a People profession. To communicate with owners is essential to providing the best care possible to the animals entrusted to our care. The Clients we can view as difficult are often people in difficult situations looking for help and hope from you. Understanding and recognizing what 4 types of "difficult" clients look like can help you engage, communicate, and empathize with them resulting in better outcomes for everyone - the pet, the client and yourself.

Five biggest mistakes you don't want to make with your career

Five Biggest Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make With Your Veterinary Career Avoid common career pitfalls in veterinary medicine by prioritizing self-care, building a strong professional network, and staying open to various career paths before specializing. Understanding essential business skills, such as managing finances and marketing, is key, even if you don’t plan to own a clinic. Additionally, staying current with the latest research, treatment options, and technology ensures you’re always providing top-tier care. Follow these steps to build a successful and balanced veterinary career.

Find Your Future With Us - Inside Animal Care

“Inside Animal Care” will introduce the students to Animal Care’s (AC’s) purpose and mission. To inform students about the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and Horse Protection Act (HPA). To bring awareness about the internships, externships and veterinary job opportunities Animal Care has to offer.

Communication: Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution

This presentation equips students with crucial communication and conflict-resolution skills essential for successful practice. Topics covered include communication best practices and resolving conflicts within veterinary settings.

Hispanic Heritage Month - The Importance of Communication and Cultural Competence

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and together with LVMA and VOICE, we are honored to have Dr. Juarez-Law join us via Zoom. She will be highlighting the importance of communication and cultural competence for relating to clients and supporting diversity in the clinic.

Success in First Year and Beyond

Difficult Conversations: End-of-Life Decisions

One of the most difficult conversations to have with clients involves end of life decision making. These conversations must balance the patient’s needs with the emotional and financial needs of the client and can take a large emotional toll on the veterinary team. We will discuss management of cases where clients refuse euthanasia in a critically ill patient and others where clients request euthanasia for a patient that could be treated. How do we, as veterinarians, handle these conversations, advocate for our patients, serve the human-animal bond, and preserve our own wellbeing.

Insurance and Financial Planning: the basics and what do I need to know?

This lecture will present the foundation for the insurance essentials you will need as a practicing veterinarian, as well as recommendations and tips for planning for a successful financial future. A basic presentation will be provided, and we will spend more time on individual areas based on your questions!

Proven Strategies for Managing Student Debt: Best Practices for Michigan State Veterinary Students

Student Loan Professor works with thousands of graduate-health professionals to strategically navigate the various repayment/forgiveness options and implement strategies which complement their specific career paths. This session will home in on in-school best practices while also previewing loan repayment and forgiveness strategies you can apply after graduation. From start to finish, this presentation is designed specifically for veterinary students and the economic dynamics DVMs face after graduation.

Protecting Yourself While Protecting Your Patients

Case based discussion that will go through ways to minimize risk early in your career as a veterinarian.

Leading Through Challenges: Practical Leadership Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles in Veterinary Practice

In this lecture, we will discuss principles of leadership that have been used by the speaker in order to overcome inherent obstacles related to the veterinary profession, such as high debt, low income, stress, anxiety, work-life balance, and more. The speaker will present real-life examples used in the small animal practice and equine practice scenarios. He will present actionable items that will help the listeners immediately.

Dollars and Sense

This lecture will discuss how to read through the lines of a job offer, how production works, etc. This lecture will make sure you have all the information before signing a contract. Join us and learn more about how to breakdown and understand a job offer.

A Journey to Practice Ownership

In this talk, I’ll share my personal journey of transitioning from an associate veterinarian to launching a mobile veterinary practice as a side hustle, and ultimately taking the leap to start my own mixed animal practice. We’ll dive into the challenges, lessons learned, and the strategies that helped me make it all happen. Whether you’re curious about entrepreneurship or just want to hear the inside scoop on running a practice, this session will give you a real-world look at what it takes to turn a vision into a thriving business.

Feeling Comfortable Discussing Finances with Clients

Dr. Jill Child, Managing DVM, from NVA will be partnering with the VBMA talk to give a talk about how to communicate finances. In this talk, we will go through the different components on getting an estimate ready for a patient, reactions you can expect, plans forward, and how to keep your sanity throughout it all.

Conflict Resolution

Dr. Demars will be talking about conflict resolution in the workplace and how to work through ways to resolve those issues.

How to Make the Most of Your Externships!

Recent DVM graduates (2021 and 2022) will share their ten tips for making the most of your externships!

Managing Stress: Controlling the Controllables

Description: Wanting to have control over our lives is a natural human desire. Believing we have the power to exert some control over our environment and produce desired results gives us feelings of order, stability, and safety, and a mechanism for managing fears of uncertainty. Unfortunately, persistent attempts to change or control what is not within our control is counterproductive at best—draining time, energy, and resources, while increasing stress and taking a toll on our relationships and wellbeing. In this engaging seminar, participants will learn how to distinguish between what we can and cannot control, the upside of stress, the role that lowering reactivity plays in reducing rates of occupational distress and burnout, and evidence-based approaches for managing stress more effectively at home and in the workplace. Objectives: At the end of this seminar, participants will: Define stress Define illusion of control Identify a key modifiable factor in occupational distress Compare and contrast two types of coping methods

Life is What Happens While You’re Planning It: 10 Tip$ to Make it Great

Our speaker is the president and co-founder of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) and is an award-winning cardiologist, who discovered that cats need taurine to prevent heart disease. He has taught veterinary students at UC Davis, has been an advisor for the Feline Winn Foundation, co-authored “Cats for Dummies”, was the veterinary advisor for “Dogs for Dummies”, and is one of our wonderful club advisors. He will be speaking about his inspiring career and lessons in entrepreneurship and leadership.

The Future of Epigenetics in Pet Health Care begins now!

What is epigenetics and how will it change pet healthcare? Learn more about this amazing field of research and the innovations that are coming soon to the animal health field. The founder of EpiPaws, an epigenetic company for dogs and cats, will review current and future epigenetic technologies in the animal health space. Learn how you can help contribute to this research and change the way we diagnose, monitor, and treat disease in furry companions.

Dollars & Sense

This lecture will discuss how to read through the lines of a job offer, how production works, etc. This lecture will make sure you have all the information before signing a contract. Join us and learn more about how to breakdown and understand a job offer.

Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges Workshop

Profitability & Stewardship in Veterinary Medicine

We will discuss how to maintain profitability in a rapidly growing business and how ensuring profitability is a key component of Christian business stewardship.

Owning a Job vs Owning a Business: My Evolution in Veterinary Entrepreneurship

Practice for Life in Veterinary Medicine

Please join Dr. Rae Rice from Hill’s as she shares how to navigate through her various careers in veterinary medicine. With her experiences in ownership and industry, we’ll dive deep on how to choose a clinic that best fits you. Whether you are working as a technician during veterinary school, or looking for your first job, hear some key factors that make it a practice for life.

Practice Ownership

Dr. Fong discusses his journey and what he believes it takes to thrive as a successful practice owner.

Growing a Mixed Animal Practice

Dr. Strickland, from Custom Livestock Solutions, will be speaking on how he grew his full-service mixed animal practice into new revenue sources and the challenges he faced at different stages in his growth

Growing a Mixed Animal Practice

Dr. Strickland, from Custom Livestock Solutions, will be speaking on how he grew his full-service mixed animal practice into new revenue sources and the challenges he faced at different stages in his growth.

Company Core Values and Practice Culture

Recession Proof Your Small Animal Exotics Practice – For Owners and Non-Vets

We’ll discuss a formula for profit and how you can affect each part of the equation. Examples will be given using exotic pets, but are applicable to all kinds of practice.

Profitability and Stewardship in Veterinary Medicine

Search and Employment

Dr Brooks’ history and explain his credibility to be speaking to the VBMA. Discuss the different options available to veterinarians. Look at your goals outside of your career: financial, time, family, etc. Go beyond catch phrases like “mentorship” and “work life balance” and ask deeper questions. Further discussion of mentorship and the different forms it can take. Current market demand for vets and anticipated changes to that demand. How do you want to start your career vs end your career? Discuss work/life balance vs work/retire balance. Strengths and Weaknesses how to support and plan for each. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they helping you on your path towards the goals you explored in Step 1? Important tips outside of the job search.

Debt Paydown

Join Sarah Morales, a certified financial advisor, as we discuss student debt paydown with an interactive workshop!

The Journey & Skills Necessary to Starting a Business

Practice Management 101: Knowing the Basics

One of our most popular... This program covers the financial foundations that all new practice managers and new owners need. Attendees will learn financial statement basics and then how to use these statements to self-diagnose poor financial health - and the path to recovery. This session also looks at common management mistakes and how to implement best practices to avoid them.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet.

Building Your Dream Career

Dr. Prince will discuss how to set your personal goals and develop yourself personally and professional to help achieve your dream job.

Building Your Dream Career

Dr. Prince will discuss how to set your personal goals and develop yourself personally and professional to help achieve your dream job.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Can I Have it All? Parenting in Veterinary Medicine

Is it possible to have a family and be a successful, happy veterinarian? This presentation will explore the answer to this question using data from the literature on parenting in veterinary medicine and personal experiences of veterinary parents. We will discuss considerations on family planning, challenges faced during pregnancy, and how to successfully create work-life integration as a working veterinary parent. We will also explore the question of what makes work places ”family friendly” and what individuals can do as managers and practice owners to create this type of positive workplace culture, for both parents and non-parents.

Is an Internship Good For Me? How to Keep From Making a Bad Decision

Roadmap to Mentorship

We will discuss what questions to ask yourself and your potential employers to try to find the best fit. We will also discuss what to do if you end up in a less-than-perfect position and how to get out and get back on track.

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet. Learning Objectives 1. Analyze the impact of rising veterinary costs on access to care 2. Evaluate different strategies to enhance access to veterinary care 3. Explore techniques to discuss care options with pet families, considering their unique needs and financial constraints 4. Apply communication skills in case-based scenarios to recommend personalized care options to pet families

Navigating Wines in the World of Business

ATTENDANCE WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE EXCELL SHEET & IDS WILL BE CHECKED AT THE DOOR! This presentation will assist one in finding the right wine for the right occasion. Topics will include wine basics, food and wine pairing, connection selections, and label reading.

How to Find Career Success in Year One (and Beyond)

Finding your career fit will determine your success exponentially more than salary, geography, or type of medicine. Dr. Brown will provide a framework for how to approach career fit and help to find the ”right” job!

Leveraging Your Vet Med Superpowers to Navigate Rudeness in the Workplace

Learn how to apply the skills, knowledge, and abilities you already have with patients to challenging encounters with people. Your vet med superpowers can lead to better team cohesion, better client communication, and better outcomes!

Professional Liability Coverage for Veterinarians & Students

Join us to learn about the importance of liability coverage, both as a student and as a veterinarian, and your options for coverage, including the AVMA’s PLIT insurance plans!

Planning For Transitioning To Life as a Veterinarian

Keith Lerner will be discussing important topics for veterinary students to keep in mind as they approach graduation, including insurance (Health, Disability), budgeting, student loans, and contract negotiation.

Developing confident clinicians

Today’s graduates are the best educated generation of veterinarians ever but are not confident in their abilities to perform in clinical settings and are telling employers they need help. Their first year after graduation is a critical time to turn theory into practice, sharpen clinical skills and find success in a new role – ideally, gaining experience, becoming more confident and finding happiness in the new career. The challenge to veterinary practices is to build programs that ensure new associates will become competent, productive and satisfied members of the staff as quickly and effectively as possible. A thoughtfully developed onboarding process allows practice leaders to evaluate their new doctors, share practice cultural norms, work through medical challenges and help new graduates to successfully tackle the day-to-day needs in a general practice environment. Training modules for specific skills, delivered by subject-matter experts, can help graduates develop confidence in dentistry, surgery, anesthesia, pain management, and more. Mentorship is the third leg of the stool - and a critical one - but often the most poorly understood component.

Developing and leading an effective team

Dr. Smogor will be presenting about her life and career as a mom, business owner, and equine practitioner. She will be sharing how she built the company culture at her practice to lead an effective team.

Fumbling Our Way to the Top: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Starting a Business

Dr. Jenna Bonfiglio and Dr. Rob Harvey, recent founders of PAWS Urgent care will join VBMA to talk about their journey opening up a new practice.

Mastering Your Money: A Comprehensive Guide to Personal Finance Success

This presentation will cover key topic areas to personal finance success. These include: the changing student loan landscape, loan forgiveness, debt and expense management while living your everyday life, paying off debt vs investing what is the right choice, how to end up with a surplus of money every month, and actionable tips to get you started this week.

How VBMA Can Get You Your Dream Job

Join us and Dr. Joe Thurston, from River Valley Veterinary Services, who will be discussing how VBMA taught him applicable life skills and networking opportunities that landed him his job right out of graduating. Although VBMA sounds strictly business, he is excited to share that his experiences gave him tools to be well-rounded in any profession in veterinary medicine. This meeting is open to all students, VBMA members must register through myVBMA in order to receive food and credit for the meeting.

Pitching Pet Insurance to Different Stakeholders in the Veterinary Space

Dr. Ricky Walther with Pawlicy Advisors has extensive knowledge about an integral part of pet finances: pet insurance. Come learn about a topic that is crucial when interacting with our patients and clients.

Strategic Growth: Growing from a 1 DVM practice to a 10 DVM practice in 5 years

Join us in welcoming Dr. Patrick Singletary from Good Dog Veterinary Care, Georgia’s first and only “all-dog,” canine-exclusive veterinary practice. He will discuss how to grow from a 1 DVM practice to a 10 DVM practice, now with 3 locations in 5 years. He will share more on how they incorporated missional leadership, team delegation, and reinvesting back into the business in order to achieve their growth goals.

Leveraging Your Vet Med Superpowers to Combat Rudeness in the Workplace

In this presentation we explore why rudeness in the workplace is on the rise, how we can address challenging behaviors, and why attempts to control others’ behaviors at best aren’t effective, and at worst, often backfire. We will also share how to leverage and apply the superpowers veterinary professionals already possess when working with reactivity in animals, to difficult encounters with humans. Come away with evidence-based strategies for managing and preventing anger in the veterinary workplace.

Contract Negotiation Workshop

Join Dr. Brain Cron and his wife Dr. Diana Cron to learn about different strategies for negotiating contracts as new grads!

Life in the Industry

Dr. Julie Lassere, who currently works with Hill’s as our academic affairs manager and has 24 years of GP private practice experience, will discuss her current role in the industry.

The Importance Of Veterinarians In Leadership Roles

Dr. Foster will be discussing leadership as it pertains to veterinary management and leadership in the clinical setting

Business Finance: Practice Valuation

As a future veterinarian and hospital owner, it’s important to understand the key characteristics of an attractive practice. During this session, we’ll provide you with helpful tips and tools that can be used to assess the value and growth potential of a practice.

Budget Like a Boss

Join Joshua Klein, MBA as he covers the following: 1. Current loan repayment programs 2. How to pay your loans back while still living your normal, everyday life 3. Loan forgiveness programs 4. How to invest a portion of your salary in the stock market

Where Does Your Money Come From?

In this presentation, Dr. Stinson will be discussing the various revenue streams in veterinary practices! Come learn where your income will be coming from as a clinician and the business finance side of the industry.

Business Finances

How to Partner with Angry Clients and De-escalate Conflict

Join us for lunch and some dialogue with local practitioners from AZPetVet hospitals as they share from their experience what works and what doesn’t when it comes to working with difficult and challenging clients. Scenarios may include: working with highly emotion, reactive and/or demanding clients; de-escalating conflict with clients; when/how to “fire” a client

Access for All: Navigating Veterinary Care Challenges

Join us for an interactive workshop where you’ll learn how simple, practical strategies can make a significant impact on improving access to care and easing the burden of rising veterinary costs for pet families. We’ll dive into why costs have been increasing and how it’s impacting pet families, then review actionable solutions like embracing a Spectrum of Care approach, offering financial alternatives to pet parents, and exploring different practice models. Using realistic scenarios and case studies, you’ll learn to enhance your communication skills and effectively present care options to pet families. This workshop equips you with tools to navigate cost-related challenges and ensure comprehensive care for every pet.

Clients Gone Wild! Dealing with Disgruntled Clients

Resume Writing for Vet Students

Join Lynette Smith from Global Talent Partners as we run through top tips for creating the best Resume to start hunting for your perfect job after graduation. Includes focuses on: Key Things to include in your resume, Structure and layout of your resume, What you need to include to get an interview, Cover letters and what to include

What I Wish I knew in Vet School

Join us for an engaging panel discussion as veterinary industry leaders share their personal journeys and insights gained through their involvement in VBMA. This session will delve into how their experiences with VBMA have shaped their professional trajectories, enhanced their business acumen, and influenced their approach to veterinary medicine.

Veterinary Mental Toughness: Welcome to the Crucible!

Dr. Loonam is the current Director of University Relations for Encore Vet Group, a former U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Officer, and has previously owned a multi-DVM mixed practice. He will deliver an evidence-based presentation on the value of mental toughness, resiliency, and emotional intelligence in veterinary medicine, exploring their connections to burnout, compassion fatigue, and imposter syndrome.

Because I was inverted - A servant leaders insights, strategies and methods for leadership and cultivating positivity at your practice

In today’s market being a successful hospital and doctor means more than just best medicine. You must understand how to care for both your internal and external clients. This means being able to communicating effectively and building rapport. You must create environments where people want to be as it is about an experience for both the client and the employee. Being able to create this will position you with a competitive advantage.

The Home Buying Process-What you should know!

Provide an overview of the Home buying process and what is important to know.

Balancing Act: Navigating Veterinary Careers and Parenthood - A Q&A Panel

Join us for an insightful and candid discussion with five experienced veterinarians who have successfully balanced the demands of their veterinary careers with the joys and challenges of parenthood. This Q&A panel offers a unique opportunity for veterinary students to engage directly with professionals who have walked the path you may be considering.

Generating Income in (Exotic) Veterinary Practice

This meeting is an intro to how the P&L works, how you manage off of it, and how you use it to generate income. I use exotic animal examples to keep it interesting, but it is by no means exotic animal specific!

Training Your Mental Health Muscles - Developing Resilience

Mental health is not something you simply ”have”, nor is some far off goal you strive for, it is a complex muscle system you develop over time with intention. This presentation discusses the need to shift our perspective of mental health, the importance of intentionality, and how we as veterinary professionals can build up ourselves and those around us by being agents of change.

Navigating Wines in the World of Business

”This presentation will assist one in finding the right wine for the right occasion. Topics will include wine basics, food and wine pairing, connection selections, and label reading.”

Potentials for Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine

In this presentation we will explore various aspects of artificial intelligence and current and future impacts on the field of veterinary medicine. The focus will be on AI as a partner and supplement to the veterinary care team.

Navigating the Externship Process – Private vs Corporate?

This will include how to present your best self for interviews, top questions to ask to evaluate mentorship programs, and best tips for NAVLE prep.

Make Yourself Marketable

Dr. Wilborn will speak on how to make yourself marketable following graduation from veterinary school. Covering topics such as SWOT analysis, resume tips, and how to put your best foot forward when entering the world of job interviews.

Adaptability & Burnout

This presentation is taught by a successful small animal GP who has experienced burnout. She uses her personal story to facilitate discussion of the physical and mental signs of burnout. Strategies to recognize, and prevent & treat burnout are discussed with an emphasis on the value of cultivating the skill of adaptability.

Mentorship Matters

Mentorship - its what we’re all looking for when we graduate...but what does that even mean? Dr. Jessi will explore how you can leverage mentorship to be a better veterinarian and improve your personal financial situation regardless of your goals. We also will explore real case studies of VBMA alumni who are thriving early in their careers due to great mentorship experiences.

2024 Nationwide Externship All 4 Credits

Students who received all 4 credits for the 2024 Nationwide Externship

2024 Nationwide Externship BCP 2, 3, 4

2024 Nationwide Externship students who earned credits for BCP categories 2, 3, and 4.

2024 Nationwide Externship BCP 1,2,3

Nationwide Externship students who earned BCP category 1, 2, and 3 credits

Intro to VBMA

Dr. Dixon will be speaking about the business side of veterinary medicine, and the executive board will share what you can learn from VBMA meetings, the business portfolio, and the certificate that can be earned as a member!

Mentorship: What to Expect and How to Get That

Managing Student Loan Debt

Alex Williams will be discussing how to manage student debt.

Foundations for Financial Success

This course introduces students to the basics of managing money to create a secure financial future. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of goal setting, cash and income management, debt management, time value of money, retirement planning, and investment strategies for the accumulation and appreciation of money.

Resume Workshop

Dr. Julie White is our club advisor for Mississippi State VBMA and she will be discussing how to develop an outstanding resume during this meeting.

Earning Respect from Technicians as a New Grad

Join Dr. Erin Tate, VP of Clinical Development at CityVet, for an insightful talk on how new graduate veterinarians can foster an effective team dynamic with veterinary technicians. Gain valuable strategies for building mutual respect, enhancing communication, and creating a collaborative work environment from day one.

Success in Veterinary Practice Part 2

VMC 991 NC State Course BCP

Ensuring Practice Integrity: Detecting Fraud and Evaluating Success

This presentation covers essential topics for practice management, including developing a robust business plan, evaluating practice performance, and preventing fraud and embezzlement. Time permitting, we will also explore the growing relevance of pet insurance in veterinary practices

Financial Essentials: Statements, Revenue Streams, and Startup Financing

In this session, we will delve into the fundamentals of financial statements, exploring their structure and significance in assessing business health. We will analyze revenue and expense streams, understanding how they contribute to financial viability and strategic decision-making. Time permitting, we will also discuss essential aspects of startup financing, providing insights into funding sources and strategies for new ventures. By the end of the lecture, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of financial management essentials crucial for entrepreneurial success

Practice Ownership and Management

Approved BCP Credit from Cornell

Veterinary Contracts and Negotiation

Approved Cornell Course for BCP Credit

Medical Record and Informed Consent

Approved BCP Credit from Cornell

Personal Finance

Approved Cornell course for BCP credit

Student loan debt and repayment

The Client Experience is the Core of Successful Marketing

Mobile Feline Veterinary Medicine: A Business Model for Healthy Disruption of the Veterinary Profession

Burn out is rampant within veterinary medicine. It’s been a problem for a long time, and frankly, to many it seems to be getting worse and not better. While many folks are trying to figure out how to address this within the current norms of the profession, a growing number of veterinarians are deciding to take a different approach. By looking at the current challenges in veterinary medicine and deciding to do things differently, these folks are in the business of disruption, and they are helping bring new and creative perspectives on what providing care can be like, and how experiences can improve for our patients, our clients, and ourselves.

Veterinary Career Paths: Starting, Owning, and Managing Veterinary Businesses

Explores the various facets of establishing and running a veterinary practice. Topics covered include the steps involved in starting a veterinary business, such as business planning, legal requirements, and financial considerations. The lecture also delves into the challenges and rewards of owning a veterinary practice, including practice management, client relations, and team leadership

Key Business Insights: Interview Questions, Acquisition Strategy, Revenue Evaluation, and Entity Differences

Explore crucial business insights, interview strategies, acquisition tactics, revenue assessment and LLC vs S-corp distinctions.

VET430-Spring 2024

This course is a longitudinal stream to include law, regulatory medicine (including disaster response), business and communication. All third-year students must complete the course which continues through both fall and spring semesters. The course is graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory with a single grade assigned for both fall and spring semesters. In order to earn a Satisfactory grade for the course, students must achieve a Satisfactory grade in each of the three sections.

“So, what’s the tea?” Everything you need to know about being an upper, clinics and the NAVLE

Join Jamie Barnhill, the former blue beluga class rep, 9th semester clinical student and clin path queen for a discussion about surviving as an upper, being in clinics and taking the NAVLE.

Anesthesia Complications; Are You Ready ?

All Veterinary Professionals This evidence-based, spectrum of care presentation discusses the top 5 anesthetic complications in small animal anesthesia. These principles apply to exotics and large animal anesthesia as well. This will include a review of the pathophysiology, clinical signs, prevention, and practical treatment of hypothermia, hypotension, arrythmias, hypoventilation, and difficult recovery.

Bridging Generational Gaps

Join us for an engaging event with Stuart Johnson from Care Credit, featuring a presentation and discussion on the importance of bridging general gaps in veterinary medicine. Learn why addressing these gaps is crucial for practitioners and how it can enhance your practice.

Developing and Leading an Effective Team

Dr. Kristina Yee presents a lecture on the essentials of developing and leading an effective veterinary team. Attendees will learn key leadership skills, team building strategies, and best practices for fostering a collaborative and productive work environment in veterinary setting.

Mastering Finances, Compensation, and Personal Budgets

Dr. Perkins will talk about making a personal budget in order to master finances. He will also go over compensation in the veterinary profession.

Pet Insurance & The Pet Healthzone

Learn about the different types of pet health insurance and the importance of having your pet on it.

The Female Biorhythm: Complexity and Power

The female brain cycles alongside the monthly ovarian hormones cycle, and these fluctuations modulate the brain functions.

Contract Negotiation Workshop

This interactive discussion leads the participants through the relationship-based approach to negotiations as taught to professional negotiators at top tier business schools such as Harvard Business School and Wharton School of Business. The example for our discussion is the veterinary contract negotiation, but the principles can be applied to practically every relationship. Participants will also receive a 35 page summary of negotiation for veterinary contracts. This summary condenses several books on professional negotiation as applied to a veterinary setting.

Building Credibility in the Exam Room

This course covers the concepts of building credibility in the exam room for veterinary students and new veterinarians. The course will discuss building credibility from the moment you enter the exam room (through your professional presentation/dress) and take a deeper dive into how to define credibility, how to implement credibility into every appointment and then provide specific talking points and examples for implementation.

How to Prepare for New Grad Life

Dr. Tam, a relief veterinarian, will share insights on how to prepare for the last year of vet school and new-grad life. Dr. Tam will discuss essential topics such as internship opportunities versus entering practice immediately after graduation, and strategic planning for the early years of your career, both financially and medically.

Background in Veterinary Medicine Boards and Initial Licensure Process

She discussed that the boards are NOT in place to punish veterinarians. She’ll advocate for our awareness of the boards and is very open to discussion and questions.

How to Craft the Perfect Resume

This speaker will discuss how to craft the perfect resume.

Women's Leadership

Dr. Mazurana will be discussing the aspects of leadership that transcend different professions. She will specifically go into the gender differences of leadership, how to make institutional changes to benefit women vets, and how we can promote women’s influence and leadership.

California’s “Dos” and “Don’ts” of Veterinary Telemedicine

Dr. Grant Miller from CVMA will come talk to us about the newly implemented laws of CVMA policies on veterinary telemedicine in California

Making My Passions My Profession

Join us for our annual Spring Banquet on Tuesday, April 30th 2024 from 6:00-8:30 pm at DeGidio’s! We will be celebrating all of our members, and especially honoring our members who have earned their Business Certificate or Business Certificate with Honors this year. Each member in attendance will receive two drink tickets, free Italian food, and dessert. Additionally, students in attendance will be entered into a prize drawing for three large gift baskets. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Ryan Gibson: a faculty member at Auburn University Veterinary School, a board certified Veterinary Neurologist and a co-founder of Pet Parent Educators. Dr. Gibson’s presentation, ”Making My Passions My Profession”, will highlight how to follow your passions and opportunities as they arise, and how this is navigable alongside a full time career. In addition to Dr. Gibson’s presentation, there will be opportunities for networking with some of our amazing sponsors. There will be 1 BCP credit associated with this event, and it will be added to your myVBMA account after the event is done. We hope to see you there!

How to Interview Your First Boss

Join us for a discussion on mentorship and tips for success when selecting your first job, what questions to ask your first employer, and how to assess a ”good fit!”

Everyone's an Innovator: How Adaptive Leadership Unleashes Creativity in Your Veterinary Career

Innovation isn’t limited to a select few; it’s a mindset accessible to every veterinarian. Learn how embracing divergent thinking can empower you to revolutionize patient care and build a career and industry that exceeds your wildest expectations. Through real-world examples, fun exercises, and practical strategies, we’ll practice fostering a culture of innovation that can lead to creative solutions and advancements in veterinary practice.

Optimizing Success: Navigating Careers in the Nutrition Industry

Royal Canin, VBMA, and AAVN are excited to welcome Dr. Spann from Royal Canin to present Optimizing Success: Navigating Careers in the Nutrition Industry, highlighting the diverse career opportunities within the veterinary nutrition industry.

2nd Annual TTUSVM VBMA Resume Workshop

VBMA Members and students of TTUSVM will be able to have their resumes reviewed by several TTUSVM faculty members where they will receive expert feedback and be able to have the insights of several different individuals on how they might create the most effective resume.

Optimizing Success: Navigating Careers in the Nutrition Industry

Join us for an enlightening presentation tailored for UGA CVM students, in partnership with Royal Canin and AAVN, highlighting the diverse career opportunities within the veterinary nutrition industry. Explore paths from clinical nutritionists to researchers and product developers, backed by statistical insights revealing the growing demand for skilled professionals. Gain interdisciplinary knowledge and resources to make informed career decisions, driving innovation in veterinary medicine.

Tomorrow’s veterinary clinic, Today

Clinic ownership isn’t what it used to be, and its time to have an honest conversation about how to get in, and how to succeed. Come join Dr. Riolo as he talks about what it takes to own a veterinary practice in today’s environment, while planning for your long term financial security.

MVP Mentor and Mentee Panel

Medical Mishaps and How to Handle Them

Dr. Sandra Faeh is chief veterinary officer for National Veterinary Associates, where she is also helping the company build a clinical mentorship program. Her journey in organized veterinary medicine began in 1995 as the national SAVMA president. Since then, she has served as president of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association and Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association, Illinois alternate delegate and delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates, chair of the AVMA House Advisory Committee and AVMA vice president. Her volunteer services have been diverse, giving her a broad range of experiences. She has acted as treasurer of the Chicago VMA, and chair of the Illinois State VMA Political Action Committee, Education Committee, and Student Engagement Committee. During her time in the House Advisory Committee, Dr. Faeh was instrumental in the development of the Veterinary Information Forum, and as AVMA vice president she founded the Online Educator Community. She also served as chair of the AVMA’s Working Group on Membership Engagement. Being part-owner of four small animal clinics in the Chicago suburbs for more than 20 years has provided her with great insight into what veterinarians go through both physically and mentally. She cherishes the years she spent in that role and now seeks to assist young doctors with all aspects of their careers.

Advice from a non-MBA, Business-owning Veterinarian

Learn about what you need to do to start up your own practice, especially if you do not have an MBA, nor much business experience in your tool box.

Ins & Outs of an "Industry" Veterinarian Panel

Are you curious about what a day in the life of an ”industry” veterinarian might look like or what different roles a veterinarian can take on within ”industry”? This VBMAxMerck lunch talk is the perfect place to learn! VBMA is hosting a panel of top industry veterinarians from all walks of life from Merck where you can hear about their stories and ask any questions you are curious about!

Resumes/Cover Letters/Interviews Dos and Don'ts

Panel of industry professionals to discuss what to do and what not to do when applying for externships, jobs, and beyond

The Good, the Bad, and the Debt-Free: Understanding Credit and Beating Consumer Debt

We’ll discuss debt management and consumer credit, focusing on topics like the basics of credit cards, your credit rights, debt repayment strategies, what to do when you have credit or repayment issues, and common mistakes to avoid. There will also be time for Q&A following the presentation.

Daily operations, law, and ethics of veterinary businesses, catering to both associates and owners

This talk will discuss daily operations, law, and ethics of veterinary businesses, catering to both associates and owners from the expertise of Boomer Pearsall, who is a certified practice manager of Penn-Ohio Veterinary Services.

Building Wealth Through Real Estate

Delving into the basic do’s and don’t of home ownership, both for your primary residence and for investing and how to achieve this as a new graduate!- We talk quite a bit about the tools and procedures we have in place to be able to assist individuals with high level degrees, including how student loans factor in, all while educating our clients about both organically and strategically building wealth through real estate.

Veterinary Practice Strategy and Blue Ocean Success

Current veterinary medicine and economic turbulence have created enormous opportunities for successful practice investment. Whether one is a sole practitioner or major practice consolidator, understanding the factors required to create a strategic plan and successful implementation are vital for long term success. This two hour presentation explores the basics of veterinary practice strategy and the most current concepts to gain competitive advantages regardless of the competition. We review a number of strategic models used in both successful and less successful practices as well as similar small businesses. Blue Ocean Strategy and building a Collaboration Advantage are a focus.

Developing and Leading an Effective Team

Jared manages the Human Resources and Finance aspects of CIVA and will also be touching on some clinic ownership aspects as well! Please join us for this talk and enjoy a lunch provided by CIVA!”

Evidence- Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice

Dr. Luoma will be “diving into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone. empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.”

Private vs. Corporate Medicine

This lecture will present pros and cons of private medicine and corporate medicine, as well as provide students with an overview of options available to them after graduation.

Boosting Your Financial Health and Wellbeing as a Veterinary Student

In the midst of learning the art and science of veterinary medicine, veterinary students are also grappling with stress and overwhelm regarding their finances. Financial health and wellness often seem out of reach for students as they take on more debt while earning little to no income. Using insights gleaned from working with early career veterinarians, Dr. Grace Kim will uncover key financial habits that veterinary students can start now in order to best prepare them for their financial life after graduation. Participants will be encouraged to take notes and participate during this presentation.

Boosting Your Financial Health and Wellbeing as a Veterinary Student

In the midst of learning the art and science of veterinary medicine, veterinary students are also grappling with stress and overwhelm regarding their finances. Financial health and wellness often seem out of reach for students as they take on more debt while earning little to no income. Using insights gleaned from working with early career veterinarians, Dr. Grace Kim will uncover key financial habits that veterinary students can start now in order to best prepare them for their financial life after graduation. Participants will be encouraged to take notes and participate during this presentation.

Social Media Strategy for Veterinary Practices

Outlining veterinary industry tested strategies to help DVM’s and practices use social media as a means to engage pet parents. As healthcare becomes increasingly consumer driven, social media serves as a way to connect with pet parents, and often times a rating system through which consumers decide if a particular veterinary practice might be the best place for their pet to receive care. This discussion will provide insight into how the largest veterinary practices leverage social media to engage consumers as pet parents discerningly select among care providers.

Veterinary Business Law

Lecture #3

Veterinary Practice Acts and Boards

Lecture #2

Managing a Mixed GP/ER Model and the Reality of Embezzlement

Dr. Jeremy Cartagena will be coming in to speak to Purdue University VBMA members to discuss the day-to-day operation of a high-volume mixed GP/ER family of hospitals while also discussing the reality of embezzlement and how it impacts up and coming practices. The goal is for members to become familiar with the signs of this crime, and which steps to take in an attempt to mitigate the risk of this occurring in their own practices.

What to expect before entering clinics

Dr. Justine Lee has joined VETgirl and invited VMBA for a joint meeting through zoom to talk about different expectations before entering clinics.

Understand Your Money: Find Your Financial Freedom

Join our last lunch meeting of this semester with Mr. Brian Sawtell and Mr. Andrew Wraspir from Mission Financial Partners. Personal finances have a lot of moving parts and they’re here to make it simple. Understand the foundation of your income so you can build a life of financial freedom.

How to Interview Your First Boss - Mentorship and Tips for success as you select your first job.

Our first job sets the foundation for how you will practice moving forward, This is an important decision and here are some questions you should be asking your future employer to gather whether they will be the right fit for you.

VBMA/Royal Canin Professional Panel Lunch n' Learn

We are hosting a panel of veterinary professionals from different backgrounds to answer your most burning questions about a day in their life.

Financial Wellness Seminar

Sarah Morales will be hosting a financial wellness seminar to discuss investing, retirement planning and budgeting.

Business Leadership in Vet Med

Triage Your Personal Finances

Buzzword: Telemedicine

Dr. Zurowsky from Alliance Animal Hospital presents an interactive review of what Telemedicine means for veterinarians, the current legal recommendations for Telemedicine, and how you can become a better clinician in perfecting Telehealth skills!

The Bear

The presentation will explore the concepts of both finding and understanding elements of effective work culture. This includes the impacts that any team member can have on culture and the potential perils of not addressing culture issues correctly. It will also address ways to probe at these issues during interviews, reasons to consider a career in industry, and ways to develop yourself to be a better candidate regardless of the path you take.

Practice Ownership: Make it Yours

Practice Ownership in the current veterinary economy. Dr. Lombeida, a local small-practice owner, will discuss what to consider for Acquisition, Practice Management, and Financial Planning with time for a Q&A, so please feel free to ask questions!

DEI issues & Workplace Conflict

This workshop will highlight cultural factors that contribute towards workplace conflict. We will learn how to address workplace conflict using a DEIB lens.

LinkedIn 101: Connecting Your Way to Success

We will review how to make the most of LinkedIn, including building your network, searching for jobs and people within a target area, and making your profile and posts stand out.

Beginning with an end and a mind

A deep dive into what corporate buyers look for and how long range planning and positioning as you start or build your practice will help improve profitability and growth in the short term and eventually maximum value so you can transact on your terms. Build your financial legacy, not just your practice legacy.

Achieving Success in Private Practice - VCS 817

Provides a foundation for the application of practice management principles. Focuses on operations management, financial management, human resource management, and marketing management.

Large Animal Practice Ownership

Discuss the intricacies of large animal practice ownership.

Spectrum of Care and Access to care for all

In vet med, there is a ”gold standard” of care, but not all owners can afford it. How do we as veterinarians adapt to our clients’ abilities and still provide excellent care to our patients? Dr. Russak will educate us about this aspect of caring for both patient and client.

Key Performance Indicators

In ”Key Performance Indicators,” Dr. Russak discusses basic financial concepts of companion animal practice as well as how to evaluate the financial success of a practice.

Diversity Matters

Dr. Campos will discuss the importance of diversity in the workplace and how it impacts the veterinary medicine.

The Right Fit For You & Your Career

How you’re wired can determine your best role for satisfaction and success. In this presentation, Dr. Kline will discuss valuable tools for veterinary practices to utilize to evaluate their workplace environment and staff engagement. It involves a set of questions aimed at understanding how employees perceive different aspects of the clinic’s culture, including leadership, communication, teamwork, and shared values. By collecting feedback through this survey, veterinary clinics can pinpoint areas of strength and areas needing improvement in their workplace culture. This insight can then be used to enhance employee satisfaction, retention, and overall clinic productivity.

Inclusivity: The "I" in Team

Join us in speaking with the CVO of Empowering Veterinary Teams, Alyssa Mages.

Access to Care Challenges, Solutions, and Business Models

Dr. Jankowski is the Chief of Service for the Access to Care Program here at UC Davis and also is the Faculty Director for Knights Landing One Health Clinic. We will be discussing the importance of access to care clinics, the challenges (and some solutions) of running one, and briefly touch on business models.

VBMA X Financial Aid Office: Student Loan Repayment Lunch Talk

Dr. Rebecca Mears from VIN will be joining VBMA and our Financial Aid Department to share the latest plans, help, and management of student loan repayment.

For The Launch Of Your Career, for The Life Of Your License

This lecture will go into an overview of the veterinary regulatory boards and AAVSB, and will teach students how to maintain their license in good standing for the entirety of their career. An overview of the complaint process will be presented, as well as debunking of common myths about this process. Students should leave with a greater understanding of the disciplinary process, and this information will help ease fears in the future, should they ever face a complaint.

Artificial Intelligence and its Use Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Christie Long will be discussing the use of online forums and 24/7 access to care using AI and other online modalities.

Serious Play: A New Approach to Veterinary Communication

I offer interactive workshops where participants learn applied improv techniques to collaborate and communicate more effectively with colleagues, clients, and in daily life. WORKSHOP OVERVIEW: The approach to these workshops is to play and learn by doing. The outcomes are practical, and participants leave with techniques they can apply right away. Inclusiveness, shared laughter, and teamwork are hallmarks of this training. Participants who know each other strengthen existing alliances and those who don’t build new connections throughout the workshop. Discussion following each exercise connects the improv skills being taught to veterinary practice. No prior experience is required. BACKGROUND: There is a strong connection between the skills used in improvisation, or improv, and those needed in veterinary medicine. These include flexibility, teamwork, empathy, and active listening. Mastering these skills makes us more resilient, helps us build stronger relationships, and can transform how we approach our work and personal lives. Improv training is emerging as a key tool in human medical education. It is now part of the curriculum at several medical schools and required training at medical centers like Mayo Clinic. Improv-trained healthcare providers say improv skills make them more effective communicators, give them a greater sense of well-being, and bring spontaneity (and fun) back into their work. Serious Play workshops have been well received at the AAHA Con and AVMA Convention. Participants at the 2022 and 2023 AVMA Conventions said the techniques they learned would help them manage conflict and promote better listening and collaboration with clients and coworkers. The experience has been described as “fun”, “inspiring”, and “energizing.”

Startups and Business and Aquisition Management

Focus on veterinary operations (management, medical, finance, marketing, etc.) as it relates to business ownership. This is a high level overview of things to consider regarding business operations.

Know Your Value: A Production Report Workshop

In this session, each participant will have the chance to review the critical components of every contract, learn the top 3 factors that influence each new clinicians earning potential and complete their own mock production report for their first year in practice!

Financial Planning 101: Where to begin

Owen will speak on a variety of topics including saving, investing, student loans repayment strategy, taxes, and when it is appropriate to introduce a professional to your financial planning journey.

Mastering Business Finance Strategies for Success

Whether you’re a seasoned business owner or a budding entrepreneur, this lecture promises to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed financial decisions and propel your business towards long-term success.

How to Successfully Transition from Veterinary Student to Practicing Clinician

Join us for lunch and some lively conversation with local practitioners from our partner AZPetVET hospitals as they share tips and discuss what you’ll need to consider in order to successfully transition from student to practicing veterinarian. The session will also address how to be ready for challenges that vet school may not adequately prepare you for, such as communicating effectively when you’re faced with cultural differences and other forms of diversity.

Culture, Communication and HR Management

In a veterinary clinic, culture, communication, and HR management are vital for fostering a positive workplace and delivering excellent patient care. The clinic’s culture shapes staff interactions and job satisfaction, while effective communication channels promote teamwork and information sharing. HR practices, including recruitment and training, are essential for maintaining a skilled and motivated workforce. By prioritizing open communication and respect, clinics create a supportive environment where employees excel and provide top-notch care to animal patients.

A lesson in expectations, brought to you by Pancreatitis

Over the last 2 weeks, three of my assistants had pets with pancreatitis that they asked me to manage. All three had different outcomes, for the pets AND the owners. In a nutshell, it will be a review of three cases and what they taught me about managing your client’s expectations for treatment of their pet as well as expectations about what it means to be their pet’s doctor.

Cultivating Culture: The Impact of Recruitment, Hiring, and Termination on Employee Retention and Engagement

This presentation will delve into the intricacies of the impact recruiting, hiring and termination have on our hospital cultures. We will discuss how understanding the culture you are building and/or maintaining is critical to how you approach sourcing, onboarding your team, and sometimes making difficult decisions on next steps.

"How to Create a Company Culture"

Dr. Bessler V’03, the founder and CEO of Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) will lead this talk on creating a company culture!

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - Your Guide to a Portfolio Career

Let your vision for your career be like looking into a kaleidoscope. Embracing varied experiences in your career vision offers a dynamic and ever-changing perspective just like a kaleidoscope. Each unique element contributes to a richer, more colourful tapestry, creating a vibrant and fulfilling journey.

Finding and Using Accounting and Finance Software

This presentation will introduce users to some of the best platforms available for researching financial and accounting data and other relevant information for making financial decisions.

FICO Scores & Managing Student Debt

Discussion on interpretation of FICO scores and managing student debt for veterinary students.

Debt Management Strategies

Debt management strategies for Veterinary students.

Large Animal Practice Management

This talk covers the benefits of practice ownership, some of the challenges of practice ownership, and some of the resources for helping with business management/business education to help you be more successful in managing your large animal practice!

Pet Insurance Options for Clients

Join us for a partnership with Nationwide to explore different pet insurance options.

Resume & brand building

Dr. Lester will briefly discuss what the purpose of a resume is (to get an interview), what employers are looking for, what should and should not be included in a resume along with brand building.

VBMA x MVP x VetPrep Interactive Session

This interactive workshop meeting will focus on providing students with NAVLE preparation, the transition into the professional life upon graduation and effective job searching skills. There will be 3 roundtables total for the session each table will consist of students and facilitators to get focused experience! Each session will last for approximately 30 minutes. The goal is to discuss essential skills and helpful resources that any student can use upon graduation.

VBMA Etiquette Dinner

This event will be a 3-course meal where students will learn about proper dining etiquette. Students will learn about proper mannerisms, appropriate networking skills, how to match the host and how to dress for the occasion.

Professionalism During Clinical Year

Dr. Barak Benaryeh, DVM, with Global Talent Partners will be joining us to discuss and give tips on professionalism during clinical year. This will better help exam room skills, communication with clients and colleagues, among many other skills that can be carried throughout 4th year into practice. 1 category 3 credit will be offered for those that attend.

Tips and Tricks about Interviewing

Breanna Gallagher is the senior careers coordinator from the OSU careers services department. Breanna will be covering tips and tricks on Interviewing and ways we can stand out as an applicant. The meeting will include a presentation as well as time for a Q&A for students to ask questions.

Achieving Financial Success in Practice

There are 3 ways to Achieve Financial Success in veterinary medicine. Invest in yourself, improve and increase your skills, and work to obtain profit-sharing, equity, and/or partnership.

Financial Wellbeing During and After Vet School

This talk will be a presentation on personal finances and financial wellbeing while in vet school and after graduation as well as discussing the resources available for students to utilize while in school.

Large Animal Business Ownership and Management Q and A

Join us as we welcome Dr. Shoemaker from Countryside in Greeley to discuss all things large animal business ownership and management! Dickie’s BBQ will be served for this dinner lecture.

Intricacies of non-profit animal shelter finance

This lecture aims to provide an understanding of the intricate financial dynamics within animal shelters. By implementing sound financial management practices, diversifying revenue streams, pursuing grant opportunities, fostering community engagement, forging strategic partnerships, and prioritizing sustainability planning, animal shelters can enhance their financial resilience and continue their vital mission of serving animals in need.

Confident Financial Conversations

All the details of having confident financial conversations with clients. In this meeting we will learn about consumer spending and purchasing, consumer buying motivations and decision making process, and best practices for successful financial conversations.

Surviving Your First Year in Practice

Join Dr. West Hamryka for tips on how to navigate your first year as a doctor through knowing what to ask for out of your mentorship program, integrating with your staff, and navigating tough discussions with confidence. Dr. Hamryka will guide you through his ”Magic 10” for being an effective practitioner.

Private Practice: Still an Achievable Goal

This presentation will be about the road to private practice ownership and some real-life tips on how to achieve it!

10 Suggestions for Making the Most of Your Externship

NVA is partnering with VBMA to host an externship lunch n learn open to all students! Dr. Kathleen Flanagan from Countryside Pet Clinic in Andover, KS will be presenting ”10 Suggestions for Making the Most of Your Externship.”

Leading With Heart: Championing Early Intervention for Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease and Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Dogs. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim

Join us in learning about MMVD and DCM! Lunch is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Brain Food: Feeding your Mind to Maintain your Well-Being.

Come join us as we discuss how to feed your mind and discuss team cohesion in a veterinary setting.

Meetings that Matter

3 non-negotiable meetings that you should incorporate into every department of your practice to ensure your team is being led, managed, and developed effectively.

Team Crafting with PAW Health

In our Team Crafting discussion, CVT, Annie Falkowski, will lead a discussion on tools PAW Health utilizes from recruitment, interviewing, training, conflict management and ongoing growth opportunities to construct the team you need. PAW Health serves to be the force of change in the veterinary profession. PAW Health has developed a process in which we utilize for each member of our team to ensure the individual is fully supported in their own professional goals while supporting the efforts of the organization.

Embracing Evidence-based Tools

Rural Practice: Possibilities, Problems, Possibilities

Dr. Rexanne Struve has been in practice for 48 year, 46 of which have been as a rural practice owner. In that time, she’s experienced the ups and downs of practice ownership, and through it all has built two successful businesses. In her talk, Dr. Rexanne will share some stories about her journey, as well as providing insight and tips on building and running a successful practice

From International Vagabond to Small Animal Practice Owner

Dr. Vaniman will share his perspectives, experiences, difficulties, mistakes and successes in veterinary medicine. His hope is that each student will walk away from this presentation with a morsel of knowledge that positively impacts their career in some way in the future.

Strategic Pricing: Why Does Veterinary Medicine Cost What It Does?

In Strategic Pricing, you’ll learn how veterinary clinics price their services, and what veterinary clients think those services should cost. We will discuss the gap between those values and how you can bridge that gap.

Finding the Right First Job

She will discuss key tips on finding the right first job out of vet school. She will provide advice from her years of experience in career counseling for vets and discuss what to look for in a job search in the field today.

Married to Medicine

Anecdotes by a married veterinary couple to navigating dual professional careers.

Evidence Based Care: Embracing the Pet Healthzone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

Mental Health & Balance

Discussing mental health and balance in school and out of school. Creating good habits for yourself.

Why You CAN Go Into ER After You Graduate Veterinary School

Do you have an interest in emergency medicine, but aren’t sure if you should pursue it? It can feel impossible to decide that next step after vet school graduation. There are so many options, decision factors and A LOT of unknowns! The goal of this lecture is to help you understand what you may encounter in the real world and decide if you think YOU should pursue the ER life right after graduation.

Evidence-Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. Explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance – all without making it feel like homework! Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

Non-Profit Budgeting

Aimee St. Arnaud will be lecturing on non-profit budgeting based on her experience founding Open Door Veterinary Care and serving as the former director of outreach at the Best Friends Animal Society.

Profit and Loss and why you should care as a veterinary student

Profit and loss is an important accounting tool in Veterinary businesses. I would like to talk about Profit and loss statements and why they are important to understand as a veterinary student.

Servant Leadership

Greg Keller will be speaking on the topic of Servant Leadership and what how to apply this in the veterinary field.

Insights from a 48 Year Rural Practice Owner

Dr. Rexanne Struve has been a rural veterinary practice owner for almost 50 years. In that time she’s experienced all the ups and downs of practice ownership and has built two very successful businesses in the process. Join us as Dr. Struve will share her journey along with insights and advice on building a thriving veterinary business.

Paws on Practice Ownership

Auburn VBMA members will be able to connect with Dr. Brawner as a practice owner at PetVet Animal Health Center to gain more experience of what it takes to successfully run a practice! Participants will be given a tour of the practice, followed by a Q&A session to dive deeper into Dr. Brawner’s path to practice ownership!

"Communication Really is Key!"

In this BCP Category 3 presentation Dr. Moyal will discuss how to communicate effectively in difficult situations in General Practice through delving into her own personal experiences!

How to pick the best first job (interactive session)

As students we tend to focus on what we will be asked during interviews for our big kid jobs, but the reality of vet med right now is that vets are in high demand and we actually will have many options for employment, so we need to focus on asking the right questions to find the right clinic for us!!

Communication and Medical Errors

Obvious error, coworker error, staff error, perceived error. Includes data, cases and how to keep yourself out of trouble.

Negotiation Workshop

Looking to master a skill that will really pay off? Want to learn how to better value your skill sets in an evolving market and understand the importance of negotiating salary, benefits, and more? Veterinarians stand to lose out on more than $2M over their careers without negotiating! Don’t miss out. Participants will learn: - Why negotiation is an important skill to master - How to negotiate effectively in scenarios like promotions, lay offs, and new roles - How to evaluate cost of labor & market rates for roles - How pay transparency laws and changing DEIB practices affect how to negotiate

Marketing Your Local Vet Hospital

Marketing is a vastly important piece of owning your own business and it can be hard to know where to start. In the presentation, we’ll break it down to the basics with some ”Marketing 101” tips and tricks.

Cover letter/ Resume workshop

This discussion will go into what a proper resume and cover letter should look like and the purpose of them. With summer coming up as well as graduation, this is the perfect time to refresh yourself with how to update a resume and make a strong cover letter.

Stressed Client Communication

We will be joined by Dr. Matt Asciutto via Webex where he will discuss his experiences communicating with stressed clients in the ER setting!

Tools for Success in Zoological and Exotics Medicine

Dr. Christine Bui, DVM, MBA, has a wealth of knowledge in zoological and exotics medicine. Hear about her life lessons she learned a long the way in her career through her plethora of experiences.

Practicing Efficiently

How to do more when there’s too much to do

Keys to Success in Equine Ambulatory Practice

Join us with Dr. Brady Bergin, an Associate Medical Director from the University’s West Metro Equine Practice as he deep dives into equine ambulatory medicine.

Profitability of Pet Food

Medicine and Media

Insight in how social media affects our lives as veterinarians and how I chose to use social media in my life as a rural practitioner.

10 Things I Didn't Learn in Vet School

As a graduate during the COVID pandemic, Dr Z had to learn how to navigate a busy small animal practice with flexibility. Dr Z will highlight a few rules to help in clinical settings she finds important for new graduates navigating the big change of the first year out! Small animal emphasis.

Leadership, Delegation, and Teamwork

understanding each topic from an LVT perspective

Balancing Parenting and Veterinary Medicine

This is an interactive session that aims to provide valuable insights and practical tips for new graduates navigating the unique challenges of managing a career in veterinary medicine while fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood.

The Path to Practice Ownership

The goal of the presentation is to advise veterinary students on the numerous advantages of practice ownership and offer guidance to those interested in pursuing this direction. The presentation will allow VBMA members to discover multiple pathways to ownership and a host of resources and experts to make that goal a reality.

Proven Strategies for Managing Student Debt: Best Practices for 2024 and 2025 MSU DVM Graduates

Student Loan Professor works with thousands of graduate professionals to strategically navigate the various repayment/forgiveness options and implement strategies which complement their specific career paths. This webinar goes beyond the basics and provides insight to help soon-to-be graduates avoid common mistakes as you transition into your veterinary career.

Pet Dental Month

Importance and Financials of Veterinary Dentistry

Stocks, Savings, and the Path to Financial Freedom

Dr. Findlaytor discusses the tough topic of the road to financial freedom post vet school.

Utilizing Social Media for Veterinarians

Dr. Larrabee has amassed a TikTok following of over 40k and uses her platform to provide educational information about her daily life as a veterinarian in a rural community. This discussion will focus on how veterinarians can utilize social media to educate the public about the profession.

Planning for Success in Rural and/or Food Animal Veterinary Career

In this seminar, Dr. Neill will present tactical skills to help veterinary students identify and plan for success as a rural and/or food animal veterinarian. The seminar will preview an online educational resource that was developed in conjunction with practicing veterinarians in rural and food animal medicine. Topics to be covered include academic, financial, and career planning. Students will walk away with concrete ways to plan for a future career in rural and food animal medicine. Dr. Neill is also seeking feedback on other topics to be incorporated into the online resource to enhance your educational journey now and in the future as a practicing veterinarian.

Why Fear Free is Good Business

Why Fear Free? This talk will go into the benefits for the clients, the teams, and the overall finances for the hospital.

Evidence-Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

Why Large Animal Medicine?

Participants will be presented with facts and data about large animal veterinary medicine. The focus will be on the challenges individuals face pursuing careers working with large animals. There will be particular attention to issues encountered in large animal private practice. Learning objectives include but will not be limited to: What it takes to become a large animal veterinarian, what are the options and opportunities, and top challenges that large animal veterinarians face.

Leveraging Inclusive Mentorship Principles to Increase Access to Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Marcano will define common terminology and benefits of inclusive mentorship; identify principles and practices to achieve inclusive mentorship; and discuss how to leverage inclusive mentorship principles to expand accessibility in veterinary medicine.

Creating the Space: Fostering an Environment of Inclusiveness and Advocacy

Dr. Gentry- Apple will provide tips for hiring a diverse team; discuss steps and roles of being an ally (it’s not as difficult as it may sound); and help attendees understand how to create the space for inclusivity.

Inclusivity First

If our eyes are open it is obvious that the veterinary profession is one of the least diverse of all professions, and the data supports this observation. The data also support the benefits of diversity beyond simply being the right thing to do, benefits such as increased team morale and increased profitability. As we consider ways to increase diversity within our workplace we must first pause to ensure our workplace is an inclusive, welcoming environment. During this program participants will learn how to assess workplace inclusivity and create a customized roadmap for enhancing inclusivity for the benefit of all.

DEIB is more than just a "piece" of the puzzle... it is the PEACE we need in Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Bruno will review the state of veterinary medicine and highlight barriers within the profession that influence the veterinary-client-patient relationship and compliance. Additionally, she will outline how diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (BEIB) training can influence workplace culture, patient care, and community engagement. She will finish by introducing Blendvet values, which allow veterinary professionals to implement strategies to foster DEIB in practice.

The Importance of Culture in Practice

High-quality medicine, customer service-centered veterinary practice that focuses on escorting the client through a positive experience with their pet’s medical care.

VBMA x Farm Club Dinner Talk - How to Manage a Mixed Animal Practice

Dr. Karle is very excited to share with us his experiences and tips about mixed animal practice, practice ownership, and involvement in veterinary advocacy and regulation. Whether you’re interested in small/large/or mixed animal practice, business management, or veterinary advocacy, take advantage of this unique opportunity to hear from Dr. Karle and join us for dinner!

To Intern or Not To Intern?

Drs. Sam Levitt and Jessica Himelman, DACVIM, will join in an interactive panel discussion on one of the biggest questions facing each veterinary student as they approach graduation: What’s next for me? Should I do an internship? Why or why not? Both veterinarians whose paths post-graduation have been very different, but both led to professional success and happiness will help students discover the top factors that they should consider when making this critical decision!

How to Do More When There’s Too Much to Do – Changing the Mode

In the post-pandemic world, there seems to be always too much to get done in the day. Even well-run general practices can descend into chaos, their workloads preventing staff and doctors from getting out on time – or even time for lunch – all too often. 21st Century demand has outstripped the way our 20th Century process can handle. We need to reimagine our workplaces – from whom we hire, to how we train and what task we assign to them. There’s more than one way to treat a cat! It’s within our control to make our jobs more rewarding, more fun and more profitable – while enhancing patient care and providing better client service

How to Communicate with Clients in High Stress ER Cases

Resetting the Bar: The power of individualized medicine

This seminar will be a discussion around preventive care as a tool for optimizing health and longevity in pets. Topics will include what preventive care consists of, age appropriate assessment, the benefits of patient-specific information that can be trended over time and strengthening the vet-patient-client bond. Updated health stage-guidelines for dogs and cats will be reviewed.

"I can't go into Private Practice- I want to be a successful wildlife and exotics vet!"

Using the example of avian/exotic private practice, Dr. Smith explores the process of developing a business niche within a veterinary hospital. The playbook can be used to create a unique revenue center within a business, or to create an entire practice dedicated to a unique patient database. Topics cover the process of identifying the potential patient demand, developing the knowledge base and specific skill sets, building/equipment design, and staff training. Using case-based examples, the discussion concludes with how the veterinarian ultimately makes money in pursuit of their special-interest.

Vet Business Finance- Why profit is critical for high standards of care

Social workers and Their Roles within a Veterinary Practice

Social workers, rising stars in veterinary medicine. Come and learn the benefits of implementing social workers in the practice and how they bring clients and healthcare teams together.

Assembling A Superstar Team For Your Start Up Business

Dr. Hadi will highlight how utilizing veterinary specialized professionals can streamline the startup process and set the foundation for long-term success. By harnessing the specialized skills of these professionals, you will gain invaluable insights on navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship in veterinary medicine.

Becoming a Clinical Sweetheart

Working in an animal clinic as a veterinarian you have to learn how to manage many interpersonal relationships- whether you like people or not! Dr Z navigates some clinical examples on how to get your staff, your boss, and your clients to love you and maybe your patients too!

Variety is the Spice of Life: Relief Practice as a Career Path

A discussion about the finance, business, and lifestyle aspects of relief work. The talk will include the pros and cons of relief practice, skills needed to thrive in relief practice, a brief intro to business aspects (entity, taxes, finances, insurance, contracts), understanding your value proposition, and finding work.

A Case Study on Practice Evaluation

This meeting will include learning how to determine cash flow areas in a practice, find patterns, and make recommendations to reverse trends and maximize favorable trends.

Managing Business Finances 101

There is a lot of information out there when it comes to personal finances for your typical W2 Veterinarian, but much less when it comes to Business Owners. This is because Business Owners have a much more complex situation when it comes to managing their finances. Not only do they have to manage their personal household finances, but they also need to manage the business finances as well. Mr. Vince Darling, a Certified Financial Planner from Stonebridge Group, will go over many items students should know before going into business when it comes to finances.

Mythbusters

Dr. Jessi Farris from Heartland Veterinary Partners will be presenting on (and busting) big myths in the veterinary industry. Heartland is a close partner of the VBMA that buys practices to improve conditions for employees, pets, and clients alike. We are excited to introduce you to them and so grateful to have them sponsor this event! 5-7pm at Cider Wave Co.

Telehealth

For Category 2, Dr Z presents an interactive review of what Telemedicine means for veterinarians, the current legal recommendations for Telemedicine, and how you can become a better clinician in perfecting telehealth skills.

Veterinary Employment Contracts

Veterinary Employment Contracts: What you need to know!

Starting an Equine Practice

Is practice ownership in your future, but you are not sure where to start? Want to learn about the logistics of building an ambulatory clinic, from obtaining business loans, planning a budget, projecting your revenue, and more? Come hear from Dr. Kara Robbins-Moret, who is starting an equine practice in South Dakota. Her practice will be primarily ambulatory with the capacity to hospitalize patients overnight as well.

Evidence-based care: embracing the pet health zone for a holistic practice approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide Pet HealthZone, where cutting edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and need of todays pets

Client Communication and Exam Room Skills-Creating a Positive Doctor-Client Relationship

In this interactive discussion we will focus on how to create a positive relationship with our clients as well as the exam room skills.

Resume and Interviews

The importance of a good resume and interview skills.

"Speed Dating" Veterinary Practices: How to Spot Mentorship Green Flags

**Zoom Only** We often talk about mentorship, but what does it look like as a new graduate? Join Dr. Mithila Noronha (@dogtor.mithila), a 2022 Iowa State gradute, and hear about how she found a clinic with the mentorship she wanted and how it has helped her develop. She currently works as an associate at a VCA Hospital in Maryland and is excited to share her love of the profession with us!

Student Loans and Loan Repayment Overview

Presentation on Student Loans and Loan Repayment by Brandon Barfield, Director and Co-Founder of the Student Loan Professor and Doctors Without Quarters

Evaluating Clinics During the Interview Process

Discussion on the importance of preparing for the interview process and how to evaluate clinics during this process.

Understanding private equity as it relates to the veterinary hospital profit and loss statement

TBD

Après Grad: A Ski Analogy for Veterinary Careers

TBD

Embracing Evidence-Based Tools for a Holistic Approach

Influencing Culture

Is this topic relevent to you? Employee retention, burnout, job satisfaction. These are the lowest they have been in years. You are in a position to change that. Thinking about individual vs organizational change, it takes a massive amount of effort and needs to be broken down into smaller pieces. You have to be present to make any tangible change and understand the culture in order to influence it.

Practice Acquisitions & Startups

Do you want to own a practice? Will you never own a practice? Perfect, this lecture is for you! Join Dr. Kristi Yee, a local practitioner and practice owner as we navigate the unspoken process of practice ownership. The best way to learn is from personal experience and experiences of others. Come collaborate on the best profession ever...like ever!

Corporate Veterinary Medicine: Is Winter Coming?

Brief history and background of ‘Corporate Veterinary Practices’ and current status of our industry. How practices are ‘recruited’ and evaluated, what is ‘capitalization’ and private equity, and how can owners and associate prepare for a sale

Evidence-Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

Telemedicine

He will join us to speak on the topic of the role of telehealth in the veterinary medicine world.

How to Perform a Compassionate Euthanasia

Dr. Bieck will be discussing how to perform a compassionate euthanasia.

Pathways to Practice Ownership

This talk will focus on the transition from student, to associate, to private practice owner (if anyone so chooses) and what those options are. Tristyn will review the options of buying an existing practice or starting your own, along with what the financial expectations are of BOFA/any lender for fresh DVM’s and how to prepare for that starting now.

Insurance Basics for Vet Students and New Grads- What You Need to Know

What are the Veterinary State Boards

Discussing what veterinary state boards are

Playing the Cards You Are Dealt

This presentation will cover Dr. Brown’s journey to practice ownership, her day to day as a practice owner and her life as a large animal veterinarian balancing a family.

Navigating Your Veterinary Career with Resilience

Finding Happiness/Sustainability in Equine Practice

Growing an equine veterinary practice and sustaining passion for the profession

Business of Ambulatory Practice

Business of an ambulatory practice. Experience in equine ambulatory practice, private business consult, education, and more!

Evidence-Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

How to become a better negotiator

Please join us for a workshop on becoming a better negotiator.!

What To Look For In An Employer If DEI Is Important To You

Business Insight Tour: Candlewood Veterinary Clinic

Cole Grieves is the business manager and spouse to Dr. Alex Grieves and will give a hospital tour, answer any questions about business choices, and talk about practical business management for their veterinary hospital. Candlewood Veterinary Clinic is a small animal general practice.

Breaking Bad News

Difficult Diagnosis? Join us to review best practice/tips to delivering difficult news to clients and learn ways to support them.

Business Owners vs Business Operators

Consider the choice: would you prefer to be a business owner or a business operator? The distinction between these roles is substantial, and it determines whether you’ll find success and fulfillment or face stress, burnout, and anxiety.

Minding your KPIs and Benchmarks

To move a business forward in an effective and efficient fashion you need to collect data and information that will help you to navigate towards the outcome you so desire. Your practice management software and accounting information can give you more information than you know what to do with. What numbers (KPIs and Benchmarks) are most relevant? Where can you find them? How can you monitor them? What do they mean? And, most importantly what impacts them and what to do when they indicate you are not on track?

How to get the most out of your externships

Discussion on how to get the most out of externships. How to prepare, be professional and learn the most.

Building a Brand to Build Your Business

I will share with the students my career path and what lead me to veterinary dermatology and eventually the media space. We will discuss how to take what you love and make a fulfilling career out of it.

Where does my money go? Workshop

This workshop will look at gross production in a veterinary practice and evaluate where these dollars are spent based on financial benchmarks. We will discuss building a financial dashboard for practice and personal life.

Negotiating Your Worth as a Vet

Will go over imposter syndrome, evaluating self worth, knowing your WHY, and the process of negotiating offers or contracts.

How to Succeed as a Veterinarian and Business Owner

A sneak peek of the ins and outs of succeeding as a veterinarian and business owner. Learn how to find your passion within your career and have the desire to go after new set goals and interest for continuous growth and success.

Mentee Skills for Lifelong Learning

Dr Rabwin from Ready, Vet, Go will be discussing how to be a lifelong learner in your career. She is providing attendees with free access to a course that supplements the talk.

Behavioral Economics in VetMed

This presentation reveals how hyper-personalizing patient/client communication improves engagement & outcome.

The Importance of EBITDA

Understanding EBITDA. This presentation takes students through the meaning of the acronym EBITDA (a fancy word for profit). We also look at income statements together and have a discussion of a specific practice example.

Lead in Culture of Engagement and Sustainability

As a future practice owner or newly hired associate veterinarian, your entrance into a team further diversifies the culture. What will your impact be? Join Mr. Jay Browne, the Hospital Director of Southview Animal Hospital (NVA), to discuss how to recognize, communicate, and lead intentionally to shape a culture of sustainability and engagement for all.

Taming the trolls: Managing online negativity with real-life success stories

Join us for an essential session that addresses a pressing issue in today’s digital age - handling cyberbullying within the veterinary community. In this informative discussion, we will explore effective strategies for identifying, addressing, and mitigating instances of online harassment and negativity. Learn how to foster a supportive online environment while safeguarding your professional reputation and mental well-being. With insights from an experienced professional and practical tips on managing online interactions, this session equips veterinarians, technicians/nurses, and the entire team with the tools to navigate the digital landscape with resilience and professionalism. Together, let’s ensure that the online veterinary community remains a space of respect, collaboration, and growth.

Common HR Topics

This talk will discuss common HR topics encountered within the field of veterinary medicine.

Leadership in Veterinary Medicine Panel

A diverse panel of leaders will discuss their career trajectories. Hear about interesting, impactful careers in research, recruiting, public health, and academia. This is co-sponsored by NC State’s CVM Career Services.

Veterinary Entrepreneurship: We did it; so can you!”

Dr. Maynard plans to discuss her experiences starting a new practice and what it is like to be a practice owner, as well as why independent practice ownership is still important in an age of corporate takeovers.

5 Veterinary Trends that will be Super Hot for 2024

VBMA 2024 Southern Region Summit, a collaboration of the Southern Region VBMA chapters. This meeting is hosted by Ross university.

Alliance Animal Health Resume Workshop

5 Veterinary Trends that Will be Super Hot in 2024

In 2024, the veterinary industry is witnessing transformative trends, including the expansion of telemedicine for broader access to care, the integration of Artificial Intelligence for enhanced diagnostics and personalized treatment, a shift towards freelance work by veterinarians, and the empowerment of veterinary technicians with expanded roles. Additionally, there’s a growing focus on customizable healthcare through genetic insights, offering tailored treatments and preventive strategies. An emerging consideration is the need for sustainability in veterinary practices, emphasizing eco-friendly approaches and community education for a more environmentally responsible future in animal healthcare. These trends are collectively shaping a more accessible, efficient, and personalized approach in veterinary medicine.

Introduction to Veterinary Financial Statements

Virtual, didactic discussion and presentation on the application of the top three veterinary financial statements: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement

Business Insight Tour: Fur Family Animal Hospital

Business Insight Tours are opportunities for students to get out and about in their own backyard learning about the joys and challenges of owning their own practice from local veterinarians. This Business Insight Tour is at Fur Family Animal Hospital with Dr. Megan McKeage.

Unleashing Your Resilience: Harness your Personality+ Thrive in VetMed

Did you know that your personality can be a secret weapon in the world of Vet Med? Sounds surprising, right? It’s no secret that VetMed has been grappling with the ”burnout” buzzword for years. But what if we change our approach? Instead of just addressing burnout, what if we built capabilities to manage and even thrive amidst its challenges? Unlock the power of resilience in the face of burnout with this lecture- By understanding and leveraging your unique personality, you can navigate challenges more effectively, ensuring you’re not just surviving, but truly thriving in VetMed.

Non-traditional Career Pathways

Dr. Ricky Walther is a Class of 2020 graduate from UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine and while in school he was a VBMA Chapter President as well as the 2019 National President for the VBMA. During his career he has been an associate small animal veterinarian, a medical director and now serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Pawlicy Advisor (a pet insurance marketplace). He will be sharing his story about how the leadership skills learned in the VBMA have helped to shape his career and will provide a unique perspective into the various roles and opportunities that are available to us with our veterinary degree.

Leading Positive Culture in Veterinary Medicine

In his presentation, Dr. Fugate will discuss how you can lead a positive culture as an associate veterinarian or practice owner.

Pros and Cons of Corporate and Private Practices

Dr. Murphy will cover mentorship, externships and taking next steps for students in their career.

Making the Transition - What do I need to know

Are you “practice-ready?” What are the steps needed to build a long, successful and profitable career in veterinary medicine? How do you prepare yourself to do the best possible job in veterinary medicine? Transitioning to practice is tough, and unfortunately many veterinarians don’t make a successful transition which sets them up for an unfruitful career. We will answer these questions and discuss how to avoid the pitfalls in an interactive and engaging discussion, so you can create your “to-do” list for a great career.

Veterinary Practice Leadership

Part of the VBMA Region Summit- affiliated with Encore Vet Group.

Finding Joy as a Veterinarian: How to Be a Light in a Challenging Profession

The presentation will cover how we use Christian principles to guide our decision to work joyfully each day and how this decision has impacted the way we grow and scale our business. We will share how our faith allows us to view our daily work as stewardship rather than a ”job,” and the presentation will encourage students to use their calling in veterinary medicine to be a light in a challenging profession.

The Veterinary Workforce: Where are We Headed?

In this presentation we will review the current trends of veterinary employment. In addition, we will explore the many current factors which are present in our profession today that will have short and long term impact on the veterinary workforce. During this session, participants will be challenged to think through all aspects of the impact of currently proposed workforce changes both in various states but also across the country in general.”

Evidence-Based Care: Embracing the Pet HealthZone for a Holistic Practice Approach

Along with Dr. Cicchelli, dive into the world of the Nationwide® Pet HealthZone®, where cutting-edge data meets clinical practice, offering an unparalleled look into the health risks and needs of today’s pets. This presentation reveals how the Pet HealthZone empowers veterinarians with in-depth insights into breed- and age-specific conditions, enabling you to deliver exceptional care. We’ll explore the symbiotic relationship between these insights and the practical benefits of pet insurance, all without making it feel like homework. Get ready to transform your future practice with tools that make every client encounter more insightful, efficient, and impactful.

What they don't teach you in Vet School

We will have a panel to discuss all aspects of owning a vet practice.

"Nothing is Too Big How to Identify, Perceive and Manage Your Stress "

Navigating life as a DVM while prioritizing mental health. Life can be overwhelming! In this presentation we discuss identifying your stressors and healthy ways to manage them.

Life in Industry and Pro Tips for Interviewing

1 BCP credit in Category 4. Dr. Rae Rice from Hill’s Academic Affairs Team will be joining us to talk about Life in the Industry and Pro Tips for Interviewing.

Veterinary Job Exploration

Empowering veterinary associates to create a positive influence on hospital culture, irrespective of their work environment. We’ll explore strategies such as leading by example, holding the team accountable, and fostering a clientele that encourages a positive environment. We’ll discuss practical steps, such as promoting inclusivity, setting clear expectations, and acknowledging excellence, to cultivate a collaborative and supportive atmosphere. The goal is to equip future veterinary associates with the tools to not only thrive individually but also elevate the overall culture and leadership within diverse veterinary settings.

Into to Personal Finance

Dr. Hofmeister will discuss how to manage your personal finances a new graduate and beyond.

Veterinarians as Medical Directors

Dr. Kalick and his panel of colleagues discuss a veterinarian’s role as a medical director and how they work with the practice manager in a clinic to ensure that the clinic is provided quality care while working within a budget that will ensure success of the hospital.

The Internships Decision

To do an internship or to not. Dr. Johnson will speak from personal experience and years of leading other veterinarians in this area.

Veterinary Medicine, Meet Technology

Historically, the veterinary industry has not been an early adopter of innovative technology.. but times are changing! During this session, we’ll discuss how you as a future veterinarian and hospital owner can embrace technology to grow your practice, deliver high-quality medicine, and improve patient outcomes.

Presenting Yourself Professionally

The workshop will cover how to manage your professional image, and how to present yourself professionally on paper. We will cover how to craft an effective resume or CV as well as talk briefly about the importance of networking for professional development.

Drs. Dierks - Life After PPVM

Ashley and Brady Dierks known as ”Dr. Dierks” will be coming to discuss life after vet school, and how they find a balance as a couple, parents, and veterinarians.

3 Skills Every New Veterinarian Needs to Know

Dr. Mark Lee will have an in-depth discussion on three skills that are critical to being a great veterinarian. These 3 skills have been instrumental in the success of countless veterinarians across the nation.

Start-Up vs. Aquisition

This presentation will cover the question that every veterinary student who wants to own a practice will have to face: Start-up or aquisition?

Select Financial Topics for the Young Veterinarian

Topics will include budgeting, investing and finances.

Insurance Basics for Adults

As you enter the working world you will be bombarded with decisions to be made regarding all different types of insurance coverage ranging from Health Insurance, Long Term and Short Term Disability Insurance, Professional Overhead expense, Life Insurance, Hospital Indemnity, Specialty overage such as Cancer or Accident, Professional Liability Insurance, Renters’ and Homeowners Insurance, Auto Insurance and more. We will touch on as many and as much as we can to give a good overview.

Client Chemistry, My secret formula for success

Founder of River Oaks Animal Hospital in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Vetting the Vet

Tips for the new graduate veterinarian on finding the right fit for your first practice

Setting SMART Goals

Join us with Mission Veterinary Partner’s Dr. Chris Anderson to focus on the big picture. If you don’t spend time thinking about where you want to go and what you want to do, your first job won’t be what you want. This talk focuses on planning your future and spending time thinking about it. Discusses SMART goals and how mentors can be an integral part of shaping your future.

Path to Practice Success: Hike Your Own Hike

HousePaws, a mobile/ stationary hybrid practice was founded by Dr Lisa in 2010. HousePaws quickly grew to a 17 veterinary practice. The appeal? Practicing quality medicine, in a relaxed home environment - treating each patient as an individual and allowing each doctor to practice the way they want to practice. Additionally, HousePaws supports community service in many ways. Most exciting, is our involvement in veterinary mission (non-religious) work both locally and abroad. Come to this lecture to talk about where life can take you and think outside of the box so the path that you take will always be your own adventure. Dr. Lisa graduated from VA-MD Regional College of Vet Medicine and is super excited to get real with the VBMA students!

Top Things New Vets Should Know About Social Media

ZOOM: The Business Side of Emergency Medicine

In collaboration with SVECCS, come hear from Dr. Kara Nelsen, owner and founder of Allied Emergency Veterinary Services, who will dive deep into emergency medicine as a business and the daily operations that keep her staff, clients, and community thriving.

In Person: The Business Side of Emergency Medicine

In collaboration with SVECCS, come hear from Dr. Kara Nelsen, owner and founder of Allied Emergency Veterinary Services, who will dive deep into emergency medicine as a business and the daily operations that keep her staff, clients, and community thriving.

Insurance Needs of the Practitioner and Practice Owner

Dr. Trista Mills along with Dr. Clint Roof will discuss the topic of insurance as it relates to the needs of the practitioner as well as the practice owner as seen through their experiences as both.

CareVet Opportunities + Ross Alumni Experience in Clinics

Small Town Startups and Local Cases

Dr. Pulliam will be discussing his personal business plan as well as covering interesting cases from his practice, Animal Urgent Care Tri-State.

The Basics of Payroll and Taxes for Both Employees and Practice Owners

Payroll and Payroll Taxes will be the biggest expense you have as an owner of a practice. How do you keep track of employee hours and bonuses? How do you pay them? For the employee: What is deducted from pay? How taxes are calculated. Hourly pay vs salary vs production vs ProSal. This event will fulfill a BCP Category 1 Credit. Location: G-150. Time: 12 PM.

Mentorship (vs. Internship) - What Next Steps to Consider After Graduation

The focus for this talk is Mentorship vs. Internship - How to make the best decisions of what next steps to consider after graduation. Dr. Fox is going to strongly focus on looking for practices that have mentorship as part of their culture but also discuss how that can compare to some of the corporate practice mentorship programs and internships. This lecture will fulfill the VBMA BCP Category 2. Location: G-201 Time: 12 PM

The Professional's Experience to Financial Planning

Discuss strategies and methods that veterinary professionals can use to ensure their personal finances are happy and healthy while also managing debt and loans.

What is ‘Spectrum of Care’ in Veterinary Medicine?

Discusses the evidence and opinions behind the current ‘Spectrum of Care’ movement in veterinary medicine today compared to the traditional ‘Standard of Care’. Reviews the clinical, research, financial and legal implications in all disciplines of veterinary medicine

ZOOM: Key Performance Indicators: KPIs for DVMs to be MVPs

Join Dr. Liz Gunderson and Dr. Lindsey Reddemann from Banfield as she breaks down KPIs for veterinary students. Every DVM should have some understanding of how they contribute to the veterinary hospital business, and our discussion will help you understand your value for negotiating your salary or advocating for additional staff! We’ll also discuss how good medicine leads to good business outcomes.

In Person: Key Performance Indicators: KPIs for DVMs to be MVPs

Join Dr. Liz Gunderson and Dr. Lindsey Reddemann from Banfield as she breaks down KPIs for veterinary students. Every DVM should have some understanding of how they contribute to the veterinary hospital business, and our discussion will help you understand your value for negotiating your salary or advocating for additional staff! We’ll also discuss how good medicine leads to good business outcomes.

Boundaries: The Map to Successful Relationships in Vet School

Join Jeremiah Bennett in a lecture on how to maintain healthy relationships in vet med. Through vet school and beyond, friends, family, and life partners are important support systems that you need to support in a healthy way as well. Jeremiah will provide tools to maintain these relationships with plenty of discussion and his own experiences as a partner to a DVM.

Practice Acquisition and Ownership

Join Dr. Kristi Yee for an hour-long presentation and discussion on the transition from an associate veterinarian to a practice owner. She will share valuable tips and insights from her own practice acquisition journey, done in the middle of a pandemic. Discussion includes: How to leave your current position, Who to enlist to help create your dream practice, and How has Covid impacted opening/running a practice

5 Tips to Help Navigate Your Veterinary Financial Life

”Darby Affeldt, DVM, RICP®, is an Independent Financial Advisor and Partner with North Star Resource Group. Her veterinary background and practice ownership inspired her to become a financial advisor specializing in working with veterinary and medical professionals. Darby has furthered her education to earn the RICP® designation, Retirement Income Certified Professional. Darby protects and builds client wealth by offering a comprehensive and educational approach with personal and practice financial planning, retirement plans, asset/investment management and insurance strategies to help her clients to reach their personal and practice goals.”

"My Path to a 7-figure Startup within 5 years of Graduation."

Join us as Dr. Mike Walker discusses his journey from being six figures in debt after vet school to bootstrapping a de novo practice and generating over $1M in the first 12 months. His presentation will include an open-book format of his finances, mistakes, and complete screw-ups!

F is For Fico: Navigating Credit Scores and Other Financial Conundrums with Dr. Rae Rice

Join Dr. Rice, your student representatives from Hills Pet Nutrition and VBMA, for a lecture about navigating credit scores and other financial conundrums. Additionally, topics such as managing student debt will be discussed.

Maintaining Healthy Relationships in Vet Med

Lessons Learned in the First Year of Owning a Mobile HQHVSN Business

Where do I buy surgical instruments? What insurances do I need? How do I hire people? What is this letter from the State Veterinary Board?!? Upon graduating WSU, my narrative was ”I will never own my own business.” Now I am here to tell you what I have learned after 1 year of owning and operating AZ Vet Direct, a high-volume, low-cost, mobile surgery business.

Veterinary Practices and Online Pharmacies: A new relationship on the horizon

This is a presentation on the changing landscape in veterinary pharmacies in the era of e-commerce and sharing how to proceed with an online pharmacy in a way that empowers veterinarians (especially clinic owners) and clients to utilize its benefits appropriately. It is a great topic due to the relevancy of the changing dynamics/generations of shoppers and competition from corporate clinics and pharmacies.

Onboarding Associates For Success

Dr. Aspros will discuss strategic and effective integration of DVMs into a new environment. He will cover best practices, tools, and techniques to ensure a seamless onboarding experience that sets associates up for long-term success.

Head Hippo In Charge! H.H.I.C. - Pathways & Tools for Leadership

This leadership lecture provides a comprehensive overview of leadership styles in a hospital, discussing various types of veterinary leaders and outlining pathways to leadership roles within the veterinary field.

Breaking Ground: Launching your Independent Veterinary Practice in a Corporate Landscape

Dr. Hadi will examine how corporatization is reshaping the landscape for aspiring veterinary practice owners, addressing changes in autonomy, financial dynamics, and client relationships.

Rockstar Entrepreneurism and Balancing Life in the Veterinary Profession

Entrepreneurship in veterinary medicine as well as touching upon work/life balance as a parent.

Where the money comes from and where the money goes - POST COVID edition

Join a CVPM and 14-year veterinary business owner to learn how to evaluate your worth as a veterinarian, including how revenue and expenses affect your value in today’s market.

Treatment Plan for Financial Success

*Personal finance *Personal investments *Student debt *Credit score *Personal taxes *Personal budgeting

Know Your Value: A New Graduates Guide to Production Reports

This is an interactive workshop where students work their way through a mock production report and learn how they get paid comparing different compensation models (base only, base plus / production , and negative accrual).

Evaluating a Practice

Learn how to best assess practices for the best fit for you.

Telehealth in Veterinary Medicine

As we look to improve access to care through electronic means for our veterinary patients, what are the key issues? Regulatory concerns loom large on key legislation on the subject, but basic questions around how practices effectively provide this service to clients and patients persist.

"How to Create a Negligence Case with $60"

When a suspected cruelly case is presented to you, can you do a work-up that will make sure the charges “stick?” This discussion will guide you through the steps to creating an airtight case that a prosecutor can use to successfully litigate the case. Further, this discusses how to build the case on a shoestring budget, using $60 of expenses as the target. This discussion is taught from an actual case example from a negligence case presented to the speaker in 2010.

Introduction to Investing

Participants will be empowered to manage their investments in an evidence-based way.

Professional Development V - LAMS 549

This course is the fifth of 6 courses within the curriculum focused on professional development. Through experiential learning methods, students will be exposed to topics and skills related to personal development, self-care, ethics and animal welfare, communication skills, and business and financial literacy. The course is designed to re-emphasize the essential American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) ”non-technical” competencies as well as introduce additional concepts and tools that will allow the students to enter their clinical year and their career prepared for many of the significant challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis. The skills introduced in this course are essential to develop into a competent and successful veterinarian.

Professional Development IV - LAMS 547

This course is the fourth of 6 courses within the curriculum focused on professional development. Through experiential learning methods, students will be exposed to topics and skills related to personal development, self-care, ethics and animal welfare, communication skills, and business and financial literacy. The course is designed to re-emphasize the essential American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) ”non-technical” competencies as well as introduce additional concepts and tools that will allow the students to enter their clinical year and their career prepared for many of the significant challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis. The skills introduced in this course are essential to develop into a competent and successful veterinarian.

Professional Development III - LAMS 543

This course is the third of 6 courses within the curriculum focused on professional development. Through experiential learning methods, students will be exposed to topics and skills related to personal development, self-care, ethics and animal welfare, communication skills, and business and financial literacy. The course is designed to re-emphasize the essential American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) ”non-technical” competencies as well as introduce additional concepts and tools that will allow the students to enter their clinical year and their career prepared for many of the significant challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis. The skills introduced in this course are essential to develop into a competent and successful veterinarian.

Professional Development II - LAMS 542

This course is the second of 6 courses within the curriculum focused on professional development. Through experiential learning methods, students will be exposed to topics and skills related to personal development, self-care, ethics and animal welfare, communication skills, and business and financial literacy. The course is designed to re-emphasize the essential American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) ”non-technical” competencies as well as introduce additional concepts and tools that will allow the students to enter their clinical year and their career prepared for many of the significant challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis. The skills introduced in this course are essential to develop into a competent and successful veterinarian.

Professional Skills 1-VM 510

PS 1 focuses on developing the professional attributes of a competent day-one veterinarian and builds the foundational knowledge, skills, and attributes aligned to the six PS domains: Career and Personal Development, Leadership, and Collaboration for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA); Wellbeing; Ethics and Clinical Governance; Communication; Financial Literacy and Practice Management; and Scholarship, Evidence Based Medicine, and Life-Long Learning. Specific coursework and activities emphasizing learning strategies, pedagogical approaches, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, collaboration and teamwork, DEIA, ethical principles and personal responsibilities, wellbeing, personal finance, career planning, scholarship, and research opportunities, among others, are included. This unit provides the foundation for students’ academic and professional career by developing a sense of community and support within their class as they advance together as junior professionals. As they progress through the curriculum, they will continue to apply these professional skills and develop new abilities/competencies.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT VI

This course is the sixth of 6 courses within the curriculum focused on professional development. Through experiential learning methods, students will be exposed to topics and skills related to personal development, self-care, ethics and animal welfare, communication skills, and business and financial literacy. The course is designed to re-emphasize the essential American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) ”non-technical” competencies as well as introduce additional concepts and tools that will allow the students to enter their clinical year and their career prepared for many of the significant challenges that veterinarians face on a daily basis. The skills introduced in this course are essential to develop into a competent and successful veterinarian.

Business and Workforce Preparation

This course introduces students to the personal and business financial skills necessary for a successful career. Models of business practice employed in veterinary medicine will be discussed. Strategies for successfully applying for employment, managing the challenges of entering the workforce, and the principles of clinic management will be discussed. The principles of self- management introduced in year one will be reviewed, particularly as they apply to the fourth year and first years after graduation.

The Profession and Professionalism

This course introduces students to the concept of a profession, what it means to be a professional, and the career pathways available in veterinary medicine. The principles of professionalism, including relevant jurisprudence, self-regulation, ethics, and life-long learning will be introduced. The principles of clients, stakeholders, and community, and the importance of their relationships, will be discussed. The concepts of the healthy veterinarian and self-management are explored, including professional renewal and self-care, financial management, pursuing and meeting professional goals, focusing on career, and growing and developing in a changing environment.

Skillfully Facilitating End-of-Life Conversations with Clients

Dr. Evans from AZPetVet will be joined by Dr. Nichole Westerweel and Dr. Bryn Christensen to discuss those difficult end of life conversations. Specific topics may include: - Monitoring and assessing quality of life - Euthanasia decision-making - Discussing the euthanasia process - Providing grief support, education, and resources

“Intro to Practice Acquisition and Start-Up.”

After leaving the Army in 2005, Dr. Loonam opened Grace Animal Hospital as a start-up business where they now have 8 DVM’s, a staff of 40+ employees, and more than 15,000 clients.

Resume Workshop

The toughest part of resume writing is reviewing and revising! Newly graduated DVMs and experienced DVMs are equally stumped by this one. Distilling years of job experiences and skills down to one page can be tricky! It can also be hard to feel good about a resume that doesn’t seem to have enough experience on it. Bring your resume, make edits during the talk to optimize your experince moving forward in your career.

Unpacking the Profit and Loss Statement

The Profit and Loss Statement may look daunting, but it does not have to be! In this session you will learn how to unpack the secretes it holds and identify how to take your organization to the next level.

Mentorship Agreement Workshop

Dr. Rabwin will explain what veterinary mentorship means post-graduation and invite the students to take time and create their own mentorship agreements under her guidance. The workshop will equip students to know what mentorship is, how to find it, and what you are looking for in a mentor.

Fun With Numbers | Understanding Practice KPI’s

Owning your practice is not as daunting as you think! Let’s go through all the major expense ratios and categories that make up your practice revenue mix. We will go through each one to see what factors and costs go into each category, and how to best manage it if you can. Knowing the financial health of your practice is vital to keeping a thriving business and a great culture, so let’s make it happen!

Fundraising 101: Founding and Funding a Start-Up

We’ve heard a lot about how to own a business and how to look at financials and how we should be paid! What about if we want to build something from the ground up? How do we get the finances and the capital to buy things like a chemistry machine, vaccines, or get the funds to pay our technicians? Maya Shaposhnik Cadena will cover the different strategies for fundraising a start-up so you can have the foundations for building your business from the group up!

The Double Edged Sword of Workplace Communication

: Communication is considered a double-edged sword because of its power to move us closer to, or further away from, authentic, healthy connection. For example, 24/7 news coverage can be informative and increase anxiety, social media can be used for networking and cyberbullying, and how we communicate with each other in the workplace can induce more psychological distress and be a buffer to or help prevent psychological distress.   In the process of managing our day-to-day work life, we often lose sight of how communication patterns and the ways we interact with each other impact our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our colleagues. Effective communication is a cornerstone of healthy workplaces, and yet it is often an afterthought. Under duress, communication can become transactional—focused on short term gains, alleviating symptoms rather than addressing root causes of conflict, and prioritizing winning over problem resolution and relationships. Teams that communicate effectively are more likely to have higher psychological safety, encourage innovation and timely decision-making, create goodwill, minimize miscommunication, and be better equipped to successfully navigate difficult situations. This interactive seminar teaches core communication skills to promote connection, support a strong sense of belonging to the team, increase trust in the organization, and facilitate candid and open communication among team members.

veterinary spec

Private vs Coroporate practice, new ownership models (stock options, drag along and tag along rights), how mentorship varies between corporate and private, how do you reach the top 10% of our profession

Virtual Medicine

Dr. Wallis is a K-State graduate and owns a practice in Shawnee, KS that services small companion animals and exotics. She will also be discussing mentorship opportunities, so if you’d like to stay local over breaks come and chat with her! In a constantly evolving world, the topic of virtual medicine/telehealth is becoming increasingly relevant. Whether you’re wondering what place telehealth has in veterinary medicine, or how you might be able to incorporate some of these practices into your clinic in the future, this is a great opportunity to learn more about it.

Planning and Insurance needs as a Practice Owner

Discussion on various business structure options such as sole proprietorship, general partnership, S- corporation, limited liability corporation, and nonprofit corporation.

Maximizing Pet Food Profits in the Modern Era

This talk will discuss potential financial benefits of selling pet food to your clients. There are a variety of things that contribute to a veterinary clinic’s financial success, and whether the facility sells pet food s one of them.

7 Easy Steps to Starting Your Own Vet Clinic

This talk will go over 7 areas of starting a clinic that every single vet clinic in America has, to some degree. We will have a fun look at why we even need that area, what things the owner of the practice has to have for that area, what you can do while you are in vet school, and what you can do after you graduate, even if you aren’t an owner.

Clinic culture and building a great team: Our roles as owners and DVMs

Dr Lima will discuss clinic culture and building a great team/organization, and what role we play as owners and DVMs. He will also discuss the leadership structure at his hospital and some of the new things they are working on such a leadership training program.

Communicating Through the Noise - Internal Communication Tools & Strategies

Strategies for improving internal communication using a multi-modal approach. What are the tools and techniques we can use to communicate with our teams? What do we want or need to communicate? When should we to communicate? How do we communicate? What boundaries should we observe with communication tools and what are the written and unwritten rules of communication etiquette? In this talk, Mike falconer will answer these questions and more including the advantages and drawbacks of multiple different types of communication and how to break through the everyday noise and distraction of our world.

Profitability of Rural/Food Animal Practice

Dr. Sturgess owns an operates Hereford Veterinary Clinic as well as Hereford Veterinary Supply in Hereford, Texas. He has a wealth of knowledge across many aspects of veterinary medicine including, research and business. He will be discussing HOW to be profitable in a rural, food animal practice.

The Value of Offering Advanced Reproduction Services in Food Animal Practice

Dr. Chris Rumsey (PU SVM ’94) is an owner of Livestock Veterinary Associates PC in Rensselaer Indiana along with Dr. Jake Hege (PU SVM ’09). Dr. Rumsey will share his business experiences in Food Animal Veterinary Practice, which include working as a solo practitioner, an associate and as an owner in a multi-veterinarian food animal practice. These experiences include commercial swine and beef cattle practice, as well as the benefits of offering advanced reproductive services to cattle and small ruminant clients.

Recruitment, hiring, and termination

Come join us to hear from Dr. Ramirez about how to use your time wisely and avoid termination.

What you Don't Know About Practice Ownership

Nothing is scary if you know about it! Practice ownership is intimidating because so many DVM’s realize there are gaps in their information. We answer such mundane and big picture questions to avoid: Pepcid Reglan Alcohol Crying Taxes Ibuprofen Computer Crap Energy (or lack thereof)

Embarking on a mission to dog health and longevity through DNA testing

There are many types of business and numerous ways to get them funded. For businesses that need to grow fast to make world-changing results, venture capital can open a door of opportunity. The start-up journey begins with a business plan and founder team capable of attracting seed stage investors and key early hires capable of building a successful product and a pathway to success. I’ll discuss some of what I learned on my journey with Embark, from its early days in the Cornell Life Sciences Venture incubator to today, with over 100 employees and a latest Series B round that raised $75 million.

Money In, Money Out-The Current Economics of Running a Veterinary Practice

Understanding the income and expense categories of a practice can help give you a better understanding of how to make a veterinary practice more profitable. COVID had a definite impact on practice profitability. Let’s talk about how a practice monitors its success and how you can help.

ZOOM: Culture Eats Strategy

How do you find success in any endeavor? Management and key performance indicators (KPI) are not leadership. Leaders set a mission and instill values in the organization which allow their teams to thrive, delivering to their customers the product and services they seek without layers of management. Inculcating the proper culture motivates people to behave in the ways that further the goals of the organization, better meet the needs of the customers and allow workers to find fulfillment.

In Person: Culture Eats Strategy

How do you find success in any endeavor? Management and key performance indicators (KPI) are not leadership. Leaders set a mission and instill values in the organization which allow their teams to thrive, delivering to their customers the product and services they seek without layers of management. Inculcating the proper culture motivates people to behave in the ways that further the goals of the organization, better meet the needs of the customers and allow workers to find fulfillment.

Veterinary Entrepreneurship 101: What I wish I knew Before Starting a Business

Hear the story of how Vetspacito was started, the problem it adresses, and some tips about starting your own business.

“Finding a Career That Compliments You, Not Defines You: Protecting Your Mental Wellbeing and Thriving in Veterinary Medicine?”

A soft-skills lecture focused on career development, internships/residencies, and managing burnout. This seminar is focused on my own personal experiences with each of those topic areas as I navigated specializing and transitioning into industry.

ZOOM ONLY: Building Your Brand: Building a Resume and Cover Letter

Dr. Lester will briefly discuss what the purpose of a resume is (to get an interview), what employers are looking for, what should and should not be included in a resume, and touch on writing a cover letter.

Business Finances, Student Loans, Budgeting- How to Transition from an Employee to a Business Owner

Personal Finances, Student Loans, Budgeting - How to Make What Seems Complicated Simple

Communicating with Pet Families Along a Spectrum of Care

The Nationwide-VBMA workshop ”Communicating with Pet Families Along a Spectrum of Care” is a new interactive workshop that will allow students to practice exam room communication skills, focusing on a spectrum of care approach to presenting treatment plan options best suited to pet family needs.

Minimizing Risk As an Early Career Vet: Protecting yourself while protecting your patients

This case-based discussion will highlight ways to minimize risk as an early career veterinarian, given by Dr. Cassie Wagner and Anna Marie Lombardi from the AVMA Trust!

Vet Life, Mom Life, Boss Life

Dr. Kohandarvish is a 2019 UC Davis Graduate and now a co-founder of Jade Vets. She will be sharing her journey to practice ownership as a new grad and juggling being a new mom to a 14-month-old.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

It will be a super interactive and intriguing session that will help give tips about exam room communication skills such as relaying treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

Practice Ownership

Practice ownership has many benefits including a positive work/life balance compared to many associates. Attendees will discover through this presentation multiple pathways to ownership and a host of resources and experts to make that goal a reality.

Building an awesome hospital culture, How Asian Veterinarians are affected by burnout, and why I started a pet supplements company during COVID

Dr. Z will be visiting all the way from SoCal! He has been practicing for 6 years as a general practice veterinarian. Dr. Z has experienced many sides of vet med: from working thru COVID, building a positive vet hospital culture, overcoming challenges as a veterinarian of Asian decent, and starting his own pet supplement company! This meeting will be joined by our AAVMP Chapter.

Financial Planning

Leadership Lessons

Veterinarians thrive when they develop leadership skills in addition to medical skills. And these abilities can be even more important for relief vets working with unfamiliar teams and clients. We’ll discuss some of the leadership qualities and learnable skills that have been honed from my experience as a relief vet. The components of emotional intelligence and how they apply in clinical practice will be discussed along with other practical leadership concepts.

Reimagining Veterinary Medicine with Vetspacito

Get a behind the scenes tour at this vet med start-up aimed at reimagining a better profession. Vetspacito is currently working on overcoming the Spanish language barrier to help pets get better care. Learn about the Vetspacito story and some business tips that will hopefully save you a lot of time and frustration!

UGA-TUCVM Internship

The University of Georgia is pleased to announce a partnership with Tuskegee University to invite one outstanding Tuskegee veterinary graduate to participate in a rotating small animal medicine and surgery internship at UGA from June 13, 2024 - June 22, 2025. This internship provides rotations through internal medicine, soft tissue surgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesia, radiology, oncology, neurology, cardiology, community practice, zoological medicine, and daytime and overnight emergency/critical care. In addition, the program includes at least two 3-week blocks (6 weeks total) of elective time. Potential electives include the aforementioned rotations, along with dermatology, ophthalmology, pathology, and a preapproval-required research block.

Borrow Better

Dr. Tony Bartels and VIN Foundation will be discussing steps you can take as a student to borrow less in school and reduce future stress

ZOOM: Analyzing Practice Financials & Key Performance Indicators

Come hear Mr. Borcherding from Panacea Financial discuss some real-life examples of private practice clinic tax returns and profit and loss statements. He will cover key performance indicators, profit, owner compensation, etc. and give real life scenarios on what it could be like if you owned your own practice.

In Person: Analyzing Practice Financials & Key Performance Indicators

Come hear Mr. Borcherding from Panacea Financial discuss some real-life examples of private practice clinic tax returns and profit and loss statements. He will cover key performance indicators, profit, owner compensation, etc. and give real life scenarios on what it could be like if you owned your own practice.

"How Fear Free is Good for Buisness"

In this meeting Dr. Johnson will be discussing how ”Fear Free” is good for both the wellbeing of patients and the business. She will discuss marketing and gaining new clients, as well as increasing client compliance. She will also discuss how a ”Fear Free” practice can make you the employer of choice and decrease staff turnover and increase team engagement.

Veterinary Business in a Community Setting

Interested in owning your own clinic? Do you want your practice to be engaged in your local community? Do you know what local support systems exist for you as a small business owner? Do you know who your political advocates are to help you navigate the local government and policies? Want to keep a ”pulse” on local hot topics and opportunities to serve your community?! As a local business owner, being a member of the business community county is paramount to your success and a gateway to serving the entire community! Come meet with the Auburn Chamber of Commerce to understand their role in supporting local businesses both from a business and political aspect and how you can leverage your local Chamber of Commerce to help you be a pillar of your local community!!

What Every Veterinarian Should Know, Before Deciding to Buy or Start up a New Practice

Owning your own veterinary practice has many ongoing challenges, but the rewards far outweigh the difficulties. Having quality advisors, consultants and staff are essential for running a successful practice and an enjoyable working environment.

Choose Happiness, Create Success

Happy brains outperform negative and neutral brains. Our happiness (mindset) is largely influenced by our own intentions, learning, and experience. Happiness is a choice and can be trained. Learn some habits that will help.

AB 1399: Veterinary Telemedicine Bill Brings the Virtual VCPR to California.

Dr. Miller will be doing a deep dive on what this new bill means for the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, the regulatory implications, and concerns about its possible misuse.

AB 1399: Veterinary Telemedicine Bill Brings the Virtual VCPR to California

Dr. Miller will be doing a deep dive on what this new bill means for the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, the regulatory implications, and concerns about its possible misuse.

Improving Recommendations through Teamwork and Collaboration

participate in an interactive, case-based discussion on nutritional recommendations using the 4PAWS approach of purpose, allowing client input, warmth and empathy, and solution. The seminar will apply the concepts of the 4PAWS approach to a medical case around common diseases including obesity, chronic enteropathies, environmental and food allergies, chronic renal disease, feline idiopathic cystitis, and urolithiasis. Participants will practice communication strategies with each other including history taking, asking open-ended questions, and finding middle ground on goals and concerns. The seminar will then move on to discuss addressing client goals with specific solutions, including understanding the pet owner perspective on value, use of educational tools and clear follow-up plan, and the importance of offering home food delivery to improve compliance with nutritional recommendations.

Mentorship in the 21st Century

Discover the various dimensions and levels of mentorship that can shape your professional journey. We’ll delve into actionable tips and engaging talking points to help you set meaningful goals for your mentors experiences.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care for More Pets

he Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

"How to Make Money and be Happy in Equine Practice!

Discuss the financial side of owning an equine practice as well as providing some information on contract negotiations and compensation.

Intro to Veterinary Legislation and Organized Medicine

Cover Your Assests

Your income funds all parts of your life: your day-to-day expenses, your future retirement, and the time you spend with your loved ones. This session will help you: · Appreciate the true value of your income · Know your options for income replacement · Understand disability income insurance · Identify other areas of risk / exposure

Honors Portfolio for Beginners

Come learn about our VBMA Honors Portfolio with the last hour being an open workshop for you to work with friends on your portfolio! Bring your laptops!

Career Planning 101

Learn about the steps you can take during vet school to help you succeed after graduation. Some of the topics covered will be: CV, resume, networking, internships, and residencies.

Yes, you can buy a practice (and student debt doesn't matter.)

This session will dive into the entire process from finding a practice through to closing on the transaction and starting the transition. Buying a practice is no longer “a spit & a handshake”. When done correctly, the process can be smooth and timely. When not, the pitfalls, perils and mis-communications can be a nightmare.

Financial Statements

We will discuss Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheets. We will also discuss these in a manner that can be understood.

From Talk To Triumph: Harnessing Presentation, Communication and Listening Prowess

- Presentation Skills - Communication Skills - Listening Skills - How all three of these topics facilitate effective change management

Student Loans

A webinar on student loan borrowing for SAVMA and VBMA credit

Do’s and Don’ts of Practice Acquisition

Dr. Posey will talk about his experience buying a practice early in his career and how he went about having the business and its assets appropriately appraised prior to purchase as well as things to consider when in a position to sell!

State and Federal Regulatory Agencies

Dr. Whittle will be discussing the state and federal regulatory agencies governing veterinary medicine in the United States. These regulatory agencies govern both small and large animal practices. He will be bringing to our attention specific details about veterinary medicine regulations that we are not likely to be exposed to in our formal education as Veterinarians but will undoubtedly affect all of us as we go into practice in the near future.

Interviews, Mentorship and Building a Successful career!

Please see the meeting manual for the 2023 North Central Regional Summit.

ZOOM: Business Finance

Shaylee Russ will be talking to us about all things business finance and kicking off our BCP week!

IN PERSON: Business Finance

Shaylee Russ will be talking to us about all things business finance and kicking off our BCP week!

Practice Ownership: Where are we heading, and is it for you? The Basics of Creating a Business Plan

We will explore the value in continued goal setting and how this can lead to a more fruitful and well- balanced career. Different styles of ownership will be highlighted during the presentation. The continued responsibilities of current veterinary owners will be discussed in light of the continued acquisition of veterinary hospitals by private equity firms. Presentation of some business plan models will be discussed and how these can help determine the income opportunity in different practice locations

ZOOM: Finding a Practice that Fits You

Join us as Dr. Rice discusses what leadership opportunities look like in small animal medicine, things to ask during an interview to help determine whether or not a practice is a good fit for you, considerations when assessing the benefits that are offered, and detailed information on what to ask about the day-to-day operation of a clinic that might not be obvious.

IN PERSON: Finding a Practice that Fits You

Join us as Dr. Rice discusses what leadership opportunities look like in small animal medicine, things to ask during an interview to help determine whether or not a practice is a good fit for you, considerations when assessing the benefits that are offered, and detailed information on what to ask about the day-to-day operation of a clinic that might not be obvious.

ZOOM: Financial Planning for Veterinary Graduates

Congratulations on your upcoming veterinary school graduation! Whether you’re graduating this year, or in the years to come, let’s secure your financial future. This session will explore essential steps for your first five years post-graduation, from building an emergency fund and mastering budgeting to safeguarding your career with insurance. We’ll also delve into smart student loan strategies and kick-starting your retirement savings. We’ll also discuss some of the steps you can take prior to graduation to make sure you get started on the right financial foot. Don’t miss this opportunity to lay a strong foundation for your financial success in the veterinary field!

IN PERSON: Financial Planning for Veterinary Graduates

Congratulations on your upcoming veterinary school graduation! Whether you’re graduating this year, or in the years to come, let’s secure your financial future. This session will explore essential steps for your first five years post-graduation, from building an emergency fund and mastering budgeting to safeguarding your career with insurance. We’ll also delve into smart student loan strategies and kick-starting your retirement savings. We’ll also discuss some of the steps you can take prior to graduation to make sure you get started on the right financial foot. Don’t miss this opportunity to lay a strong foundation for your financial success in the veterinary field!

ZOOM: Insurance Needs as a Veterinarian and/or Practice Owner

Join us as Mr. Butler touches on the following topics during his presentation: Disability & Life Insurance + Practice Business Insurance + Workers Compensation Insurance + Employment Practice Liability + Cyber Liability + Business Auto + Professional Liability

IN PERSON: Insurance Needs as a Veterinarian and/or Practice Owner

Join us as Mr. Butler touches on the following topics during his presentation: Disability & Life Insurance + Practice Business Insurance + Workers Compensation Insurance + Employment Practice Liability + Cyber Liability + Business Auto + Professional Liability

Journey from a licensed veterinary technician to chief veterinary officer and practicing vet

Dr. Quammen from the AVMA has a strong passion for veterinary medicine and hopes to continue positive and forward-thinking momentum thru veterinary students. She will be reflecting on her personal journey from continuing her education from a previously licensed veterinary technician to a now practicing veterinarian in Kentucky and a chief veterinary officer of TeleVet.

Business Insight Tour: Timbercreek Veterinary Hospital

Dr. Paige Andersen will give a hospital tour, answer any questions about business choices, and talk about practical business skills that she wishes she learned in vet school. Timbercreek treats both small animal and equine patients. This is another wonderful learning opportunity and a great way to connect with a local veterinary clinic.

Financial Bootcamp. Breaking down and understanding a Veterinary P&L

Understanding the basis of a Veterinary P&L by analyzing Veterinary and Paraprofessional salaries, Cost of goods sold, Operational expenses and profit margin

How To Reach Your Wellness Goals

Talk about ensuring your wellness in this profession without sacrificing what is important to you.

Contract Negotiations

Join use as Midwestern University alumnus Dr. Lane Smith discusses how to effectively read and analyze contracts so that new grads can have a better understanding of contracts and what to be aware of.

Vet Practice Financials, Assessment, and Evaluation

Ethan Dawe will walk through the basics of what makes up veterinary practice financials and how to assess where changes can be made. He will also go over how to evaluate the veterinary financials as a whole.

Making the Most of Clinical Experiences/Welcome to Clinics

1) Planning for clinical experiences – what to consider and what resources are available 2) Understanding the role of your student coverage and how it protects you during your clinical experiences 3) Understanding your personal coverages during the remainder of your veterinary school career and into your professional life.

The Vet Student's Guide to Adulting

This presentation will be quick walk through everything you need to be planning for as you approach graduation. Cover Letter, Resume, Interviewing, Contracts, Negotiations, Personal Budgeting, Insurance needs and more.

Leadership in Vet med

TBD

Practice Ownership: Yes, It Is Possible!

Practice for Life in Veterinary Medicine

Please join Dr. Rae Rice Monday, November 6th at 12:00pm in Dunlap Auditorium for an all-encompassing lecture on how to choose a practice that’s right for you, including information on general differences between corporate-owned and privately-owned practices, the various types of leadership roles available within veterinary medicine, a description of common benefits and compensation models, and how to interview a practice to learn as much as you can about whether or not it’s a good fit for you.

Key Performance Indicators in Practice

Beers & Business

In the United States today, the landscape of the brewing industry is incredibly diverse, boasting more than 9,000 individual brewers and a staggering array of over 50,000 distinct beer brands. Furthermore, brewing has evolved to the extent that over 100 unique beer styles are currently being crafted in the U.S. This wealth of choice can often be overwhelming for consumers, especially when all one seeks is to discover a beer style that perfectly suits their taste preferences. During this session, we intend to delve into the fundamental aspects of beer production, shedding light on the ingredients that form the backbone of every brew and the intricate processes that unite these ingredients. We will also embark on a journey to explore the most prominent and sought-after beer styles that currently populate the marketplace. We’ll go beyond theory and engage in practical sensory evaluation and tasting exercises to empower you as a beer enthusiast. These hands-on experiences will give you the knowledge and discernment necessary to become a more informed and discriminating beer consumer, which can be used to develop relationships in the business world!

Motivation from a Calf Vet & Mom

Dr. Anne will share her personal experience as a calf veterinarian and mom who has paid off her student loans. She will provide advice on how she works long hours on the road and is a mom to two young boys.

Culture Eats Strategy - KPIs Are Not Leadership

Join Dr. Aspros as he discusses the importance of workplace culture. A business can have excellent business numbers, but if the culture is not inclusive, attentive, and somewhere people don’t want to work, that business is not successful.

Top 3 Exam Room Secrets Revealed, Top 3 Things Even Veteran Veterinarians Don’t Know, Top 3 Things I Did To Become American’s Veterinarian and Top 3 Things You Must Know Before You Sign Your First Employment Contract

Dr. Marty Baker will be discussing his top 3 things for exam secret, things even veteran veterinarians don’t know, and things he did to become “America’s Veterinarian.” Additionally, Paul Diaz will be discussing his top 3 things you must know before signing your first employment contract.

Culture Beats Strategy - KPIs Are Not Leadership

Why do you desire to work where you do? Why do you choose to stay? Join Dr. Aspros as we dive into the vision behind creating a unique working environment that doesn’t just beat strategy...but enhances it. Become inspired and confident with what your individual motivators are and learn how to recognize what compliments them in potential opportunities that await you post graduation. Understand what a company brand can tell you; From business efficiency that starts at the top, to recognizing advancement potential that inspires both your professional and personal dreams- there’s a little something for everyone to learn with this one.

"This is the way we've always done is out" - Innovation in Veterinary Medicine

We will be discussing innovation in veterinary medicine and the impacts it can have clinics and their teams.

How to Compare Job Offers

This presentation on comparing job offers focuses on the components of compensation (different types of pay: pro-sal, straight salary, pro-sal with negative accrual), as well as different benefits that may be offered (insurances, student debt relief?, PTO, 401(k), etc), and how to evaluate offers from a ”total package” perspective.

Career Income Protection for Veterinarians

What to watch for and demand when it’s time to apply for long-term disability insurance, aka Income Protection. How it protects individual professionals and their practices against the risk of becoming too ill or injured to practice veterinary medicine for an extended period.

Being Financially Fit

Veterinary Professional Foundations II

Students will be supported in developing core competencies which contribute to success as a member of the veterinary profession (NAVMEC, 2011) as well as defined by AAVMC CoE. VPF II aims to provide pre-clinical DVM students with an introduction to laws and regulations that control various aspects of veterinary medicine as well as the legal obligations involved in veterinary practice. Students are also given information concerning their career as a veterinarian. Topics include: compliance, successful veterinary practice management, disclosing medical errors and informed consent, protecting against malpractice claims, effective interview skills, internships and residencies, managing crucial conversations and compassion fatigue. 1. To gain knowledge of veterinary laws relevant to practitioners 2. To gain knowledge in practice management as it relates to private veterinary practice 3. To gain knowledge in protection against veterinary malpractice claims 4. To better understand compassion fatigue as it relates to graduated veterinarians 5. To be aware of options for internships and residencies 6. To gain knowledge in communication skills relevant to veterinary practitioners

Veterinary Professional Foundations I

Providesentry-level DVM students withastronggroundinginprofessional skillsandstudents willbe supportedindevelopingcorecompetencies, whichcontributetosuccessasa memberoftheveterinary profession. Topics include: communication skills, ethical decision-making, professionalism, financial planning,includingattendingtoreflectionandfeedback, wellbeingand mentalhealth,andinformation surrounding diversity, and multicultural awareness and goal setting.

Life in Industry and Pro Interviewing Tips

Positive Business Culture

Please join us as Dr. Moore from Thrive Petcare helps explain what it means to have a positive business culture and how to promote it in your own practice.

Living Your Best Life Possible in Vet Schoo

Dr. Tyler Primavera is also passionate about teaching vet students about how to invest in their personal and financial well being while combating the often demanding aspects of vet school. In addition to topics surrounding work-life balance, he will also be discussing his own experiences with entrepreneurship coming out of school and steps to take to build your own brand!

Financial Logistics of an Ambulatory Equine Veterinarian

Dr. Colón will address operating costs, invoicing, cash flow, scheduling, how to get started as a new grad, and so much more!

Master The Interview: A new-grad's guide to the perfect interview

Dr Gerardo Navas, an LSU graduate and VBMA alumni, will be giving a talk on the do’s and don’ts of interviewing as a new-grad out of vet school.

Master The Interview

Learn ways to prepare for a job interview and how the entire process works. We will talk about the top things employers look for and things a potential employee should be looking for.

Non-profit Management and Organizational Development

Jim Tedford, President and CEO of AAWA, will present on managing non-profits.

What can Animal Care do for you?

Bring awareness about Animal Care, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), student opportunities within Animal Care such as the Chester Gipson Internship and the AC externship program.

Buying and Selling a Practice

The veterinary practice sale landscape has transformed in recent years due to corporate acquisitions. Wealthy investors and corporations can purchase veterinary hospitals at a premium. Historically, the main successor of most veterinary practices was a promising senior associate who was typically groomed to take over the practice. The price at which corporations can purchase practices greatly outcompetes the price at which an individual veterinarian can spend. This leaves associate veterinarians with several questions regarding corporate owners and an everchanging veterinary profession. It’s in the best interest of associate veterinarians to learn how to take advantage of this new landscape. When a recent graduate from veterinary school decides to purchase a veterinary hospital, plenty of steps must take place for that to happen. This may seem like a daunting task, so it is important to take things in a logical order. This presentation will help to provide the foundational knowledge one may need to start the process of selling or purchasing a small animal hospital. These topics will include finding a practice or a buyer; hiring an advisory team; managing finances and legal aspects; buying or leasing real estate; choosing a business structure; developing a business plan, negotiating the purchase; and closing the deal.

Why You Should Embrace Veterinary Practice Ownership

Dr. Joe Whalen is an integral part of our senior rotation on business management and entrepreneurship. Each year he provides insight as to a path to ownership for new graduates. His stated goal is to bring 100 veterinarians into ownership during his career. Find out why you should be one of them!

Understanding a P&L Statement

Profit and loss statement. Breeaking down the veterinary hospital P&L to better understand veterinarian salaries, profit centers, and KPIs in your hospital.

From Veterinarian to Owner: Creating Your Legacy

Dr. Amanda Flanagan will be discussing how to assess ownership, considerations, operational background and going beyond ”business.”

Business Finances of a Veterinary Practice

Join our lecture to learn about business finance aspects from a legal, tax and financial advisory perspective. Chris Papin of Papin Law and Bradley Wood of MedLoan Solutions will discuss the basics of starting and operating a practice. Learn how to prioritize what is important and how to create a roadmap for success

Private vs. corporate practice

Private vs Corporate practice, new ownership models (stock options, drag along and tag along rights), how mentorship varies between corporate and private, and how you reach the top 10% of our profession.

How to Partner with Difficult and Challenging Clients

- The overly talkative client - Working with highly emotional or demanding clients - De-escalating conflict with clients - When/how to ”fire” a client

Student Loan Borrowing Lecture with VIN Foundation

Dr. Rebecca Mears and Dr. Tony Bartels work together to help veterinarians and vet students better understand their student debt and repayment options. With a new semester in full swing back and interest on student loans resuming September 1st, Drs. Mears and Bartles thought it would be a great time to help vet students tune back in on student loans, best borrowing practices, and what you need to know now.

Mentorship for the New Grad

Mentorship is essential to the success of new graduates, but not all mentorships are created equally. In this interactive lecture, we will discuss what questions to ask during your interview to assess the mentorship offered. We will explore how to develop a mentorship agreement with your first job and how to move from mentee to mentor over time.

Veterinary Economics 101

Veterinary practices are struggling to maintain profitability now more than ever. With changes seen in the industry, there are concerns about how to make business decisions, the mental health of employees, and the overall well-being of the animals treated. This seminar takes a look at how economics can provide solutions in three key areas: People, Practices, and Pets. Areas that will be discussed include trade-offs, industry statistics, pricing considerations, communication needs, and the overall value veterinary medicine can provide to the public. This session is designed to provide a 10,000 foot view of these topics, with a specific goal of thinking through how these principles can inform decision making for veterinarians and their practices.

Mastering the Interview

Master the Interview to find the Right Job for you and Mentorship that fits your goals. Classic interviews last a lunch hour or maybe an afternoon of shadowing. Is this enough time to make the most important decision of your career? Probably not. This talk is focused on things that students can do proactively to maximize their interview experience and prepare to ask the right questions to ensure they find the right job with a culture of mentorship that fits their needs.

ZOOM and PIZZA: Part 2- Exam Room Excellence

Choose this option if you’re planning to come on-campus for food and Zoom into the workshop meeting. This form will close on 10/30. To receive two BCP credits, you must attend Part 1 and Part 2 of the workshop. If you attend only one part of the workshop, you will not receive any BCP credit (all or nothing!). Even if you can only participate in one session, we still encourage you to join! Dr. Jayme Cicchelli will lead an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

ZOOM: Part 2- Exam Room Excellence

To receive two BCP credits, you must attend Part 1 and Part 2 of the workshop. If you attend only one part of the workshop, you will not receive any BCP credit (all or nothing!). Even if you can only participate in one session, we still encourage you to join! Dr. Jayme Cicchelli will lead an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

ZOOM ONLY: Part 1- Exam Room Excellence

To receive two BCP credits, you must attend Part 1 and Part 2 of the workshop. If you attend only one part of the workshop, you will not receive any BCP credit (all or nothing!). Even if you can only participate in one session, we still encourage you to join! Dr. Jayme Cicchelli will lead an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

Tough Conversations in the Workplace

Discussion of handling difficult conversations within a business.

Preventive Care Diagnostics at Every Life Stage

This lecture provides evidence supporting preventive care diagnostics and the benefits preventive care initiatives offer to every veterinary practice. Consistent preventive care can identify early systemic health problems in animals with no apparent clinical signs, allowing early investigation and appropriate care if needed. We review diagnostics most valuable to preventive care protocols through clinical cases where preventive care testing had a positive impact on patient care and outcome.

Business Management: What You Don't Learn in School

Dr. Baltrus, Dr. Lindsey, and Dr. Brooks are doing a roundtable open forum discussion about everything we need to know about business start up.

Authentic Interviewing

Want to know the secrets and tips for a successful interview? We will review how to stand out from the crowd and show your best self when preparing for job interviews.

Social Media for the Veterinary Practitioner

Dr. DeWilde - The Social DVM will be joining us to lead us through setting up a LinkedIn profile and giving us tips on how to use social media, personally, professionally, and on behalf of your practice in reasonable ways.

Onboarding A New Position

Having gone through 5 onboardings herself over the past decade, and now in a position of onboarding new doctors for a large specialty referral hospital, Dr. Ambrosius will provide tips to help set you up for success in your first position!

From Passion to Practice: Rescue Work, Vet Med, and Finding Work-Life Balance

Get ready to be motivated and enlightened as our speaker reveals practical strategies, personal anecdotes, and invaluable insights that will empower you to pursue your dreams, whether it’s practice ownership, nonprofit work, or simply living a life filled with joy in the field of veterinary medicine. Who says you can’t have it all?

Contracts, Negotiations, and Salary

Mr. Sellers will go over the ins and outs of contracts, what to look out for, and how to counter and negotiate with potential employers.

How to Earn Respect from Technicians as a New Grad

How to engage team members, how to motivate team members and earn trust .

Owning Your Own Business: How to Market Yourself

As a new practice owner, Dr. Finn has experienced the journey of practicing as a new vet, saving and budgeting expenses, and working with a business partner. He will be speaking about opening up your own practice, as he expresses how he wished he would have had more experiences learning about it in vet school to make this process as efficient and smooth as possible.

Student Debt & Starting a Veterinary Business

Dr. Millman will be talking about student debt, starting her own cabin business and now her veterinary business.

Fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Veterinary Medicine: A Roadmap for Future Practitioners

DEI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a vital aspect of our profession. The primary objective of this lecture is to provide veterinary students with a comprehensive understanding of the importance of DEI in their future careers. By the end of this session, you should be able to appreciate how diversity, equity, and inclusion positively impact patient care, client relationships, and the overall success of veterinary practices.

Dr. Loonam will be discussing information pertinent to all veterinary professionals. It is common causes of veterinary board and civil court litigation. How to work with your malpractice insurance provider, defender, prosecutor and clients, with several real-world examples.

Veterinary Practice Finance For People Who Hate Finance

Veterinary Practice success or failure comes down to two variables - cash and profitability. Unfortunately, these simple factors often get buried in abarrage of media hype, spread sheet overload, and financial slight-of-hand. This presentation describes the two most common financial reports, how they work together, and areas to spot mismanagement and financial opportunity.

Is an internship for me? How to keep from making a bad decision

Dr. Loonam will discuss internships and who may benefit from them. He will speak about choosing the right internship and how to do that.

How to Create a Career You’ll Love

“One of the best things about a career in veterinary medicine is the huge variety of career paths that you can pursue. During this lecture, I will trace my own career path and discuss tips for launching a successful career. Participants will learn networking tips, discuss the age-old question of whether an internship or mentorship is best for them, and review tips for choosing a first job following graduation.” - Dr. Kate Boatright

Public health and client communication

Almost every day, veterinarians are faced with disease issues that straddle the line between animal and human health. Communicating about the risks of these zoonotic diseases to clients and staff members, if done effectively, can help prevent illnesses in these groups, and can further cement the bond between veterinarian and client – or the veterinarian and their staff members. It sometimes takes considerable skill to tactfully navigate potentially sensitive personal health topics with others. This talk will offer some tips and ideas regarding how to effectively communicate these complex and sometimes delicate topics.

"Spectrum of Care—the path to stronger client relationships.”

Spectrum of Care describes an approach to patient care that emphasizes dynamic conversations with clients regarding their goals of care and outcome expectations. Excelling in Spectrum of Care communication methods is one of the most impactful ways to establish trust in the veterinarian-client relationship, which is crucial not only for successful patient care but also for career fulfillment and preventing burn out.

Veterinary Litigation Protection: This is No Lawyer Joke!

Review common causes of veterinary board & civil court litigation; how to work with your malpractice insurance provider, defender, prosecutor, & clients with several real-world examples.

The Home Buying Process/ Business Loans and Banking

Mortgage loans/ Business Loans and Banking

Business Management

Business Management

Business Insight Tour: Wildcat Vet

VBMA’s first Business Insight Tour will be Monday, October 9th at 6 pm with Dr. Kvasnica at Wildcat Vet. These tours will be an opportunity to take a detailed look at how private practitioners run their businesses.

op Ten Practice Problems: Investigating, Understanding and Mitigating Risk in Selecting a Work Opportunity

In the past 3 years, tremendous changes have been seen in the veterinary profession. Many practices saw tremendous growth and corporate consolidators bought practices at record level multiples. Since January, a majority of practices have seen a drop in clients, patients and invoices. The next few years may prove challenging for many practices to maintain historical growth and margins. Because of this uncertainty, veterinarians (especially new graduates) must be able to assess the health of a workplace despite the high earnings offered by employers. This presentation will explore the biggest problems we see in practices. Overall, discussions will focus on how to investigate work opportunities so that risk can be mitigated and the best workplace selected for work health and earnings.

Building Emotional Resilience

This presentation will discuss the stressors that face veterinary students and self care to help tackle the emotional challenges and develop resilience in our day-to-day so that we can become successful veterinarians.

TBA

TBA

"Mentorship Opportunities in Private Practice"

Dr. Gregory will be assisted by Dr. Clarke in discussing the opportunities in private practice for mentorship.

VBMA Honors Portfolio: Tips and Tricks for Success

The VBMA Honors Portfolio offers students a chance to get the most out of their VBMA involvement and prepare for the job hunt. Join Dr. Boatright, who has reviewed honors portfolios for the last several years, to discuss the components of the portfolio and common mistakes you can avoid. We will have time for open Q&A so bring your questions!

Managing People and Culture in a Practice

Join O’Brien Veterinary Group, VBMA, and SAVMA to learn about what it takes to manage people and culture in a practice to create a positive atmosphere.

Professional Dress & Interview Skills

Knowing what to wear to a professional event and interviews can be stressful. Learn what is appropriate for interviews and get some interview tips while we’re on the subject

The Hub Outpost Project

Dr. Meythaler Mullins will be discussing living in Alaska and providing outpost clinics for veterinary access to rural Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities. In partnerships between Colorado State University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, we strive to improve the physical and emotional health of the pet and human populations, strengthen the human animal bond and provide community-based outreach opportunities for veterinary students.

[Partners in Practice 2023] Mentorship: What it is and how to find it!

Dr. Sam Kerby will help you determine what styles of mentorship compliment your personal and professional dreams. Join him as he discusses pros/cons of traditional internships, new graduate programs, and starting at a private clinic. Gain new tools to determine your course & conquer the start of your successful vetmed journey!

Financial Health

Profits drive practice success, allowing for an investment in people, equipment and facility – resulting in better patient care - while enriching client experience. In addition, sustained profits drive wealth creation for owners when they sell – and, sooner or later, every owner will exit from practice. Understanding the cost drivers in a practice helps let you successfully manage them.

Financial Understanding and Clinic Ownership

Discussing aspects of finances of clinic ownership and paths to ownership of a veterinary clinic.

Building a Team: Clear Vision

Hello future DVMs and industry leaders! I am looking forward to meeting with your group in a couple of weeks. In all your free time between now and then (insert sarcasm), it would be helpful if you read or listened to the book, What the Heck is EOS by Gino Wickman. It is a book that introduces the concepts of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) which he lays out in great detail in his book Traction. Our practice runs on EOS, and much of what I plan to discuss with you will be based on our experiences with EOS. If you aren’t able to read or listen to the book before October 10th, please do not worry about it. I know that we are going to enjoy our time together.”

Hiring Insights

This talk will be all about what are the ins and outs of job market and getting hired. We will touch base on nailing an interview to going a little into contracts and offers. We will end the talk with who alliance is and all the career opportunities we offer from externships, internships and post grad opportunities!

What’s inside your client’s mind?

Our brains have evolved to have 4 main control centers; think about it as having 4 operating systems. Each of these operating systems has the capacity to block one another making us feel we are being pushed and pulled inside our head. In this talk, you will learn important details about each of these operating systems and what inner mechanism integrates the function of these 4 control centers. With this information you can “read your clients” better leading to better health for their pets.

Salary vs. ProSal, How do you get Paid?

There are several ways to get paid. The most common are salary and pro-sal. We are going to discuss the positives and negatives of both. We will touch more on the pro-sal model as that is the model we currently use.

Career & Personal Development

To help students develop their career goals and personal development.

ZOOM: The Path to Practice Ownership

From Wells Fargo, Mr. Colvin will review all aspects of finances in business acquisitions. From personal to business financial basics, he will touch on building your ”deal” team for loan processes, budgets, and how to avoid cold starts.

IN PERSON: The Path to Practice Ownership

From Wells Fargo, Mr. Colvin will review all aspects of finances in business acquisitions. From personal to business financial basics, he will touch on building your ”deal” team for loan processes, budgets, and how to avoid cold starts.

What You Need to Know: Resumes, CVs, & Cover Letters

Breanna Gallagher is the senior careers coordinator from the OSU careers services department, and Taylor Harbruck is the careers services and student development coordinator in the Ferguson College of Ag. Breanna and Taylor will be presenting about what should be included on a resume, CV, and cover letter. They will cover the differences between these documents and what employers look for. The meeting will include a presentation as well as time for a Q&A for students to ask questions about their own resumes.

Integrating ChatGTP into Vet Med

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

Insurance Protection for Your Livelihood and Business

We are grateful to have AVMA LIFE agent Mandy Walker and Dr. Cassie Wagner with AVMA student services speak about Insurance protection for yourself as a student and how to protect your livelihood and business!

Homebuying & Your Future

In this 1 hour lunch-and-learn, learn the ins and outs of home buying, making a 5, 10, and 15 year plan, and how to work around student loans. Also answer questions on mortgages: how they work and what are closing costs? How to prepare? Also learn how to grow a portfolio.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs. Objectives include: defining spectrum of care, learn and use core communication techniques, and apply principles of practicing a spectrum of care to clinical exam room settings

Budgeting for purchasing new equipment in practice

Discussion of budgeting and deciding affordability and pricing of new equipment in practice.

Diversity and Inclusion

Dr. Nalabotu will be discussing DEI in veterinary medicine, their personal struggles and obstacles, and how to successfully run a practice keeping DEI in mind.

One Page Business Planning

How to build a business plan that can be used daily as an operational tool and guiding document for daily operations of a business

The Impact of Debt

The talk will go over the impact the debt has on veterinarians, factors that may influence how you tackle the debt, changing of the student loan landscape, investing vs. paying off debt, and how to handle debt while on an intern/residency salary.

Industry Leadership, Off the Beaten Path

Dr. Kuo will cover different career paths within veterinary medicine, with a focus on business leadership development. Join us to learn about tips and tools for a veterinarian looking to pursue different types of medical and operational leadership roles following a clinical practice!

Building Business Plans

Today, Dr. Brooks’ presentation will discuss the focal aspects of building your business plan for success. The topics for today’s presentation include - how to prioritize setting your goals, creating an action plan that will lead you to success, how to establish credibility in the market, taking steps to anticipate & manage adversity, and what to prioritize when assembling your team. A well thought out business plan is integral to increasing your chances for success.

Bussiness/Management Potpourri

We Can Do Hard Things: An Old School Teacher's Approach to Everything in Life

Keynote: Do you ever feel like your professors at vet school don’t get you? Are you tired of being called entitled snowflakes who are lazy and have no work ethic? Are you frustrated with the hypocrisy associated with administrators talking about ”well-being” but not really giving you the space to breathe and find good school-life rhythm? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is the keynote for you. In the aftermath of the pandemic in the midst of a world that is more polarized than ever, we are trying to find a sustainable new way to do veterinary medicine that allows us to develop a good work-life rhythm while also making sure we continue to provide excellent care to pets and the people who love them. Can we find a win-win that allows everyone to thrive while also recognizing that work and life are hard? Dr. Charles thinks yes, but you might not like her answer. Come and find out how she proposes we mix old school with new ideas in a way that leads to win-win. Workshop Activity: Building on her keynote presentation, join Dr. Charles for an interactive session that highlights the skills that will equip you to change the current negative narrative around veterinary medicine. This workshop will give you a strategy for how to approach hard things like studying for all your classes, finding time to do non-vet school related activities, handling grief and loss or managing any of a number of difficult situations. Drawing on her own experience of navigating the tension between the good and the terrible so that good wins, Dr. Charles will help you think about what it takes to thrive in the midst of challenge.

Resume Building and Contract Negotiations Workshop

Business Management Potpourri

The Keys to Building an Effective Connection

Pet Insurance FAQs

Learn the basics of pet insurance, common terms, and what to consider when selecting insurance for your personal pet and displaying marketing materials in your practice. VBMA members are asked to submit questions for an Ask Me Anything to address common questions and confusion about pet insurance. (Due to the fact that insurance is regulated by state, the presentation content will vary based on licensure in the state where material is presented.)

How to Maximize your Externship Experience

Alternative Careers in Veterinary Medicine: Practice, Industry, Media…Making the Most of Your Passions!

Do you think that becoming a veterinarian pigeon holes you into only doing one kind of thing? Think again! This talk will highlight how to make the most of your veterinary career by bringing in your other skills and passions and making your career unique to you!

Financial Case Study Workshop

We will be taking a look at and learning how to read financial statements and tax returns of real-time private practices. Initially, we’ll cover basic information & Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) on private practice tax returns such as wages, supplies, revenues, rents and other regular expense items. Then we will dig further into the benefits of practice ownership with write offs, expenses of a practice and ultimately profit margins. You will have the opportunity to break into small groups to work on cases and practice analyzing financials with guidance from financial experts!

Conversations around payment and credit payment options for owners

Suzanne, as a representative of VetBilling, actively participates in organizations and initiatives dedicated to finding sustainable solutions to the issue of financial access to care. She holds advanced degrees in pastoral counseling and Jewish studies and has a background in healthcare and counseling roles. She has authored and presented CE courses on working with veterinary clients to overcome financial barriers to veterinary care. She is an expert on a wide variety of client financing and financial assistance options, how these options work for clients, how much they cost the veterinary practice, and how accessible they are for the typical veterinary client. Outside of her professional endeavors, Suzanne enjoys outdoor activities, caring for her horse, Chase, and her two dogs, Scout (an Otterhound) and Finch (a paralyzed miniature schnauzer). She has a keen interest in spirituality, nature, equine-assisted growth and learning, animal communication, and anything related to improving access to veterinary care. To learn more about VetBilling, visit their website at https://www.vetbilling.com, and follow them on social media: Instagram: @vetbilling Facebook: Facebook.com/VetBilling LinkedIn: @vetbilling

Revenue and Expense Streams

We’ll cover everything from how you make money to how you spend it. No business can exist without either and you’ll need to learn the basics of balance before you can expect yourself to run a fully functional practice!

Know Your Worth

In this session, each participant will have the chance to review the critical components of every contract, learn the top 3 factors that influence each new clinicians earning potential and complete their own mock production report for their first year in practice! There will be ice cream after.

Understanding Management and Ownership

Join us for an enlightening lecture as Dr. Schelkopf delves into the intricacies of ”Understanding Management and Ownership.” Gain valuable insights into effective management strategies and ownership structures relevant to the veterinary field. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your business acumen.

VIN NewsBrief: France Corporate Vet Crackdown

We will be hearing about the VIN News article on the recent ruling in France that veterinary practices must be controlled by veterinarians which has significant impacts on the ownership of these practices by corporations. We will have a small panel with the author of the article (Ross Kelly) and a DVM/JD (Dr. Lance Roasa) to discuss the implications of the recent ruling in France on corporate vet practices in the US.

Navigating the Space Between the Good and the Terrible

5 Year Guide to Financial Success

Adulting in VetMed

In this discussion we will walk through many things you will need to know and implement as you approach graduation and the coming months in your first job. Topics include cover letters, resumes, interviewing, contracts, student loan debt, managing your expenses & cash flow and much more!

"The Business Side of Rural Veterinary Medicine"

In this meeting Dr. Strickland will discuss his experience starting and maintaining a rural practice with an emphasis on large animal medicine.

Resident/Intern Interview Panel

Join SAVMA and VBMA for an interactive intern/resident panel. We will have some rotating interns and residents representing equine, small animal and several specialties of medicine.

"Hit the Ground Running: Ten Tips for Becoming an Exam Room Legend" and "Culture Shock: Evaluating a Practice's Culture."

How to perform an annual wellness exam-- for your finances!

Let’s face it – ”adulting” is just plain difficult. But just like how you perform annual wellness exams on your patients to proactively prevent problems, so too can you get in the habit for yourself with your finances! This talk will provide you with some practical, introductory information on how to evaluate your overall financial wellbeing including budgeting, credit, and student loan repayment.

A Look Into Claim Scenarios in Veterinary Practice

This AVMA Trust lunch talk in conjunction with SAVMA will focus on all the coverages necessary to cover all your assets both now as a student (SAVMA member coverages) and when you graduate and enter the veterinary profession. We will look at real closed claims related to veterinary professional liability as well as personal claims highlighting how these coverages provide a bubble of protection around you, your ability to practice and necessary protections as you go through life.

Business Leadership: How to effectively lead a team in 2023

Business Leadership: How to effectively lead a team in 2023

What a ride! Dr. Clark shares lessons from his journey through veterinary practice and life

Dr. Clark will be sharing career and life advice as he details his multifaceted veterinary career and journey. Dr. Jim Clark is an animal lover and entrepreneur who started out in general and emergency veterinary practice before earning his MBA and pursuing practice ownership. He has since joined the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine faculty in 2010 and is now an educator for the Professional Skills curriculum and an advocate for our student body. If that wasn’t more than enough, he is also the Co-Founder of the educational consulting firm, Pet Practice Partners, which dedicates itself to providing cost-effective evidence-based learning for the veterinary profession.

ZOOM: Incorporating Exotic Animal Medicine Into Your Start-Up Practice

Dr. Plantz, owner of Homey Gnome Veterinary Clinic, will go over her experiences opening up a small animal/exotic practice and the extra steps she took to incorporate exotic pet species into the startup. Her practice sees 40% exotic pets including small mammals, birds and reptiles and opened in August 2020, during the height of the pandemic. She will also discuss aspects of opening up during a pandemic

IN PERSON: Incorporating Exotic Animal Medicine Into Your Start-Up Practice

Dr. Plantz, owner of Homey Gnome Veterinary Clinic, will go over her experiences opening up a small animal/exotic practice and the extra steps she took to incorporate exotic pet species into the startup. Her practice sees 40% exotic pets including small mammals, birds and reptiles and opened in August 2020, during the height of the pandemic. She will also discuss aspects of opening up during a pandemic

ZOOM: Optimizing Practice Efficiency and Productivity

Join us with Dr. Sally Ryan as we will review why it is important for veterinary leaders to focus on practice productivity and efficiency. We will identify factors that impact productivity and efficiency, review the recent IDEXX study on this topic and discuss strategies for enhancing productivity and efficiency in veterinary medicine.

Feldman Agency Insurance Group: Health Insurance and Professional Overhead Expense

Wendy Feldman, a financial adviser, will be going over the importance of health insurance for veterinarians as well as professional overhead expenses for owning a veterinary business.

IN PERSON: Optimizing Practice Efficiency and Productivity

Join us with Dr. Sally Ryan as we will review why it is important for veterinary leaders to focus on practice productivity and efficient. We will identify factors that impact productivity and efficiency, review the recent IDEXX study on this topic and discuss strategies for enhancing productivity and efficiency in veterinary medicine.

Understanding Insurance In Your Contract

In this lecture about “Understanding Insurance In Your Contract”, you will understand the basics of contract negotiation. You will also be able to recognize your professional and personal insurance needs, both as a veterinary student and as you begin your career as a practicing veterinarian.

30 Second elevator speech & Networking

Your resume tells your story and describes your skills. Your elevator speech tells your story, describes your skills, and creates a first impression in 30 seconds! Learn how to create an impact on others you meet and leave them wanting to learn more about you. Networking includes first time introductions and meetings, some accidental and some planned, and following up with intention to make connections.

Being a Parent and Business Ownership

Being a parent is a full time job. Being a business owner is also a full time job. Is it possible to do both? Dr. Price will speak about doing just that and how to balance success in your personal and professional lives.

Top 10 Questions To Ask For Your 1st Vet Job

“The top 10 questions you should think about and ask your employer when choosing a first practice and why you should do an externship at that practice. You can’t hide crazy for more then 3 days and a 2 week externship at that practice addresses that issue.”

10 Most Important Questions for your 1st Vet Job

“The top 10 questions you should think about and ask your employer when choosing a first practice and why you should do an externship at that practice. You can’t hide crazy for more then 3 days and a 2 week externship at that practice addresses that issue.”

Understanding Veterinary Financial Statements

P & L, Balance sheets, cash flow statements, and all you need to know about veterinary financial statements. A topic relevant to not just the owner but to any associate! This knowledge will help you know what makes the clinic run.

Intro to Practice Ownership—You CAN Do It!

Dr. Gibbings will discuss her journey in starting a practice, roadblocks to overcome, and resources/organizations who have supported along the way. She will also incorporate some general management philosophy and a look towards the future

Networking for Success

Everyone is welcome to join us as one of our favorite speakers, Dr. Farris, speaks on the networking connections VBMA brought her and how you can take steps through VBMA to position yourself to get great experiences in vet school and also career opportunities down the road.

Resumé 101 w/ ASI

Your resume tells your story and describes your skills. Learn how to design your resume to fit the veterinary practices you desire to work with. Understand general formatting and learn how action verbs can enhance the description of your talents and knowledge base.

5 Things To Do Now To Help With Student Loans

Student debt can be stressful! Join Dr. Rebecca Mears to learn more about student loan borrowing as a veterinary student. We’ll dive into Dr. Mears’ top 5 things you can do now as a vet student to help with your student loans. Waiting until graduation to better understand student loans, borrowing, and repayment could increase your chances of missteps along the way that may increase your borrowing and repayment costs. These tips will help you to be an informed student loan borrower.

Zoo and Aquatic Animal Medicine at Walt Disney World

An outline of my background, our facility and what we do, fun case examples.

Intro To Practice Acquisition and Start Up

Practice ownership is the way to financial freedom and during this talk, Dr. Loonam goes over the pros and cons of ownership as well as how to acquire practice loans, the lenders available on the market, and preparing your credit score. If ownership isn’t for you, he will be covering how you can be a partner in a business.

Veterinary Leadership: A Case-based Approach

Looking to improve on your leadership skills? Join Dr. Duhon who will be taking us through a case to help work on leadership skills.

Veterinary Real Estate: To Sell or Lease at Time of Sale

Join us as Dr. Rothstein speaks on the ins and outs of veterinary real estate that every vet should know! Come learn about what you need to know when considering buying a practice!

"Look! Something Shiny!" Justifying Major Expenses in Veterinary Practice

Why in the world do I ”need” THREE surgical lasers when I only have two hands? Veterinary equipment is a necessity but is every shiny new toy that comes along worth the expense? Clients are looking for quality care and we need the tools to meet that need. Be it a new or existing business, veterinarians must leverage equipment to make practices more attractive to clients, new hires, potential buyers, and the bottom line.

EverVet Partners - Benefits of LinkedIn

Ellen Wullbrandt with EverVet Partners talks about how to maximize the benefits of a LinkedIn profile and how LinkedIn can help you reach your career goals!

Conquering Conflict

Sharing key information on how to address difficult topics and situations within the veterinary profession.

How to practice veterinary medicine smart (not hard) and I’ve graduated now what?

5 Things To Do Now As A Vet Student to Help With Student Loans

Student debt can be stressful! Join Dr. Rebecca Mears to learn more about student loan borrowing as a veterinary student. We’ll dive into Dr. Mears’ top 5 things you can do now as a vet student to help with your student loans. Waiting until graduation to better understand student loans, borrowing, and repayment could increase your chances of missteps along the way that may increase your borrowing and repayment costs. These tips will help you to be an informed student loan borrower.

Unlocking Business Growth through Nutritional Recommendations

-profitability of pet foods -myths surrounding pet foods -state of pet food sales -calculating profitability

Medicine, Science, Serendipity, Business, Love, and Life: Plan? What Plan

Dr. Paul Pion will be speaking about his inspiring career and lessons in entrepreneurship and leadership. He will be discussing his journey from award-winning cardiologist to professor to author to becoming the co-founder and president of VIN and the role being a leader has played in all these various positions.

How to focus on yourself in veterinary medicine... when others are very focused on you

Veterinary medicine is a predominantly white profession. The 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 93.3% of US veterinarians identify as White. Using real life events, we will discuss the veterinary space for BIPOC members, including some surprises and disappointments. We’ll also talk about possible ways to move forward in veterinary medicine!

Budgeting for a Start-up

Learn to the principles and thoughts behind budgeting for a De novo Veterinary start up.

Reading Your First Contract

Join us in hearing from Dr. Hemker about reading your first contract and how to set yourself up for success at your first job!

Revenue Sources

Dr. Wisecup will be joining VBMA to kickoff the Business Marathon Week by discussing the various revenue sources of veterinary practices. This will include an overview of the revenue sources, how to manage incoming revenue, and balancing revenue produced between different sources.

Examples of Financial Limitations in Case Management

I will provide examples of actual cases in which client financial limitations have significantly impacted case management and how those situations have been handled - and how we might handle them better in the future. Case examples will include large and small animal, and will be based on my direct experiences or those of my associates within our mixed animal and emergency practice.

How to be an Exam Room Super Hero

How to bond with clients and maximize staff to be successful in the exam room or out on the farm.

Life As A WSDA Vet

Dr. Amber Itle currently serves as your Washington State Veterinarian where she oversees the animal health and animal disease traceability programs in the Department of Agriculture.

First Week on the Job? Be Prepared to See These Cases

The focus will be internal and cardiac medicine. There will be 2 small animal cases and one large animal which will focus on spectrum of care modalities. Panelists will be Dr. Jonathan Bentley, Dr. Jill Lancaster, Dr. Richard Noel, and Dr. Tyson Strickland. This presentation is titled, “First Week on the Job? Be Prepared to See These Cases.” and taught by four practicing DVM’s. The doctors will go over essential skills needed entering the first week of your new career. They will focus on introducing a ”spectrum of care” in the exam room and managing the first week as a new veterinarian.

VETGROWN: Maintaining Veterinarians' Ownership of Our Profession

Dr. Lengemann will discuss private equity and outside influence on the veterinary profession. He will discuss how you can control your path, freedom, and life as an independent owner.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

• Review the definition of spectrum of care • Learn about and use core communications skills • Apply communication skills and principles of practicing a spectrum of care to clinical exam room settings

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs. Objectives: - Review the definition of spectrum of care - Learn about and use core communications skills - Apply communication skills and principles of practicing a spectrum of care to clinical exam room settings

"Navigating Communication Styles – How to Flex to Get What You Want!"

Join VBMA to hear from Dr. Jessi Ferris from Heartland Veterinary Partners as she cover different communication styles that pop up in working with others and how we can adapt our style to optimize communication outcomes!

What is Alliance Animal Health?

Learn about Banfield Opportunities

As a 2012 CSU DVM/MPH grad my career path has been unexpected. I planned on working with horses, or wildlife or pathology but never small animal corporate practice. I have had incredible opportunity to grow as a leader and understand how business and medicine work together to make this a great profession!

Independent veterinary business acquisition and ownership in a corporate landscape

We will be talking about the challenges, thrills, and heartaches of practice development, acquisition, and ownership in today’s world and how to remain relevant and competitive in a landscape dominated by private equity and corporate consolidation.

But Where are you REALLY from… Let's talk about some of the Challenges for BIPOC Veterinary Professionals

Dr. Moyal will be discussing the challenges and for BIPOC individuals in the veterinary clinical setting.

10 SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING THE MOST OFYOUR EXTERNSHIPS

An educational and fun talk about how to make the most of your externships presented by NVA and Dr. Randy Eisel.

Head Hippo In Charge: Styles & Tools for Leadership At All Levels of Vet Med

SAVMA Leadership & Wellness Conference

Anything is Possible: Overcoming Adversity in Vet Med

SAVMA Leadership & Wellness Conference

Exam Room Communication Skills

Dr. Crocker will be discussing ways to have efficient exam room communication.

Strategic and Intentional Growth: Growing from a 1 DVM to a 11 DVM Practice

Dr. Patrick Singletary from Good Dog Veterinary Care is coming to talk to students about starting and growing a small animal practice. His talking points include expanding locations, the hiring process and financial transparency when it comes to opening a business. Dr. Singletary is a prominent figure at the UGA’s veterinary college and was the President of OTS, a veterinary fraternity and VBMA. He was also involved in many other organizations like AGHON. He regularly takes veterinary student externs and plans to take 30 veterinary students into their practice in 2023, 2024, 2025 for mentorship and externship opportunities.

Career paths in vet med: Oh the places you could go!

”Welcome to the world of veterinary medicine! We all love pets, but did you know there is more to the industry than standard clinical practice? Join us as we explore some of the newest and most exciting paths for veterinarians and their careers, including tech startups, USDA, Research, owning your own practice, Ecology and conservation, the military and more! If you ever wanted to know how big the world of vet med really could be, this is the lunch talk for you!”

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets (Nationwide Workshop Part 2)

The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets (Nationwide Workshop Part 1)

The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs.

Lessons from the trenches- managing finances inventory and people.

A discussion rotating internships: Everything they don't tell you at school

Finding Joy as a Veterinarian: How to be a Light in Challenging Profession

We are on mission to be a light in the veterinary medicine field! Join us to hear tactical ways in which we use our platform as leaders to steward our business well and how we encourage our team to make a difference in their daily work.

ADULTING: Things to prepare you for life after graduation

This presentation will be quick walk through everything you need to be planning for as you approach graduation. Cover Letter, Resume, Interviewing, Contracts, Negotiations, Personal Budgeting, Insurance needs and more.

Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets

Description: The Nationwide-VBMA “Exam Room Excellence: Communication Skills to Provide More Care to More Pets” workshop is an interactive communications workshop that will allow students to practice exam room skills, including communicating treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs. Learning Objectives: Review the definition of spectrum of care Learn about and use core communications skills Apply communication skills and principles of practicing a spectrum of care to clinical exam room settings

What is a financial advisor? Do I need one? What about investing?

These are the questions that a local, community oriented CEA will be coming to talk to us about. Greg Anderson has been working with MDs for years and is excited to have the opportunity to chat with veterinary students. Specifically, he will also discuss what disability insurance is and how accidents and disability affect your student loans. **** IT IS HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED THAT ANY EQUINE OR LARGE ANIMAL STUDENT ATTEND THIS MEETING****

Branding yourself for longterm success

Whether it’s getting that super competitive job, residency or increasing your hospital’s client base by improving its reputation, creating and developing a brand is the best way to set yourself apart from the competition. This lecture will discuss the concepts behind veterinary branding and will give some insight on how to establish a successful brand.

Choosing the Right Job

Veterinarians are fortunate to work in a growing industry with a job outlook that is predicted to grow by 17% between 2020 – 2030 – a rate that is much faster than the average for all occupations across the country. By the time you graduate, it’s likely you will receive multiple job offers, but not all offers are created equal! During this session, we’ll not only discuss offer letter details that can easily create confusion, but also those that are commonly overlooked by new grads. By the end of this session, you should leave with knowledge of how to ask better questions about your offer letters and how to determine which offer is the right one for you.

The Relationship of Financing and Insurance in the Veterinary Space

Profit and Loss Analysis- What it takes to Own a Business

After the presentation the day before, Dr. Kalick will go through a profit and loss statement. He will describe the different financial needs and what it takes to ensure a smooth running clinic!

Associate vs. Practice Owner- Which is Right for You?

Join us as Dr. Kalick talks about the advantages and disadvantages of owning a practice vs. being an associate at a clinic. He will walk through how they differ and help to provide insight on each role.

Veterinary Telehealth 101

Exam Room Skills and Conflict Resolution

Business Systems and Performance in Veterinary Practice Part 2

This lecture goes over how to measure the performance of veterinary practices and the different systems that can be used to do so.

Business Systems and Performance in Veterinary Practice Part 1

This lecture goes over how to measure the performance of veterinary practices and the different systems that can be used to do so.

VTMED 6896 SECTION 009 SERVICE MARKETING

This course intends to teach essential concepts of service marketing with an emphasis on helping develop customer service skills that lead to customer satisfaction and business success / growth. We will explore quality improvement processes and strategies to maintain high quality of service. Concepts include customer service skills, assessment of customer satisfaction, market segment, target market, positioning strategy, market mix, service recovery system, marketing opportunities and research tools, and administration / analysis of customer surveys for business decision making amongst others.

VTMED 6896 SECTION 020 MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING AND LEAN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

This course intends to teach essential concepts of managerial accounting and lean inventory management by pairing classroom deliveries with guided exercises. We will define the components of financial statements, investigate the inter-relationship between them, and explore their use for strategic decision making. We will also define the costs associated with purchasing, ordering, and holding inventory and apply learned concepts through exercises based on veterinary practice case scenarios. Topics include financial statements, profit and cash flow, financial management and analysis, forecasting, budgeting, proforma statements, leverage, capital, funding, activity-based costing, capital expenditure analysis, time value of money, discounted cash flow analysis, practice valuation, and value creation. We will also define the costs associated with purchasing, ordering, and holding inventory and will apply learned concepts to an inventory management in veterinary practice. Topics include purchasing, ordering and holding costs, ABC analysis, sales and demand management and forecasting, ordering strategies, safety stock, re-order point, economic order quantity, distributor specials and promotions, and management performance analysis amongst others. This course is a prerequisite for the Practice Ownership and Management course offered in 3rd year.

2023 Nationwide Virtual Veterinary Student Business Externship

This is the annual Nationwide Externship. This year featured talks from Nationwide, Dr. Mary Gardner, Blueprints Veterinary Marketing, Stith Keiser, Dr. Kristina Yee, and Dr. Jack Perkins.

Transferring Emotions through Business

When we attend our clients’ animals, we offer so much more than physical exams, vaccines, surgeries, and goodies for the animals. What we really do is a transfer of emotions. Why? Because we make decisions with our emotions and justify them with rational words. This notion means we must be aware of the emotions we are feeling regularly and learn from them - easier said than done. In this talk, we will explore this complex and often undervalued world of emotions, drawing from the lessons I’m learning as a veterinarian running my own business.

Solving the Student Loan Problem

Join us for a lecture on student loan repayment strategies and loan forgiveness!  We will give students an overview of federal income-driven repayment programs, highlight recent legislation changes, and discuss strategies to minimize out-of-pocket costs when repaying student loans.  Explore real-life case studies and the basics of tax and investment strategies to plan for a student loan tax burden.  Gain insights on hiring a financial advisor and the foundations of beginning your financial plan after graduation!

Financial Literacy - VM 598

VM 591 VETERINARY PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Please hit attend ONLY if you were in this class

VET 440 Business and Communication

VET 430 Core Stream

LinkedIn Profile Workshop

Join us and Dr. Laura Leinen on zoom to learn how to build your LinkedIn profile, develop your network, and leverage the platform.

Pet Insurance? Yes, please!

Pet Insurance? Yes, please! Moreso than ever, pets are considered members of the family. With increased visits and advancements in veterinary medicine, pet insurance is becoming a necessity to provide the best care. So why don’t more clients have it? We will discuss the history and challenges of pet insurance and go over areas of coverage and exclusions. The presentation will conclude with why veterinarians should care and how you can approach the topic with clients.

Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance? Yes, please! Moreso than ever, pets are considered members of the family. With increased visits and advancements in veterinary medicine, pet insurance is becoming a necessity to provide the best care. So why don’t more clients have it? We will discuss the history and challenges of pet insurance and go over areas of coverage and exclusions. The presentation will conclude with why veterinarians should care and how you can approach the topic with clients.

Equine Practice Workshop - State of the industry and how you fit into it.

Equine Practice Workshop - State of the industry and how you fit into it: An interactive discussion about how money flow through an equine practice, wages and salary negotiation, internship possibilities and a current skill assessment to help with career development.

Business Management - VMP 846

This course provides exposure to and opportunity for application of business principals considered essential professional skills needed to become a ‘career-ready’ veterinarian. The course encompasses financial literacy (both personal and professional), career management and business management skills. This class will utilize virtual workshops, case studies and lecture to prepare and introduce students to the real-world applicability of professional business development and management skills.

Managing Your Practice's Financial Health

While most of us are not entering the veterinary field for the money, it important to learn how to manage your future practice’s financial health. Knowing how to manage profits will allow you to invest that money back into your patients and clients

Co-ownership - Finding the Right Partner

While partnerships are common in veterinary medicine, corporate/doctor joint venture models are not. Dr Aspros will talk about the value - making practices competitive in the current environment while allowing for veterinary leadership and wealth creation - and also the limitations of the JV model.

Your Personal Finances' Impact on Business Ownership

This talk will expand on key financial concepts that are applicable to both personal and business planning. As most new grads will not be business owners right out of the gate, personal finance fundamentals will be the main focus. Think of this as a test to your viability for future business ownership. Without mastery of the proper framework and discipline in your personal books, a business is deemed to fail.

Disability Insurance

Informative content on the need for disability insurance, especially the kind that can pay for student loans, fund a retirement trust, grow with one’s practice, and protect against the financial risks of becoming unable to practice veterinary medicine—temporarily or permanently.

“Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid in Dealing with Clients”

Dr Coston will discuss how to handle client communication in a clinic setting.

SPRING BANQUET: Resiliency! Why vet med made me hate that word...

Join us for our annual Spring Banquet where we will be honoring our members who have earned their Business Certificate or Business Certificate with Honors this year. Dr. Michelle Moyal will be our keynote speaker for this event! She will be talking about how her personal experience in veterinary medicine changed her perspective on what it means to be resilient. This is an in-person event held at DeGidio’s on April, 25th. Each member in attendance will receive two drink tickets, free Italian food, and dessert! Additionally, we will be raffling off three large prize baskets to those who are in attendance for this event! This event is open to all VBMA members, not just those who are earning their Business Certificates!

Business Operations, Management, and Ownership Through the Lens of Rural, Mixed Practice

Dr. Lauren Mack will be presenting a category 2 topic: ”Business Operations, Management, and Ownership Through the Lens of Rural, Mixed Practice.”

Vet Med Leadership 101

Leadership in Veterinary Medicine

How to Handle the Student Debt Crisis

How to Handle the Student Debt Crisis: Options for getting out of student debt. My discussion is focused on how veterinary students should position themselves to tackle student debt, in order to enjoy an excellent work life balance and financial success.

Business Taxes: Paying the Government What it Expects

Dr. Kathryn Stieh will present on ”Business Taxes: Paying the Government What it Expects.” Nobody wants to pay them, but everyone wants to understand them. This lecture by DVM/CPA, Dr. Stieh, will review all pieces of the tax puzzle and review a veterinarian’s personal responsibility when it comes to paying taxes while owning a business.

Clinic Calculator

Choosing a veterinary clinic for your first place of employment can be a difficult decision. What if you had a tool to help you “Decide How to Decide?” This lecture will help you learn how to quantify your decision on what practice to work at after graduation. We will look at how to evaluate and quantify a veterinary clinic’s mentorship program, culture, clinic operating system, and employment agreement. In addition, you will receive a “Clinic Calculator” to help determine if the clinic is a fit for you

"Fiscal Responsibility: Putting into Practice Revenue and Expense Streams" and "Overview of Trends in the Veterinary Medical Practice Marketplace"

Top 10 mistakes to Avoid when Dealing with Clients

Mistakes! We all make them. Sometimes they can damage your relationship with your clients. Why not learn from the ones I’ve made. In this talk, I identify and prioritize 10 common mistakes I’ve made in dealing with clients and provide you with some simple strategies to avoid them. If you can learn from my mistakes, your professional life will be more productive, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Communication within a Veterinary Practice based on MBTI

Learn how to communicate based on your personality type. Provide the best veterinary care based on your personality type. LEarn how to work through challenging topics.

Wellness Lunch Talk

Dr. David Larson, an MD who will be speaking on wellbeing during vet school as well as his own journey and struggles throughout medical school.

Owner Financing as a Pathway to Practice Ownership

Dr. Colón will be discussing practice ownership through owner financing.

Business Ownership and Continued Education

Dr. Cole will be discussing owning her own clinic and the role that continued education has had in her career.

Linked-In for the Win

We will review how to make the most of LinkedIn, including building your network, searching for jobs and people within a target area, and making your profile and posts stand out. Additionally we will go over how to build a digital “rolodex” or library of contacts, so you can keep your hard earned connections organized. This will be a formal presentation with time allotted at the end for Q&A etc.

Learning a New Language

Many of us chose veterinary medicine for the opportunity to work with animals rather than people – only to find out how much clinical success is centered on our ability to communicate with humans. Working curbside through the pandemic further highlighted the need to transfer the right knowledge effectively and efficiently to the right people in the right way. Poor communication fundamentals lead to frustrated, angry clients – and they then present new challenges for practitioners. Skilled communicators learn how to listen first and talk second, and to keep the focus on building a relationship founded on trust. When it fails – especially when there are bad outcomes – there are strategies that can help you better manage the conversation and re-establish a positive connection.

How to Talk to Clients

Join us for some lively conversation with local practitioners from our partner AZPetVET hospitals as they share from their experience what works and what doesn’t when it comes to talking to clients about money. Specific topics discussed will include: - Spectrum of Care conversations and partnering with clients with financial limitations. - Presenting estimates for cases with various diagnostic/treatment plan options and being confident when talking about related costs.

DEIB in Veterinary Medicine Workshop

Dr. Niccole Bruno, founder and CEO of blendvet, will facilitate a workshop over diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in veterinary medicine on April 25th at 5:30 PM in BI Auditorium. This will be a two hour presentation hosted by VBMA and LVMA. This free meeting will count towards TWO Category 3 business certificate credits for VBMA members. Cox Bros BBQ will be served for dinner as well as drinks. In addition, those that attend the meeting will be eligible to win a $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD. THIS MEETING IS OPEN AND FREE TO STUDENT, FACULTY, AND STAFF OF THE CVM. There will be a zoom link available, but in order to get credit, VBMA members must attend in person.

Resume Building Workshop

Join Dr. Kate Maher for the upcoming Resume Building Workshop hosted by CityVet. During the workshop, we will transform your resume by focusing on the foundations of a successful resume and the individual components that go into these foundations. We will cover resume types and the guidelines they must follow in order to become an effective tool instrumental to your success. We will address compiling current, relevant, and conscious information to make your resume stand out from the rest while covering the do’s and don’ts of cover letters.

What is Leadership

If you are a veterinarian you are a leader. What are some examples of leadership? What words come to mind when you hear the term :leadership”? I will give some examples of leadership and the attendees will develop a list of words that describe leadership. The students will also have the opportunity to give an example of a leader in their life and why that person is a leader. Bio - attached.

Prioritizing Veterinary Burnout Preparedness and Wellbeing Training in 2023 and Beyond

In this presentation, you will discover the foundational basics of wellbeing and veterinary burnout preparedness and how this knowledge can be applied to decrease burnout and increase wellbeing for individuals and organizations! Remember: Burnout in veterinary medicine is a very real thing, but it doesn’t have to be your reality!

What is Good Mentorship?

Ever wonder what constitutes good mentorship within a veterinary practice? Join us and Dr. Lindsay Andsager (2017 Alumni) for a brief conversation regarding how to find successful mentoring and what to do if you find yourself in a clinic where the mentorship is less than expected.

VMED 5371 Business Management

The course is designed to introduce students to basic concepts of business (practice) management. Material will be presented to include personal, personnel, and business management. This course will include material from a variety of lecturers involved in different aspects of veterinary business management.

Starting a Business Without a F**king Clue

This lecture title says it all! Come and learn more from Dr. Chuck Wiedmeyer!

Managing Your Practice’s Financial Health

Veterinary college didn’t prepare us for successful practice ownership. While it’s critically important to practice good medicine, clinical quality is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. Veterinarians choose to go into clinical practice to care for animals. I assume you’re a very good doctor – professional, proficient, caring. You know your stuff and derive satisfaction from providing excellent patient care and client service. Why did you get into practice ownership? You own a business to generate profits. It’s not about greed, or only a little about that. It’s about health – the health of your practice and those you serve: patients, clients, and staff. Generating income in excess of expenses is profit Profits drive practice success, allowing for an investment in people, equipment and facility – resulting in better patient care - while enriching client experience. In addition, sustained profits drive wealth creation for owners when they sell – and, sooner or later, every owner will exit from practice. Where does profit come from, and how can we get more of it? Like in medicine, you need to know: · What tests to run · What they mean? · What kind of effective treatment is available? · How do we understand practice metrics?

Animals and the Law

1. Develop a plan to diagnose, treat, and perform recordkeeping on potential cruelty investigations, with potential defense cross-examination. 2. Locate and interpret criminal negligence and cruelty statutes, including veterinary reporting requirements. 3. Understand the legal history and reason for legal treatment of animals as personal property 4. Compare and contrast Animal Rights vs Animal Welfare 5. Understand the legal implications of animal guardianship 6. Locate and interpret statutes that affect veterinary practice, such as dangerous dog laws, animal tether laws, and animals in motor vehicles.

Veterinary Medicine and the Law

1. State Veterinary Boards a. Why does the Board exist? b. Who does the board serve? c. How does a client file a complaint against a veterinarian? d. The complaint process e. How to prevent a claim f. How to successfully defend a claim 2. Professional Negligence 3. Standard of Care 4. Civil Lawsuits a. Preventing a Malpractice Lawsuit b. Economic vs Non-Economic Damages 5. Diagnosing and Preparing a Cruelty Case for Court

Medical Recordkeeping for Veterinarians

1. Understand the business and legal reasons to create medical records 2. Describe the factors associated with admissibility into court 3. Describe the documents that create the medical record. 4. Understand the importance of informed consent and its application in medical records. 5. Create medical records that provide a legal defense to malpractice cases

Practice Ownership – Yes It Is Possible!

Private practice ownership is still possible despite corporate consolidators competing for practice ownership. Not only is it possible, but it is easier than ever. We will discuss the basic financial documents of practice ownership, how to calculate the “cash flow” of a practice, how to estimate the value of a practice and how to finance the purchase of a practice. We will also briefly discuss the basic financial structure of a “Start-Up”.

A Story of a Successful Emergency Start-up and Remembering Your Why

Business Law and Contracts

Owning a small business or creating a new business brings many responsibilities, including compliance with various federal labor and employment laws. While the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) cover most private, state, and local government employment, some states have labor laws that afford workers additional rights and protections. Let’s discuss common laws and employee rights.

The basics of Vet Practice financials

We will dive in to the basics of assessing a veterinary practice as well how to value a practice all in a fun atmosphere with being introduced to the basics in mind.

Boarding in Your Practice: Necessary Evil or Just Evil?

Dr. Jessica Iwanski will be talking about owning a mixed animal practice along with adding grooming/ boarding to your clinic.

Practice Ownership in the Next Decade: Dead or Alive, and the Impact of Telehealth

What does the future of veterinary practice ownership look like? The prevailing attitude is that corporate groups will own all or most clinics, partially because most veterinarians are not interested in owning practices anymore. The truth is that a fair number of graduate DVM’s still have an interest in ownership, and opportunities abound. Telehealth is becoming more common in veterinary hospitals. How will it impact the future, and how can we as veterinarians become prepared for it?

Conflict Resolution with MVP

You’re invited to a VBMA event in partnership with MVP at Time Emporium!! Join Dr. Betsy Charles as she presents on Conflict Resolution & Professional Development Skills before we participate in the escape room!

Buying a Veterinary Practice and Business Ownership

Dr. Conn will be talking about the challenges, thrills, and heartaches of practice development, acquisition, and ownership in today’s world and how to remain relevant and competitive in a landscape dominated by private equity and corporate consolidation.

Small Ruminant Medicine: Business Necessities

Dr. Menacho is sharing on her passion for mixed animal medicine and business management. She will be discussing how a new graduate can incorporate small ruminant medicine into a new or existing practice, specifically focusing on the equipment you will need. She will also be outlining the finances behind making small ruminant medicine a lucrative and profitable part of the practice.

Introduction to veterinary economics!

Let’s talk about the pet care industry and dive in to veterinary economics. How much does it cost to find a veterinarian, how much does it cost to lose them? How do factors like burnout and turnover cost? In this interactive discussion we talk about money, pets, and vets and everything in between.

KPIs

Allen Taylor will be discussing KPIs or Key Performance Indicators among other topics.

Relief Vet 101: "Not a substitute teacher"

Dr. Irene Yen is an amazing relief veterinarian based out of Western Washington. She will be discussing the entrepreneurial spirit required to be a relief veterinarian and the pros and cons of doing so. On top of that, Irene will cover the nitty gritty of relief work--contracts, taxes, and everything else in between that you need to keep in mind.

US Army Health Profession Scholarship Program and Direct Accession

Scholarship opportunities and Health Loan Repayment Program

Equine Practice by the Numbers

Equine Practice by the Numbers: Comparing the rumors of equine practice spread in veterinary school to three real practices across the US. We will consider actual production and salary/benefit numbers from the real practices as we dive into the reality of equine veterinary medicine.

Increasing access to care by engaging teams and improving effciency

”Focuses on maximizing hospital efficiency and support staff utilization in order to provide more care for more pets. Learning Objectives: Identify workforce challenges across the U.S. veterinary profession, review definitions of “spectrum of care” and “access to care”, and apply principles of team utilization and efficiency to case-based examples that increase access to care”

Personal Finances of the Equine Veterinarian

One equine vet’s guide to reducing debt and building a life in the first decade of practice

Equine Ambulatory Efficiencies

How to improve work flow to increase profitability and decrease hours spent working. We will look at scheduling and pricing strategies, client communication techniques, and novel efficiency metrics. All while talking about fun cases.

New Veterinarians: Why Your Contract Negotiations Must Go Beyond Just Salary

Dr. Keith True presents ”New Veterinarians: Why Your Contract Negotiations Must Go Beyond Just Salary” where he covers contract negotiation with a focus on equity. Dr. True explains the concept of equity and why it is important to understand early on in your career. This is a very interesting talk for those who want to invest or potentially have ownership of a practice in the future.

Real World vs. Ivory Tower Medicine

The Ins and Outs of Veterinary Financials

Join us with Ethan Dawe to discuss his tips and tricks for navigating veterinary financials!

What You Need in Your Personal Development Toolbox

Ethan Dawe is the owner of Innovative Financial Solutions, a financial and business consulting company that offers a full range of investment, consulting services, and financial products. He developed a 2nd year financial awareness elective for Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and currently acts as a cooperating affiliate of Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine and will be joining us today! Join us to learn more about personal development and veterinary financials.

Niche Interests in Veterinary Medicine

This is a one-hour presentation that delves into the conversation about special areas of interest in veterinary medicine outside of the classic case load typically seen in a small animal hospital. The lecture will discuss the goals of adding a special interest to a practice that doesn’t currently provide that service, the types of special interests there are and the finances behind the investment. The lecture also will ask the question whether the Niche interest is more of a personal hobby or could it be a significant part of your case load. We will discuss the financial investment in equipment, time and personnel in incorporating the interest into the practice along with the promotion of service to your established clients and potentially new clients. I also have three examples of veterinarians who have been unbelievably successful in the process.

ZOOM: Netflix & Bill with Dr. Jenkins

With insights from CEO of Nike and COO of Walmart.com, we will look at how veterinary clinics can leverage their knowledge of and familiarity with their clients to move beyond transaction-based economics to embrace the ”forever” transaction as a part of a shift to the membership economy. Taking our lead from customer-obsessed subscription businesses like Amazon Prime and Netflix, we will learn how increasing the proportion of a clinic’s revenue that is monthly recurring can improve both business and patient outcomes.

IN PERSON: Netflix & Bill with Dr. Jenkins

With insights from CEO of Nike and COO of Walmart.com, we will look at how veterinary clinics can leverage their knowledge of and familiarity with their clients to move beyond transaction-based economics to embrace the ”forever” transaction as a part of a shift to the membership economy. Taking our lead from customer-obsessed subscription businesses like Amazon Prime and Netflix, we will learn how increasing the proportion of a clinic’s revenue that is monthly recurring can improve both business and patient outcomes.

ZOOM: Mentorship Makes the Money $$ with Dr. Duhon

We know mentorship is important for your first year out, but have you thought about how it can directly benefit you financially? We’ll discuss how you fit into a practice’s business picture as an associate as well as the key elements of mentorship that can set you up for financial success in your first months out of school!

IN PERSON: Mentorship Makes the Money $$ with Dr. Duhon

We know mentorship is important for your first year out, but have you thought about how it can directly benefit you financially? We’ll discuss how you fit into a practice’s business picture as an associate as well as the key elements of mentorship that can set you up for financial success in your first months out of school!

"Understanding Insurance in Your Contract" and "Protecting You While You Protect Your Patients"

Veterinary Debate Panel: Pros and Cons of Pet Insurance

Have you ever wondered why pet insurance is on the rise in veterinary medicine, whether we as future practitioners should be advocating for pet insurance, or if pet insurance truly alleviates costs and increases access to care for a variety of clientele? Dr. Paul Pion (VIN), Dr. Ricky Walther, Dr. Lynn Hendrix, Dr. Lance Roasa, and Dr. Barry Kipperman will be participating in a guided discussion that debates the pros and cons of pet insurance with the goal of helping VBMA members better critically evaluate the implications that these insurance companies may have on the quality of care for our patients!

Demystifying De-escalation

Join Dr. Farris as we tackle de-escalation--the secret art to diffusing difficult situations ranging from a client losing it in the lobby to communicating a poor patient outcome. You will come away with tips and tricks to deploy starting tomorrow to help avoid explosive situations and be more empowered to navigate a smoother road ahead.

Entering in the World and Doing Your Own Finances

Dr. Christina Judon will be giving a talk on managing finances after graduation.

How to Enhance Practice Profitability Today for a Brighter Tomorrow

Appropriate planning can greatly increase practice profitability. We will focus on planning for profit and see how it increases the day-to-day quality of life for the whole team and learn how significantly it impacts practice value. We will cover how to plan for profit, budgeting, appropriate pricing for services, and how best to keep costs under control. We will also cover how to read and understand a profit and loss statement, how to know where your revenue comes from and which areas are the most profitable, how to capture missing revenue (provided services that were not invoiced and other services that should be charged for), and how planning for profit greatly enhances practice profitability.

Business Finance: Practice Valuation

As a future veterinarian and hospital owner, it’s important to understand the key characteristics of an attractive practice. During this session, we’ll provide you with helpful tips and tools that can be used to assess the value and growth potential of a practice.

Terminating a DVM- The Option of Last Resort

This talk will discuss all the considerations one must make before deciding to terminate a doctor. Dr. Odders will discuss how to avoid the need to terminate though good hiring practices, steps you can take to help the associate improve to meet expectations, and points to consider as you finalize the termination.

“Mastering the Job Hunt – Starting Now!”

Dr. Farris will be presenting on “Mastering the Job Hunt – Starting Now!”, teaching us key information on how to navigate looking for jobs while in vet school and as a new graduate.

Interview & Contract Negotiation Best Practices

With patient care at the forefront of every veterinary student’s mind, many new graduates find themselves leaving the classroom unprepared for navigating the interview and contract negotiation process. The purpose of this lecture is to help ensure veterinary students start their career off right by learning how to successfully conduct a job search, prepare for the various stages of interviewing within the veterinary space, and navigate and negotiating contracts and job offers. Additionally, this lecture will cover the benefits and drawbacks to the most common compensation structures, as well as how to evaluate compensation package benefits beyond just salary.

Increasing Access to Care By Engaging Teams and Improving Efficiency

What if veterinary teams could work more efficiently, providing more care for more pets and achieving better outcomes for pet families? This presentation maps out action plans to help effectively engage technical staff and utilize a spectrum of care approach, delivering better results for your patients, increasing productivity, and boosting team satisfaction.

Overview of Exit Strategies and Practice Valuation

Eric Lewandowski of KPMG, who is heading the veterinary sector of the advisory company, and he will provide a lunch talk about considerations when selling and buying a practice. This will be an introduction to veterinary practice exits, including how to approach a practice exit (where to begin), market participants in the exit process, intermediaries who might be able to assist with the exit process. In addition, there will be info about acquiring practices with practice valuation basics and an intro vet acquisition multiples.

DVM Communications 101

Dr. Christine Kunzweiler from NVA will be talking to us about the ins and outs of communication as a DVM. This presentation will cover communication with clients and how to effectively do so, along with other aspects of communication!

Finding your path: Identifying and exploring externships, internships and early career opportunities in large animal medicine

We will discuss ways to identify your own learning goals for clinical experiences to help you build the career you are looking for. This will include identifying externships, understanding the role of internships and look at associate positions

"How Do You Show Up? Managing Your Professional Image Through Social Media"

What is your social media presence? Who is your target audience? How can you better leverage social media to achieve your professional goals? In this session, Gena will share the importance of being aware and in control of your online professional identity and will provide tips on how to maximize LinkedIn—the predominant professional social networking site—for your specific professional goals.

ZOOM ONLY: Getting Paid in the Field

A discussion on ambulatory billing, payment structures, collections and accounts receivable from an associates perspective. How do we manage these things? Dr. Zach Loppnow will present some ideas for keeping it all in balance.

ZOOM: An All Creatures Approach to Vet Med with Dr. Carl

Come hear how Dr. Carl practices an all-creatures approach to veterinary medicine at Animals Inc. Veterinary. Learn about what it looks like to practice equally in clinics with small animals and on farms with large animals, with an emphasis on his large animal experiences and how he has made that aspect of his career feasible.

IN PERSON: An All Creatures Approach to Vet Med with Dr. Carl

Come hear how Dr. Carl practices an all-creatures approach to veterinary medicine at Animals Inc. Veterinary. Learn about what it looks like to practice equally in clinics with small animals and on farms with large animals, with an emphasis on his large animal experiences and how he has made that aspect of his career feasible.

Financial Benchmarks and Dashboards

You know what is on the dashboard in your car, how can you use that to build useful financial dashboards for yourself and your business?

Ambulatory Veterinary Practice: Is It Possible to Be Both Profitable and Fulfilled?

Is practice ownership on your mind or have you decided that it’s just too expensive to buy-in or start your own veterinary business? As you may know, veterinary practice owners have the highest earning potential and often the best satisfaction scores when surveyed. With the current student debt load and potential lack of buy-in options, you have every right to think that practice ownership might be too much of a strain on you as an individual. In this discussion, Dr. Cordivano presents details regarding the profitability and start-up costs of ambulatory and house-call veterinary practices. You will come away from this presentation with the ability to consider an alternative to the traditional route to practice ownership and will hopefully learn about some additional ownership benefits besides just the profit margin!

Getting the Most From Mentorship

Taking the next big career step is easier with a guide. This interactive presentation will walk through the process of how to be a great mentee or mentor! During our time together, learn how to create a mentorship plan to put you on the path to success.

Marketing Yourself and Your Practice

This talk will touch on a basic introduction to marketing for your small business and also about creating your own brand and identity.

Perfecting the Exam Room Experience

Most often you’re going to have 30 minutes or less with a client in the exam room. So how do you make the most out of that 30 minutes? This lecture will cover the best way to improve not only the clients experience in the exam room, but also your own!

State of the Industry and Veterinary Leadership

Reviews the current state of the veterinary industry including how some major forces impact our business climate. We will look at how coaching and leading our teams can help improve operational efficiencies and financial performance.

The Precarious Balance of Practice Profitability, Affordable Veterinary Care, and Veterinary Morality (aka the Sh!t Ain't Free lecture)

During this lecture we will discuss the costs of running a veterinary hospital and how to balance that with providing affordable pet care to your clients. I will explain why we charge what we do and discuss ways to feel good about it or at least not guilty.

Employment Contracts and Negotiations

Mr. Paul Diaz will be presenting on Employment Contracts: What to look for and What to Avoid! Whether you are actively negotiating contracts as a 4th year DVM student, or want to prepare yourself as a 1st, 2nd and 3rd year student, this would be great to attend. Mr. Diaz will also be discussing the differences in contracts and negotiations between men and women entering the DVM field, as well as explaining the concept of non-compete contracts and why you should avoid them.

Student Loan Payment Restart + IDR Waiver & REPAYE programs

”During this virtual presentation, a Student Loan Planner consultant will cover the latest news on a variety of student loan topics, including: • The latest on Biden’s $10k-20k forgiveness • Normal student loan forgiveness rules • New student loan forgiveness rules & the limited time income-driven repayment waiver • What is the new REPAYE program • Real-life examples of a borrower’s NSLDS file – during our virtual presentation we like to show a real example of as many borrower’s NSLDS files as we can get through to show them the savings they can make on their loans ”

Fun With Numbers

Let’s evaluate a couple of practices together by going through the financial health of the practice, and figuring out what makes sense, what doesn’t and where there’s room for improvement. Ownership is on the rise, and working together, we will see which practice has the most opportunity for your comfortability and put a plan of action together!

Preparing for Your DVM Career

Dr. Kelli Evans, Veterinary Recruitment & Engagement Manager, and Hayley Hawkins, AZPetVet’s HR Director will provide insight about how to exceed at your job search and find a job that fits your needs as a new DVM.

"Hit the Ground Running: 10 Suggestions to be an Exam Room Legend"

Dr. Bruce Coston with NVA presents on how to be the best in the exam room

"Let's Talk about Some Things We Don't Typically Talk about in Veterinary Medicine..."

Dr. Moyal will be discussing things we don’t normally discuss in veterinary medicine, followed by ”Be Curious, Not Judgmental--How Looking through a Different Lens Changed My Veterinary Interactions.”

"You'll Never Forget Your First"

Veritas Veterinary Partners joins VBMA to present Dr. Erica Feiste!

Mental toughness in veterinary medicine

This evidenced-based presentation looks at the value of mental toughness, resiliency, and emotional intelligence in veterinary medicine, and how they relate to burn-out, compassion fatigue, and imposter syndrome. This is an excellent discussion on how to bring back life and joy into your practice and your personal career

Deep Dive into Veterinary Compensation Structures (types of ProSal, salary-only, production-only pay structures)

Are you looking to jump in and explore the different ways in which veterinarians are paid, to better understand your options in the future? Join us for an interactive presentation focusing on various veterinary compensation structures, from salary-only, to production-only, to pro-sal. Let’s learn what all the terms mean and review case studies to better understand each type of pay. Knowledge is power when it comes to understanding your employment agreement. We will help prepare you so you are empowered while discussing offers, during negotiations, and planning for your future.

CityVet: Happy People. Happy Pets

CityVet was founded by a veterinarian, for veterinarians. The doctors have autonomy in medicine, and authority in ownership. They partner with vets to help expand your skills beyond the exam room, to learn the leadership and entrepreneurship side of medicine at your own pace.

“Challenging Conversations: Communication Skills for Tough Topics”

Communication with our clients can be challenging, especially when discussing topics like finances and sharing bad news. Please join veterinary communication researcher and coach Kat Sutherland as she reviews the core skills and provides guidance on navigating these important discussions with clients. Scenario-based examples will be used to show communication skills in context.

My Vet Med Journey - A conversation about growing up Latinx, life as a new practice owner and everything in between.

Join us for a discussion regarding diversity in Veterinary Medicine, transitioning from student to practice life, to specialize or not, & practice ownership, followed by a Q&A!

Understanding fixed and variable costs for your clients and your practice.

Strategic Pricing for the Veterinarian

Pricing strategy is a crucial component of a veterinarian’s business, affecting practice sustainability, profitability, and quality of care. Many practice owners are unsure how much their clients are willing to pay, therefore, are unsure how to price their services so their clients see the value, but do not feel overcharged. In this hour-long presentation, we will explore basic pricing principles, review the findings of the Pet Owners Economic Value study, and discuss pricing strategies that can be successful in veterinary practices.

Financial Success: Survive, Sustain or Surpass?

What does behavior have anything to do with your financial success? It turns out that 74% of investors underperform the market – so, behavior matters! What does this mean for you? Everything. It is your investments which will support some (or all) of your retirement income. We will look at how much impact behaviors have on investing with data, not opinions! From staying out of the market due to fear, trying to time the market (impossible), to inappropriate investing, greed, over confidence, following the herd or analysis paralysis, we’ll cover how these behaviors could very much hinder your future success.

Finances of practice ownership

This meeting will focus on building a successful equine practice and examining the financial considerations when building a practice. Some of these considerations will include income statements, costs of services, staff, etc., types of compensation for veterinarians, the costs of maintaining facilities, etc.

“A psychologist's perspective on veterinary medicine and what we need to learn!”

Dr. Mack is the owner of a mixed animal clinic in Plainville, KS, and her husband is a practicing therapist and psychologist focused on trauma. Their presentation will cover the struggles that come with veterinary medicine, and how they affect us both as professionals and people.

"Choose Your Own Adventure"

”Choose Your Own Adventure” which will include a variety of topics like networking, resumes, contract negotiations, and interview tips!

Communicating Around the Cost of Care

Take a deeper dive into learning the current landscape of the Pet Care industry and how it relates to the pet owner behaviors, specifically surrounding the cost of care. Learn how CareCredit and Pets Best pet health insurance can offer clients a complete financial solution to enable them to provide optimal veterinary treatment for their pets.

The "How" in Pet Health Insurance in Practice

Join Blue Heron Consulting’s Dr. Kelley Lay and Head of Industry Consultants, Derek Tyson, on March 30th, 2023 12:00pm EDT, for a colleague-style, one on one interview that delves into these details and more! Where: ZOOM When: Mar 30, 2023 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting by checking your school email.

The Keys to Successful Business Leadership

In my experience as a leader in business, I’ve found five keys to successfully managing an organization. 1. Relationships 2. Communication 3. Strong Understanding of Business Economics 4. Good Organizational Management 5. Continuing Education and Professional Development

Practice Success: Fundamentals of a Prosperous Veterinary Business

Chris Daugherty will be presenting on practice success.

Financial Planning for Veterinary Professionals

Financial planning seminar

Emergency Medicine for New Grads

There’s more to new grad life than an internship or general practice; in this presentation, students will learn about the many paths they can take in emergency medicine. We’ll talk about the different ER practice types, the pros and cons of each, and how to sift through them to make the best decision for you.

To Buy or Not To Buy: Understanding the ROI of Equipment

Cold-laser, ultrasound, state of the art surgical equipment – what should your practice invest in? In this lecture you will learn how to calculate the return on investment of equipment, how it depreciates, and what smart financial decisions look like for capital expenditure equipment purchases.

New Grad Contract Negotiations

Paul Diaz will be presenting examples from several “real-life” contracts that new-grad veterinarians are likely to face. The goal is to help introduce and prepare students with complex terminology used in veterinary contracts and to be able to critically assess the variable implications that may be misunderstood by young and experienced veterinarians alike.

Ways to Grow the Net Worth of Veterinarians

Join us and Isaiah Douglass, a certified financial planner and partner at Vincere Wealth Management, Thursday for lunch! Isaiah left a large national firm to found a solo financial planning firm in 2018 to pursue a planning approach that is dedicated to identifying ways to grow the net worth of veterinarians and dentists. Join us on Thursday to learn more!

Veterinary Insurance Needs

A discussion of all the insurance needs of a veterinarian from life insurance, disability, health, and more!

First Steps Towards Business Ownership

We will be diving into common myths about career paths, practice ownership, and the different paths to practice ownership (startup vs. acquisition).

Young Savers - Budgeting, Credit, and Investing

Mr. Jesse Masterson will be covering budgeting, credit, saving and Investing. This skills are valuable after graduation but good habits are formed now.

Unlocking Business Growth Through Nutritional Recommendation

There is certainly a business case for selling pet foods in veterinary clinics. This presentation will discuss how pet food can generate passive income and positive cash flow for a clinic by understanding the lifetime value of a pet’s nutrition. If we did grow pet food business profits by 2-4 times, what do you think would happen to the quality of care patients are currently receiving?

ZOOM: Financial Fitness with Kelly Lynn Conrin

In this meeting, we will cover a wide variety of topics to help us grow in our financial fitness, including the basics of finance including saving, debt repayment, investing and investment vehicles; budgeting and how to best leverage pay (regardless of income level); taxation; and emergency funds and how to establish them. We will also discuss identifying best opportunities and comparing them in an apples-to-apples fashion, asking for additional income, reviewing initial offers and contracts, and understanding types of compensation. We will discuss what the most important compensation piece for each candidate is. We will discuss negotiation techniques. Last but not least, we will discuss preparation for retirement!

IN PERSON: Financial Fitness with Kelly Lynn Conrin

In this meeting, we will cover a wide variety of topics to help us grow in our financial fitness, including the basics of finance including saving, debt repayment, investing and investment vehicles; budgeting and how to best leverage pay (regardless of income level); taxation; and emergency funds and how to establish them. We will also discuss identifying best opportunities and comparing them in an apples-to-apples fashion, asking for additional income, reviewing initial offers and contracts, and understanding types of compensation. We will discuss what the most important compensation piece for each candidate is. We will discuss negotiation techniques. Last but not least, we will discuss preparation for retirement!

High Stake Conversations: Difficult Financial Discussions and Beyond

A Royal Canin Knowledge Program Webinar with speaker Dr. Kat Sutherland on ”High Stake Conversations: Difficult Financial Discussions and Beyond” on Thursday, March 30pm. The webinar will be broadcasted live. Dr. Sutherland, PhD, MSc, BSc, is a post-doctoral fellow, focusing on communication. She focuses on understanding how veterinary-client communication can be enhanced to improve the quality of life for pets with excess weight while her PhD research explored pet weight-related communication in small animal veterinary practice, with emphasis on obesity-specific communication. Her lecture will provides tips for important discussions veterinarians will encounter with clients about finances and quality of life of their pets.

VBMA Professionalism Powerhouse Event

Please join us for a fun evening filled with dinner, networking, and learning how to be a modern leader and professional.

Resume and Interview Preparation

This workshop will briefly cover resumes, interviews, employer questions, and a successful LinkedIn profile. The bulk of the two hours will be spent with Career Services professionals doing hands on work with students to help prepare them for completing a portion of the Honors Portfolio.

Integrating alternative medicine into general practice.

Dr. Kira Kautz will be presenting on how to integrate alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, into a busy small animal practice.

Understanding Your Worth: A Business Owner’s Perspective

Join a CVPM and 14-year veterinary business owner to learn how to evaluate your worth as a veterinarian, including how revenue and expenses affect your value in today’s market.

ou Never Forget Your First: Choosing a First Job or Internship

This talk covers types of practices, how to evaluate a practice and how they will evaluate you, quality of life factors to make practice a sustainable career, contract negotiation including compensation and benefits, and mentorship. We will also discuss how to align your budget with expected compensation. We will touch on fringe benefits you might not have thought of, but can negotiate. We will cover some basic contract law including restrictive covenants. Then we’ll switch gears and talk about internships, including how to know whether an internship program is right for you, and how to find information that will help you evaluate programs. We will discuss the VIRMP timeline cycle in detail, aka “the match”. Finally, we’ll discuss the growing number of emergency mentorship programs aimed at new graduates and examine potential pitfalls.

Employee Life Cycle- What You Need to Know About Recruiting, On-boarding, and Training the Modern Day Proficient Employee

Come Join us as Dr. Karen Parker from Boehringer-Ingelheim teaches us about all you need to know for recruiting, on-boarding and training the modern day proficient employee. She has done previous talks with the VBMA on marketing but wants to expand and enlighten us about the HR side of business.

Hospital Start-ups

Starting a practice from the ground up can be one of the most rewarding experiences in veterinary medicine. It can also be a daunting task, even for those who have done it before. The Firehouse Animal Health Centers team has succeeded at that task again and again, and we’re still enjoying the ride. Since every veterinary startup is unique there is no ”perfect process”, but we look forward to sharing the most important lessons we have learned along the way! This one-hour presentation will include insights on determining what needs your new veterinary practice can fill for yourself, your team, and your community, as well as your own personal and financial readiness to start a small business. We will also discuss development of your business plan and financial plan for your practice, site selection, design and construction, team recruitment and onboarding, marketing and building your clientele, and what to expect between the first steps of planning to the point when your practice becomes profitable.

Client Communication and Moving Forward with Preventative Care Diagnostics

Recognize the value of diagnostic screening and early disease detection. Review new data in prevalence of lab abnormalities in apparently healthy pets. Illustrate the need to establish healthy pet baseline diagnostics.

ZOOM: Benefits, Pitfalls, and Preparation when it comes to Vet Clinic Ownership with Dr. Elton

Dr. Elton owns Advanced Veterinary Care, a small animal private practice, in Blaine, MN and will be discussing starting a new clinic or ownership of a veterinary hospital and some of the benefits, pitfalls and preparation needed.

IN PERSON: Benefits, Pitfalls, and Preparation when it comes to Vet Clinic Ownership with Dr. Elton

Dr. Elton owns Advanced Veterinary Care, a small animal private practice, in Blaine, MN and will be discussing starting a new clinic or ownership of a veterinary hospital and some of the benefits, pitfalls and preparation needed.

Practice Management Software

Join us for lunch from 12-1 to check out different practice management software! It may not be the most glamorous of topics, but we’ll run through the different ins and outs of practice management software and see how each can benefit a practice. It’s about more than just writing medical records and maintaining charges. How can you make these programs work for you?

Green Dot Talk

Dr. Odie will be giving his famous ”Green Dot” talk. Ever wonder how to make yourself more marketable? Want to know what you can do to market a practice? Dr. Odie is going to tell us how famous companies have done it in the past, to the point where a simple ”Green Dot” will already have your mind making a connection to a certain coffee shop! Come join us from 6-7!

Externships 101: How to Make the Most of Your Adventures

We take a deep dive into what externships are, how to find top tier externships, making the most of your experience, and how to ultimately translate your externship experience into top tier pay upon graduation. This talk is targeted towards all veterinary tracks (Large, small, exotic etc). Come join us from 12-1!

ZOOM: My Veterinary Life, How Did I Get Here? with Dr. Boyle

Join us for an exciting conversation with Dr. Matthew Boyle! He is a UMN CVM alumni who graduated in 2003. For nearly 12 years he practiced dairy medicine— three years in eastern Wisconsin and the remaining time back in Minnesota. A couple of years ago, Dr. Boyle left practice and moved to industry as a Technical Service Veterinarian with Zoetis working with veterinarians and dairy farms in MN, IA, and WI. In this meeting, he will talk to us about the progression of his career, rural practice, what we should want out of a practice, and how to go about selecting a practice.

IN PERSON: My Veterinary Life, How Did I Get Here? with Dr. Boyle

Join us for an exciting conversation with Dr. Matthew Boyle! He is a UMN CVM alumni who graduated in 2003. For nearly 12 years he practiced dairy medicine— three years in eastern Wisconsin and the remaining time back in Minnesota. A couple of years ago, Dr. Boyle left practice and moved to industry as a Technical Service Veterinarian with Zoetis working with veterinarians and dairy farms in MN, IA, and WI. In this meeting, he will talk to us about the progression of his career, rural practice, what we should want out of a practice, and how to go about selecting a practice.

Big Guy, Big Data: Profit and Loss Statements in Practice Acquisition

Bret Halishak will be giving LSU VBMA members a talk about the risks and rewards of purchasing a veterinary business practice, what trends to look out for when considering buying, and how to avoid business loss while maximizing profits.

Life After Veterinary School: Business Edition

Mr. Ramsdell and guest Mr. Norm Bouchard will be giving a overview of the current veterinary industry. They will cover practice management 101, how to become a better lender applicant, key performance indicators and metrics, different paths to ownership, and how to build income as a doctor and business owner.

Being part of the 7% in veterinary medicine- the lessons I’ve learned

Dr. Moyal is an Assistant Clinical Professor and Chief of the Primary Care Surgery Service at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She will discuss Veterinary medicine being a predominantly white profession. Dr. Moyal will also discuss her journey to and through vet med, including surprises and disappointments. This talk will cover DEI/bias/micro-aggressions and situations Dr. Moyal has personally faced in the profession. As a first generation American, Dr. Moyal is committed to changing the face of veterinary medicine to represent all communities.

Understanding Practice Financial Operations

You cannot practice good medicine without good business to support it. This session will teach you what makes a practice financially healthy and why is this important to you as an associate or a future owner. We will also talk about the common financial diseases and how to diagnose them.

Practice Value & Purchase

What makes one practice worth more than another? Can you buy a practice when you have no money? Yes, you can own a practice and your debt will not get in the way. Learn more about practice value, the purchase process and how the ownership cash flow makes the purchase possible.

Disability and Accessibility in Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Brandy Duhon, a veterinarian, educator and director of campus relations at Heartland VP, will be giving a talk on overcoming adversity in the veterinary medicine field. She aims to increase awareness about the rights and supports of people with disabilities and highlight their contributions to the community, as well as to showcase disability in professional fields.

Go Fund Yourself

Dreaming of starting your own practice someday but not sure how to pay for it? Ian Widensky will guide VBMA members through understanding how start-ups get funded and built. He will cover types of financing, key start-up expenses, and financial projections.

Spectrum of Care

What if veterinary teams could work more efficiently, providing more care for more pets and achieving better outcomes for pet families? This presentation maps out action plans to help effectively engage technical staff and utilize a spectrum of care approach, delivering better results for your patients, increasing productivity, and boosting team satisfaction. Learning Objectives: · Identify workforce challenges across the U.S. veterinary profession · Review definitions of “spectrum of care” and “access to care” · Apply principles of team utilization and efficiency to case-based examples that increase access to care

How to make the most of your externships & leverage them into top pay when you graduate

Running your own S corporation

How to Win with Linkedin

How to Build a powerful profile and reap the rewards

A Practical Approach to Student Loan Debt

I will give my background and story navigating financing veterinary school with student loans and subsequently paying them off as quickly as possible. I will give practical advise based on my experience

'Where to Start' with Practice Ownership

There’s a lot that goes into owning and running a private veterinary practice - where do you start? From practice evaluation to acquisition to management, there are many different steps along the way to becoming a practice owner. Dr. Weisman, an experienced practice owner, will be speaking to VBMA members on how to begin this process, and how his experience can benefit future generations of veterinarians and practice owners.

Let’s Get Social: Promoting Yourself and Your Work on Social Media

How we access and consume information has changed, shifting to digital content. Social media is a powerful tool to network and communicate innovations in veterinary medicine, allowing data to reach a broad audience in real-time. Participants in this workshop will learn how to set up Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles, create a social media strategy, curate content, and use social media management tools. There will be a focus on students promoting themselves for potential employers and advanced training programs. Time will also be given for Q&A and discussion.

Making Professional Connections: Tips for the Introverted and the Inexperienced (and those who want to Improve!)

You have been told that networking is an important part of your professional career, but does the mere mention of the word make you shudder? Does the thought of attending a networking event where you know no one make you want to run and hide? Maybe your reactions are not THAT extreme (or maybe they are, and that’s okay too!), but you still find the idea of making professional connections to be somewhat daunting, disingenuous, or something you just don’t feel comfortable doing. Attend this session to get tips on how to make connecting with others more manageable and achievable, regardless of how introverted or inexperienced you perceive yourself to be!

How to Best Utilize Technicians

This lecture will discuss the transition to being the doctor in the practice and leading an effective and efficient team. What are some things you can do to get your team working together? We will discuss how to manage your team in the best way to utilize the practice’s time not only for the client and patient but for the staff. Everyone’s goal is to get out at closing time and this can help you do it!

10 Things I Wish I'd Known in my Early Vet Career

Top tips from early career veterinarians that they wish they’d known at graduation.

Fun Facts, First Jobs, and the Fine Print

You don’t know what you don’t know, right? One of the hardest things about accepting a first job, having confidence in your choice, and being successful as a new grad is navigating your first job agreement. What can you ask for and what you should expect are one thing, but it is what you don’t know or don’t think to expect that can be the difference between a lasting first job and having to repeat the job search right away. Through personal and shared experiences, we will examine several unexpected career turns that come with veterinary employment to aid the audience in learning to expect the unexpected and less expected.

The Practice of Practice: Life Post-Vet School

”Real Learning” starts the day you graduate. In this lecture, we will discuss what I wish I knew a long time ago that would have made ”real learning” easier and more fulfilling, and the value of realizing that there is always more ”real learning” to do.

How to Find THE Mentor, Not A Mentor

In this lecture we will review key questions and factors for any new graduate to consider as they begin the search for a mentor and first position after graduation.

Navigating Communication with Non-Traditional Pet Owners

Communication continues to be a challenge for businesses in many fields including human medicine and veterinary medicine. Practicing veterinary medicine requires all members of the veterinary medical team to practice communication skills, improve emotional intelligence, and achieve clarity. Non-traditional pet practice has many unique aspects that present additional communication challenges including the lack of widely recognized best practices and standardization, challenges in diagnostics, life span expectations, lack of pain assessment and understanding, and challenges in assessing the quality of life. Tips and tricks to tackle these difficult conversations, the unusual nature of the animals, and the unique owners in this particular field will be discussed and shared.

Rudeness on the Rise

”Research from around the United States and beyond shows that rudeness is on the rise, especially towards people whose job is to help others – including first responders, healthcare professionals, restaurant workers, flight attendants, store clerks, attorneys, and others. Rudeness at work can hurt us in many ways. It can harm our emotional and physical health, and negatively impact our organizations. Fortunately, there are effective steps we can take to address the rise of rudeness in the workplace. In this lecture, we will explore why rudeness in the workplace is on the rise, how we can address poor behavior, and why solutions aimed at trying to control other people’s behaviors generally aren’t effective. Come away with evidence-based strategies for preventing and diffusing displaced anger in the veterinary workplace by using skills we already have as veterinary professionals! ”

Communication Tools for Challenging Situations

The lecture will highlight several tools that can be used to communicate in challenging situations. Attendees will also be invited to share stories from practice to use as starting points for discussion about tool applications.

Navigating Career Transitions

SAVMA Symposium Location: Alma Mater Time: 3:00p - 3:50p

Effectively Communication with Spanish-Speaking Clients

The lecture intends to cover tools and strategies to communicate with Spanish-speaking clients

Veterinarians, Public Health, and Policy: How Can You Get Involved

This lecture will cover the history of public health and veterinarians, discuss One Health, and then get in to how you can become involved in public health and policy work at the local, state, national, or even international level from additional training, externships, fellowships, specialty boards in preventive medicine, and how to find actual jobs.

Error Prevention - How to Play Your Part

If humans are involved, errors will occur. However, in veterinary medicine errors can make the difference between life and death. This session will discuss error prevention philosophies and process designs for preventing errors that cause significant harm to patients.

Internships vs Mentorships: How to decide

This can either be a panel discussion or a straight up lecture discussing the differences between GP mentorship programs, ER mentorship programs and internships. (Including large animal)

Student debt free after $466,330 in 6 years!!

We hear over and over that you must live with your student debt for 25 or 30 years. The factual stories of these colleague prove beyond a reasonable doubt that ’even if....’ you can be student debt free less than 6 years out of school.

Four Simple Things that Will Derail Your Career - and How to Care for Them

We all want to do well at work, yet there are many things well beyond what we learn in veterinary school that are critical to our success. We have seen this in colleagues when we ask ourselves, “Why are they not happy? Their professional work is so great!” These ideas are from legacy achievers in other fields of work that we are adapting to veterinary medicine.

Engaging with the Media - Tools to Be Successful

This lecture will dive into some of the tips and tricks to be aware of when engaging with media (television, radio, newspaper, etc.) whether it is for your clinic, an issue your advocating on in the profession, or to provide health information to the public.

Veterinary Ethics for the 21st Century: How Ethical Frameworks shape Teaching, Learning, and Practice

In this lecture, which will include group discussions, I will place ethics training in US veterinary colleges in the larger landscape of international veterinary curricula, discuss the links between ethical frames and social beliefs about animals, and introduce the concepts of informal and formal learning and of the ”hidden curriculum” in professional training programs. Attendees will be invited to reflect on their own ethical frames, and to think about how they can prepare for tough decisions when there are often no ”right answers.” The links between ethical decisions, moral stress, and mental health in the profession will also be explored. A forward-looking perspective will seek ways of empowering veterinarians, as students and as future practitioners, for robust decision-making in challenging ethical landscapes.

10 Things New Vets Should Know About Practice Marketing

Learn the top issues (and hacks) for making your personal and professional social media life work as a new vet-- plus what you should consider from the practice’s perspective when it comes to branding, online reputation, social media, reviews and more.

Practice Ownership: Trials and Triumphs

SAVMA Symposium Location: Innovation Time: 9:00a - 9:50a

Utilizing Telehealth in Your Veterinary Practice

Outline: I. Brief overview of definitions and general AVMA guidelines regarding telehealth practice A. What is a VCPR, and how do you establish one? B. Teleconsulting vs telehealth vs telemedicine vs teletriage, etc II. Pros and cons of incorporating telemedicine into your practice III. Examples of cases where telemedicine could be appropriately utilized IV. Overview of teleconsulting A. Pros and cons of teleconsulting B. How to make the most out of your teleconsult C. Case examples where teleconsulting works well

Pros/ Cons of Corporation & Private Practice

Join us with Dr. Moore and Thrive Pet Healthcare as she presents some of the advantages and disadvantages you may run into when trying to decide corporate or private practice. She will walk through some examples and help you to decide what you might be looking for when thinking about your future career!

How NOT to be a Poor Vet Student

Dr. Primavera will be going over building wealth in all aspects of your life during veterinary school through self-care, smart investing, and side-hustling. Learn how to value your education along with your mental health. Balance the medical aspect of school with the financial aspect, without only making sacrifices.

Tips and Tricks - How To Thrive in the Veterinary World

Dr. Serratore provides tips and tricks on how to thrive in the veterinary world through sharing her own story and experiences with Thrive Veterinary Surgical Services. This includes tips for surviving vet school and the transition to being a doctor, what she’s learned about resilience and taking care of oneself, how to recognize and utilize the resources around you, building connections, engaging in organized vet med, and more.

Financial Health & Wellness for Medical Professionals

Discussing MAYO clinics’ programs for student loans, managing debt, paying off debt, programs available only for doctors, and college savings plan for kids.

Balancing the Veterinary Budget

This talk will cover setting a budget and sticking with it, staff metrics and adjusting them. We will also hear about tools for adjusting staff metrics, detailing inventory and marketing budgets, building price structures for large purchases, estimating new purchase revenue, tracking costs and making adjustments to hit changing targets, and fixed versus changing costs.

Know Your Goals & Assemble Your Team

Mission Veterinary Partners

Life Is What Happens to You While You are Planning It

Throughout your career, your focus will likely evolve from Me (all about figuring out who you are and what you want to be) to We (finding things are better done collaboratively) to They (giving back and paying forward what you have enjoyed due to the kindness of others). While telling the story of his journey through life, Paul shares his lessons learned in hopes attendees can apply these lessons as they go through life, personally and professionally.

Expectations on Income and Real World Applications of Finance

Dr. Tam will be focusing on money management, options for investments, passive income options, mental health, and contract negotiation

Diagnosing & Treating Practice Financial Diseases

This session starts with defining what it means for a practice to be financially healthy - which is important whether you are the practice owner or an associate. From this foundation, it moves into the common financial diseases, the symptoms and steps you can take to monitor and help heal a practice.

Common Sense Workflow, Protocols and Employee Relations Ideas

In this presentation we will discuss ideas to ’stop the bleeding’ of potential losses with changes in how to clinic functions. We will also discuss the merits to focusing on employee relations and ideas of your to incentivize and compensate employees.

Understanding Veterinary Practice Financials

In this 90 minute presentation we will walk through the basics of what makes up veterinary practice financials. We will discuss look at common places within veterinary practice financials where a practice may ‘bleed’ profits. This lecture will lay the ground work for the second 50 minute lecture where we will discuss workflow, protocols and incentivizing/compensating employees.

Top 10 Things I Wish I Had Known at Graduation

Right now, your scholastic career is paramount. Every ounce of energy you possess is being invested in your education. That is as it should be. But I am now able to look back on my career with the advantage of hindsight and consider the things I wish I had known when I graduated from vet school. How differently would I have navigated my career had I known them? Perhaps hearing these perspectives can help you strike a more rewarding balance as you chart your own course through the world’s greatest profession.

New Grad: What to Expect Your First Year Out

In this one hour virtual talk, Dr. Davila-Martin will discuss her experience as a new graduate from veterinary school and share words of advice.

Breaking Bad News: Having Challenging Conversations with Clients

An organized step by step approach to breaking the bad news to clients about an illness/poor prognosis of their pets, followed by proper ways to approach angry clients. This presentation has scenarios that allow students to be interactive in this conversation.

Practice for Life in Veterinary Medicine: Navigating Small Animal Employment Options

Learn about some of the key differences between privately owned and corporate-owned small animal practices. We’ll also discuss how to learn more about potential future employers regardless of ownership structure, as well as other general considerations for the interview and job-seeking process.

Strategic Delegation of Responsibilities in the Veterinary Practice

Delegating is hard. Why? In this session we will explore the factors that impact the leader’s ability to successfully spread responsibilities amongst team members. We will focus on identifying what to delegate and to whom those tasks should be delegated. Most importantly, the session will provide attendees with a strategy for HOW TO DELEGATE successfully.

Credit Scores

Did you know that your credit score does NOT necessarily mean that you are financially responsible? This workshop reviews the specific factors that make up one’s FICO credit score and discusses strategies on developing healthy credit.

Are Your Assets Protected Now and What about the Future?

This AVMA Trust lunch talk will focus on all the coverages necessary to cover all your assets both now as a student and when you graduate and enter the veterinary profession. We will look at veterinary professional liability and license defense insurance as well as disability and life insurance focusing on how these coverages provide a bubble of protection around you, your ability to practice and necessary protections as you go through life. Real closed claim/case examples will be used to illustrate the importance of always covering your assets. We will also show you how to sign up. Come prepared to ask questions and engage!

ZOOM: Know Your Value: A Production Report

What are you worth and what should you earn as a new grad? What does reasonable compensation look like? Join Dr. Chris Anderson from MVP as he goes over common contract components, etc. This will be an interactive opportunity where students will walk through an example of a production report.

IN-PERSON: Know Your Value: A Production Report

What are you worth and what should you earn as a new grad? What does reasonable compensation look like? Join Dr. Chris Anderson from MVP as he goes over common contract components, etc. This will be an interactive opportunity where students will walk through an example of a production report.

Veterinary Technician Utilization

What does ’Vet Tech Utilization” really mean? We will review the ways you can leverage vet techs in practice as well as the current barriers to tech utilization. We will wrap up with steps you can take tomorrow to help increase your capacity to see more cases and have a better work-life balance.

Tapping into the 3 C's Cost, Communication, and Convenience

Tapping into the 3 C’s Cost Communication and Convenience The Millennial customer segment has become the most populous pet-owning segment in the US. The growth of the millennial segment is great news for not just the quality-of-care veterinarians can offer but also the future financial health of the veterinary industry. In a recent study, millennials are more willing to consider their pet a part of the family. They are also willing to spend more money on their pets than any other generation. We will review and unpack the 3 C’s: Convenience, Communication, Cost, to assist veterinarians and their teams in delivering the best value and best medicine to pet owners of today and the future.

You Can't Spell Veterinary Professional without 'Stress’

After Dr. Garlow’s talk attendees should be able to: 1) recall that stress is a common concern in the profession and that veterinary professionals who have healthy methods for dealing with stress are less likely to report psychological distress; 2) demonstrate a simple and effective breathing technique that can reduce stress in roughly a minute; 3) explain and give an example of positive reappraisal; 4) define and list 6 components of resilience; 5) create an actionable self-care plan that includes strategies to foster each of the 8 dimensions of wellbeing.

How to Live Financially Well

In this hour-long talk, Andrew Rotz will address the following objectives: 1) identify how financial wellness fits with other aspects of wellness; 2) discuss methods and impacts of making thoughtful financial decisions; 3) explore how financial wellness influences professional and personal success; 4) identify opportunities for learning more about and crafting your own financial wellness.

Compassionate Confidence

After this talk, attendees will be able to do the following: 1) define emotional intelligence (EI), and explain the relationship between EI and effective leadership; 2) list and describe the four domains and 12 subdomains of emotional intelligence (EI); 3) identify personal strengths and weaknesses in emotional intelligence; 4) apply emotional intelligence as a framework for handling conflict and stress.

Courageous Conversations

In this hour-long talk, Dr. Olson will cover the following objectives: 1) recognizing the common global veterinary challenges and exploring the opportunities for collaborative strategy-building; 2) identifying some of the barriers and then helpful skills and practices to foster healthy team and organizational dialogue; 3) exploring knowledge and resources from outside of the veterinary profession such as social work and mindfulness practices to contribute to collective wisdom and toolbox building as the healthier veterinary profession of tomorrow is cultivated.

Ambulatory Veterinary Medicine and the Business of Education

Dr. Kinsley will give students a whiteboard talk with visuals and discussions revolving around financials in a hospital. He will also touch on decision making surrounding hiring, equipment purchases and price increases. The talk will also include a discussion about pricing and idiosyncrasies associated with ambulatory clinics. As the executive director of hospital operations at the ISU Hixon-Leid Small Animal Hospital, Dr. Kinsley will use his experience and real financials to engage students and aid in discussion.

VEG: How to Make A Lasting Career Out of Emergency Medicine

UGA graduate Dr. Shelby Baden DVM presents ”How to Make a Lasting Career Out of Emergency Medicine” on how to make a career in emergency medicine including discussions of positions for advancement in emergency medicine, what a typical ER work schedule looks like, and how to handle the hours of an emergency veterinarian long term. There has historically been a high burn out rate associated with emergency medicine. In this presentation, we will cover what it actually looks like to work as an emergency veterinarian and the benefits and struggles associated with it. It will also cover how to navigate this area of veterinary medicine to create a fulfilling and lifelong career.

Your 5 Year Plan to Financial Success Starts Today

Dr. Whalen will discuss how to plan your financial success post graduation.

Client Communication: How Shared Decision Making can help veterinarians build trust with pet parents, improve outcomes, and increase career satisfaction

Client Communication: How Shared Decision Making can help veterinarians build trust with pet parents, improve outcomes, and increase career satisfaction. Participants can expect to learn: What Shared Decision Making (SDM) is, and how veterinarian can use it to build an alliance with their clients, and improve compliance and patient outcomes, as well as having more joy in their careers and decreasing burnout.

Equine Practice: A Discussion of the Facts, Myths, and Legends

Join us as Dr. Chris Wickliffe gives his insight into equine private practice’s past, present, and future. We will be looking at numbers from his and other trend setting practices in the industry, discussing why choosing the right practice as your first job is so crucial, and why choosing a species-specific career path early is important in career and personal development.

VIN News Brief: Reducing Antibiotic Use

As concerns for pathogen drug resistance rise, large veterinary businesses begin to more closely monitor and limit their use of antimicrobial drugs. AniCura, Mars’ European company, has already achieved a nearly 50% reduction in antimicrobial use in dogs since 2016. Additionally, regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are hoping to reduce use in companion animals similar to what has already been achieved in food animals. Come learn more about the future of antibiotics and how to limit their use! https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&catId=619&Id=11301488

AVMA Trust: Making the Most Out of Your SAVMA Benefits!

Dr. Rebecca Stinson from the AVMA Trust as well as Hannah Mader, an AVMA PLIT representative will be discussing the benefits of SAVMA within our academic education as well as AVMA benefits upon graduation.

How to Find the Ideal First Job

Topic: ”How to Find the Ideal First Job” - Why this is important. How to start your search. Resume and interview tips.

Know your Numbers: P&L Statements for Beginners by MVP

Learn veterinary practice financials from a birdseye view and cement key concepts. Dive deep on the significance of EBITDA in our industry and the impact of the cost of goods sold on practice financials. Students will participate in two interactive exercises during the presentation. Bring your calculators!

What Recent Graduates Need to Know to Practice Medicine

This meeting was hosted in partnership with our GVMA chapter and the panelists were Dr. Keri Riddick and Dr. Wendy Cuevas (both from the GVMA) and moderated by Dr. Sarah Wheat.

A Vision for Virtual Medicine

She will be discussing the ways technology has changed the practice of veterinary medicine and what telehealth can look like as a veterinarian.

ZOOM ONLY: Stressors in Transitions

Join us as we listen to the insight of Dr. Mazaheri (@mentalhealthdvm) as she talks about managing stressors and change as a recent graduate.

Q&A with Dr. Charles McCully

Come join us for a Q&A session with Dr. Charles McCully to find an answer for all your burning questions!

Tele-health, One Veterinarian's Journey into the Virtual Exam Room

Do you know the difference between tele-medicine, tele-health, tele-triage, and tele-advice? Until I started on the journey into the virtual exam room, I did not have a strong understanding of the differences between the 4. However, I recognized that all have been hot topics these past few years. Human medicine made the shift into the virtual exam years ago, and I figured it is probably only a matter of time to when we will see this more in veterinary medicine. Therefore, I decided to take the time to truly understand this space and then determine if I would provide care through a virtual platform. I had many questions, and wanted to understand the various aspects both legally and ethically. Over 8 months I learned a lot and this lecture will share not only what I learned, but also how and why I decided to provide care to clients virtually. In addition, I will share what I learned from providing care virtually to pets. I will share some case examples where I partnered with clients, and how these interactions help to solidify the value of the virtual connection when in person care is not available. From my experience I absolutely recognize that virtual care will not replace in person care, I do however now feel strongly on the value it can provide to both clients and their pets.

Bouncing into our Resilency

Somewhere in the path of our career in veterinary medicine many of us question why we entered this profession. Finding ourselves in a place of burn out, compassion fatigue, ethical fatigue, distress, or just plain tired. Call it whatever you want, if you have found yourself in this space, you are not alone. We each enter this profession with high hopes and dreams. We have this idealistic vision of what we can accomplish, knowing that it won’t be all puppies and kittens. We are fully aware there will be death and heart ache, and yet we enter into the field with much excitement and vision. Along the way we start to lose our steam and many find ourselves wishing we didn’t enter this field. Yet we don’t want to leave due to that inner pull that brought us here in the first place. At this point we look for our resilience, or our BOUNCE. That direction that helps us reconnect with ourselves and find our direction again. We each have our own direction in this journey, our personal BOUNCE. Learning the BOUCNE framework will help us find our own resiliency. Learning these ideas will assist all us in beginning our own direction of our BOUNCE. B – Become Aware O – Our Choice U – Unique Journey N – Navigate the Pain C – Connected as One E – Embrace All. Learning Objectives • Understand the idea behind how we bounce into resiliency within our careers of vet med. • Define the idealistic vision of what many of us carry into beginning a career in vet med. • Begin the path in helping to understand our personal bounce within our career. • Provide clarity in helping us each reconnect to our passion as we navigate the challenges of the vet industry.

Know Your Value: A Guide to Profit and Loss Statements

Do you understand all the benefits of working in a financially healthy practice or business? Do you know how to recognize the signs of a financially healthy practice vs one that may be struggling? In this interactive presentation, we review a variety of factors that can influence the financial statements of a veterinary practice. We discuss common benchmarks of success on a profit and loss statement and most importantly how the number on financial statements can impact the team around you as well as yourself regardless of whether you have are an owner or not.

Making Yourself Marketable to Employers

Dr. Nora Hickey will dive into how to best market yourself to future employers while also making sure that the position is right for you – all coming from someone who just got a position here at the university!

Understanding Practice Financial Statements

Dr. Tim Loonam owns Grace Animal Hospital in Lexington, SC and will be speaking on “Understanding Practice Financial Statements.” This talk that will cover an introduction to P&L statements, balance sheets, and cash flow analysis.

How to Tackle Student Debt

The discussion will be focused on how veterinary students should position themselves to tackle student debt, in order to enjoy an excellent work life balance and financial success.

15 Minute Practice Physical and Top 5 Small Business Mistakes

Any proper assessment of health/disease status starts with a good physical exam. The same goes for evaluating a veterinary practice. Mr. McCormick walks through a 15-minute monthly protocol that evaluates your practice’s overall financial health - or lack thereof. Mr. McCormick will also be discussing the five major mistakes that many practice managers and owners make and how to avoid them.

Tele-health, One Veterinarian’s Journey Into The Virtual Exam Room

”Tele-health, One Veterinarian’s Journey Into The Virtual Exam Room” with Dr. Kimberly Pope-Robinson. 1 Hour of Category 2 Credit. Do you know the difference between tele-medicine, tele-health, tele-triage, and tele-advice? Until I started on the journey into the virtual exam room, I did not have a strong understanding of the differences between the 4. However, I recognized that all have been hot topics these past few years. Human medicine made the shift into the virtual exam years ago, and I figured it is probably only a matter of time to when we will see this more in veterinary medicine. Therefore, I decided to take the time to truly understand this space and then determine if I would provide care through a virtual platform. I had many questions, and wanted to understand the various aspects both legally and ethically. Over 8 months I learned a lot and this lecture will share not only what I learned, but also how and why I decided to provide care to clients virtually. In addition, I will share what I learned from providing care virtually to pets. I will share some case examples where I partnered with clients, and how these interactions help to solidify the value of the virtual connection when in person care is not available. From my experience I absolutely recognize that virtual care will not replace in person care, I do however now feel strongly on the value it can provide to both clients and their pets.

Open to Outcome, Clinical Medicine and a Startup Company

”Open to Outcome, Clinical Medicine and a Startup Company” with Dr. Ginny Rentko. In this session, Dr. Rentko will cover the story of two startups, clinical medicine and a career path options to satisfy curiosity and meld clinical medicine, drug development, academia and entrepreneurship.

Practice Ownership in The Next Decade; Dead or Alive?

”Practice Ownership in The Next Decade; Dead or Alive?” with Dr. Jeff Rothstein. 1 Hour of Category 1 Credit. In this lecture, Dr. Rothstein will discuss innovation as it relates to business finance and practice ownership.

Innovation in Career Planning for Veterinary Professionals

”Innovation in Career Planning for Veterinary Professionals” with Dr. David Haworth. 1 Hour of Category 4 Credit. Veterinary Medicine is a career path overflowing with opportunities for world-changing, deeply impactful and life-fulfilling work, but so often these potential paths are lost in the sea of veterinary training. By becoming invested in the wrong path for your goals, or worse yet, despairing that there is no right path for you, we can quickly lose the passion that drove us to applying to vet school in the first place. In this presentation, Dr. Haworth will use his atypical career to help provide a framework for professionals early in their journey to better understand their own driving motivations and explore the full breadth of what could lie in their futures. What is it that you’re seeking in a career after vet school? More training? Deep impact on individual animals? Broad impact on millions of animals? Financial security - sooner, rather than later? Location and work-life blend? All of those are possible, and in a style that has been described as ”informative-enjoyable”, he will attempt to help you plan a path towards your perfect spot in this veterinary world.

From Ideas to Impact: Don’t be afraid to take the plunge

”From Ideas to Impact: Don’t be afraid to take the plunge” with Dr. Diane Levitan. In this lecture, Dr. Levitan will discuss innovation as it relates to business operations, management, and ownership.

Bouncing into Our Resiliency

”Bouncing into Our Resiliency” with Dr. Kimberly Pope-Robinson. 2 Hours of Category 4 Credit. Somewhere in the path of our career in veterinary medicine many of us question why we entered this profession. Finding ourselves in a place of burn out, compassion fatigue, ethical fatigue, distress, or just plain tired. Call it whatever you want, if you have found yourself in this space, you are not alone. We each enter this profession with high hopes and dreams. We have this idealistic vision of what we can accomplish, knowing that it won’t be all puppies and kittens. We are fully aware there will be death and heart ache, and yet we enter into the field with much excitement and vision. Along the way we start to lose our steam and many find ourselves wishing we didn’t enter this field. Yet we don’t want to leave due to that inner pull that brought us here in the first place. At this point we look for our resilience, or our BOUNCE. That direction that helps us reconnect with ourselves and find our direction again. We each have our own direction in this journey, our personal BOUNCE. Learning the BOUNCE framework will help us find our own resiliency. Learning these ideas will assist all us in beginning our own direction of our BOUNCE. B – Become Aware O – Our Choice U – Unique Journey N – Navigate the Pain C – Connected as One E – Embrace All. Learning Objectives - Understand the idea behind how we bounce into resiliency within our careers of vet med. - Define the idealistic vision of what many of us carry into beginning a career in vet med. - Begin the path in helping to understand our personal bounce within our career. - Provide clarity in helping us each reconnect to our passion as we navigate the challenges of the vet industry.

Rx For Patient Care: Effective Communication

”Rx For Patient Care: Effective Communication” with Dr. Kristi Yee. 1 Hour of Category 3 Credit. Join Dr. Kristi Yee, owner of Hometown Veterinary Hospital, as she shares communication strategies utilized inside and outside of the exam room to optimize patient healthcare. Dr. Yee will discuss confidence and competence in your veterinary knowledge, comfort with conveying your veterinary knowledge to clients and team members, dealing with uncomfortable situations, and professionalism in a social media age.

Tact and Influence: An Emotionally Intelligent Approach to Fostering Innovation in the Early Veterinary Career

When highly-skilled, intelligent individuals, such as early career veterinarians, join an established team, they bring fresh knowledge and cutting edge ideas. They are often eager to share their ideas and bring a new standard to their career. This enthusiasm may be met with similar enthusiasm and receptivity, but it can also be met with caution, reservation, and, in some cases, downright rejection. The success of the new team member in implementing novel strategies will depend on: (1) leadership’s receptivity (did they intentionally seek out an innovative new hire and are they humble enough to learn from this person) (2) the existing team’s overall level of wellbeing and organizational psychological safety (are team members confident in their skills and curious to learn from a newer, possibly younger, team member) and, (3) the communication skills, tact and emotional intelligence of the new team member. While leadership receptivity and team dynamics are not entirely out of the new hire’s control -- they can be assessed during the hiring process – the third factor (communication skills) is the part of this equation the new team member can control. An overly eager new team member may be perceived as pushy, arrogant, or even naïve. A team member who is too reserved may be perceived to have low investment or lack ideas. Fortunately, emotional intelligence and confident communication of ideas can be cultivated and improved upon. In this two-hour, highly interactive workshop, participants will: (1) Identify their core values to understand why they value innovation in veterinary medicine (2) Learn the 12 subdomains of emotional intelligence and identify which of these subdomains are important in promoting innovation in their future veterinary roles (3) Use the Thomas-Killman conflict resolution model to understand their personal preferences around conflict and best approaches to introducing innovative concepts when they are likely to be met with conflict

Open to Outcome, Clinical Medicine and a Startup Company

In this session we will cover the story of two startups, clinical medicine and a career path options to satisfy curiosity and meld clinical medicine, drug development, academia and entrepreneurship.

Job Dissatisfaction Prevention: How to Find the Right Fit for You!

Preventative care isn’t just for our patients; it is for us as well! Our profession is full of individuals that feel stuck in jobs that don’t make them happy and even make them think, ‘Why did I spend all that money and time for this?’ There is a lot we can do before accepting an offer to decide if the position is a good fit, and luckily, change is also always an option. This profession has too many opportunities for joy to feel stuck!

"Cost of a Lifetime of Care"

Danielle Niccoli from CareCredit will be joining us talking about the cost of a lifetime of care.

Well-Being, Well Done

This presentation explores how to support a Healthy Work Environment including a discussion about why wellbeing matters to business and techniques on how to put wellbeing into practice!

How to Read a Profit and Loss Statement

Profit and Loss Statement 101- How to read and understand what P and Ls tell you.

Exotics, Relief Work, and Social Media Marketing with Dr. Sydney Pokard

Dr. Pokard (@doctorsydney_dvm) works relief and uses social media to market herself. Come hear her speak about how this plays into getting relief work, how she gets exotics jobs, etc., and the transition from associate vet to relief vet (including salary, expenses, etc.)!

Business Finance

Josh Ervasti and Dr. Cynthia MacKenzie from the AVMA Trust will be presenting on the business finances. Topics discussed will be key-person life and disability insurance, business overhead, and buy/sell planning.

Negotiations and Contracts from a Business Owner/Management POV

Join us in welcoming Dr. Houser, a former OSU grad, as she discusses the important ”red flags” to look out for when reviewing a new contract and what today’s typical benefits should like in your contract.

Getting the Job You Want

Mike Falconer, a practice manager from Craig Road Animal Hospital, will discuss interviewing, externships, and being successful at your first job.

The Most Important Thing No One is Talking About: The Current State of Cyber Security in Vet Med

In a world dominated by technology it is becoming increasingly important for veterinary hospitals to adopt the technology demanded of them by their clients. However, the more we are connected the more we are exposed. The issue arises that most veterinarians don’t understand how cyber-attacks work and the issues around data compliancy IE CCPA and GDPR. Most veterinarians think ’Why would anyone want Fluffy’s vaccination records?’ When the truth is that data is now more valuable than oil. We will also talk about 5 simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of a cyber-attack.

Increase acess to care by engaging teams and improving efficiency

What if veterinary teams could work more efficiently, providing more care for more pets and achieving better outcomes for pet families? This presentation maps out action plans to help effectively engage technical staff and utilize a spectrum of care approach, delivering better results for your patients, increasing productivity, and boosting team satisfaction.

"The Veterinary Student's Guide to Jumpstarting Their Career"

Updating Your Resume, Mentorship, Internships, Networking, Personal Finance and Budgeting, Dealing With Student Debt, Finding a Job and Negotiating Contracts

Key Performance Indicators: How Can They Benefit Your Prosal vs. Salary Negotiation?

Join us as we present Dr. Glenn Kalick from United Veterinary Care to discuss and understand the key performance indicators (KPIs) you should look for in a clinic when negotiating a prosal or salary financial plan with your future employer. He will walk through the various KPIs that are important to keep in mind when choosing your place of work and help to explain what the difference between prosal and salary may look like for you!

Reading Profit and Loss Statements

Come join us for Dr. Dullard’s talk about the ins and outs of ”Reading Profit and Loss Statements!”

Getting the Best View: Benchmarks in Practice

This hour-long talk focuses on how to use common veterinary practice benchmarks to evaluate your practice and foresee potential issues. Dr. Stinson makes clear analogies to personal budgets and lives and hosts an interactive discussion.

10 Tips to Make the Most of Your Externships

He will be discussing his top 10 suggestions for students to make the most of their externships.

Pearls of Wisdom

Responsibilities of a vet. Communication with other veterinarians, staff and clients.

Everything you want/need to know about internships

Although internships are absolutely not needed to becoming a great veterinarian it is important to at least understand what they are and if doing one is the right choice for you. (If you’re re thinking of becoming a specialist there’s no choice as it’s required for a residency.) This will be a casual discussions covering everything from what an internship is, how to pick one, how to get one and everything in between. We’ll also talk about mentorship program and advice for what a first or second year student can do to improve the odds of getting one later.

Practice Valuation

Learning tips and tools that can be used to assess the valuation and growth potential of a practice.

Staying Above Water: Real-world Budgeting to Get Out of Debt

Veterinary student debt to income ratios historically aren’t too pretty. It can feel overwhelming upon graduation to pay everything off, like a mountain that needs to be climbed. Yet, it is quite doable, but it may require a lifestyle change. The speaker will utilize personal experience combined with advice from financial experts on how to create a budget that propels students towards a student-debt free life.

Finally A Doctor: A New Grad's Perspective On Navigating Life After Veterinary School

I will be discussing my journey as a new graduate from veterinary school since graduating in May 2022. I will share things that I’ve learned so far, things that I wish I knew sooner, and things I’ve learned or used in veterinary school that I still use today!

Business of the Bovine Aspect of Practice Q&A w/ AABP

In conjunction with AABP, Dr. Plaisance will provide a look at the business of bovine production and care through the lens of a mixed animal practitioner in rural Alabama.

Listening

Leadership is a challenging proposition requiring constant humility, patience, courage and love. A key component to leading successfully is the skill of listening. Listening is an active process, one that is imperative in communicating with not only our clients but also our team. Listening is a skill that requires intention and cultivation to master. Listening builds relationships and diffuses conflict. Listening is a gift of time and attention, nurturing those we have been privileged to serve.

So you’re thinking about buying a practice?

Veterinary practice ownership is a huge career step and the entry into some of the most challenging and rewarding work within veterinary medicine. You are right to make the decision slowly and methodically, because this is not a decision to take lightly.

Career & Personal Development: Choosing the Right Job

Veterinarians are fortunate to work in a growing industry with a job outlook that is predicted to grow by 17% between 2020 – 2030 – a rate that is much faster than the average for all occupations across the country. By the time you graduate, it’s likely you will receive multiple job offers, but not all offers are created equal! During this session, we’ll not only discuss offer letter details that can easily create confusion, but also those that are commonly overlooked by new grads. By the end of this session, you should leave with knowledge of how to ask better questions about your offer letters and how to determine which offer is the right one for you.

Financial Understanding and Clinic Ownership

Brief overview of the state of the veterinary practice market and paths ownership, to include acquisition of an existing practice, starting your own (de novo), or partnering through a joint venture model.

POPO 2/21 East University Veterinary Hospital

Paws On Practice Ownership

POPO 2/20 Auburn Veterinary Hospital

Paws On Practice Ownership

POPO 2/2 - PetVet Animal Health Center w/ Dr. Brawner

Paws On Practice Ownership

What is the Business Model Canvas?

Please join us for a 2hr workshop with Dr. Conor Blanchet, founder of Lacuna Diagnostics. We will be walking through what it looks like to own a start up and how to start building you dream practice. You don’t want to miss this opportunity!

Identifying the Critical Components of an Employment Contract & An Introduction to the Future of Job Searching

Paul Diaz is a United States Marine Corps Veteran with over 20 years of experience leading recruiting teams in various industries. In his most recent corporate position, Paul was the Vice President of DVM Recruiting for one of the nation’s largest veterinary employers. He led that team to over 1,100 DVM hires in just 2 years. Paul started his own company, Hire Power Consulting, with the intent to do things differently. He saw a need to support veterinary job seekers through the employment process and built his business around advocating for the veterinary professional. He created a patent-pending process which eliminates the uncomfortable nature of offer negotiations, empowers veterinary professionals to achieve their true professional value, and best of all, with his process veterinary job seekers can get a detailed, written offer as the very first step. Paul will be talking us through what to look out for in employment contracts and what searching for a job might look like in the near future.

Difficult Conversations: End of Life Decisions

Difficult Conversations: End of Life Decisions: One of the most difficult conversations to have with clients involves end of life decision making. These conversations must balance the patient’s needs with the emotional and financial needs of the client and can take a large emotional toll on the veterinary team. We will discuss management of cases where clients refuse euthanasia in a critically ill patient and others where clients request euthanasia for a patient that could be treated. How do we, as veterinarians, handle these conversations, advocate for our patients, serve the human-animal bond, and preserve our own wellbeing?

Mentorship: What does it look like to you?

Join Dr. Kerby and VBMA to learn about what mentorship looks like to you! He will discuss different style of mentorship that may compliment your personal and professional dreams. Additionally, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of traditional internships, graduate programs, and starting a new practice . Lastly, he will help you to determine your course & conquer the start of your successful veterinary medicine journey.

Starting a Practice

We will discuss the key decisions a business owner will make when looking to own a practice. We will also discuss the financial aspects of ownership, including financing, pro forma statements and buying vs. leasing space.

Mental Toughness in Veterinary Medicine: Welcome to the Crucible!

This evidenced-based presentation looks at the value of mental toughness, resilience, and emotional intelligence in veterinary medicine, and how they relate to burn-out, compassion fatigue, and imposter syndrome. A discussion on how to bring back life and joy into your practice and your personal career.

Veterinary Practice Leadership: We Need a Hero!

Veterinary Medicine practices have enough managers…We need leaders at all levels! Discuss combating Imposter Syndrome and God Complex.

VetWealth - Veterinary Contracts

VetWealth’s 2023 VBMA Presentation entitled “Veterinary Contracts and Your Financial Future” will highlight several basic aspects of employment agreements that can have a significant impact on short term and long term financial outlook. The three parts addressed will be compensation, benefits, and non-competition clauses. VetWealth will discuss production pay and the varying structures as well as how to compare them from one employer to the next. We also discuss best practices for truly nailing down what production may be worth at a prospective employer. Lastly, we’ll touch on bonuses, their tax treatments, and ramifications if employment timeline stipulations are not met. The presentation will also touch on benefits that are most common in today’s veterinary employment agreements. We will discuss which are most important to look for, how they impact taxes and wealth accumulation. Finally, VetWealth will look at non-competition clauses and their impact on the veterinary landscape. We will share stories from veterinarians who have been impacted by both sides of the agreement and discuss the most negatively impactful clauses and how to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of both parties. Throughout the presentation we will highlight the importance of all the facets discussed, as well as those outside the scope of the presentation, while also emphasizing the importance to not lose sight of the big picture and how to find success in an employment agreement outside of what it is contained in a contract.

Business & Employment Law

Personal and Professional Liability Protection

This informative discussion will address ways to protect both your personal and professional life. Insurance terms can feel like learning an entirely new language, allow us to help you translate into what these coverages mean for you. This presentation specifically provides information on how to prevent client complaints, how to assure you as a future licensed veterinarian will be fully protected, and how to protect you, your earning capabilities, and your loved ones through personal coverage. Actual closed claim examples are used to highlight the importance of each coverage.

Veterinary Practice Careers-Land a Job at the Practice of Your Dreams

You’re graduating! Now what? Learn the secrets to uncovering potential employment opportunities, tips on how to nail the interview, plus screening strategies that give you the tools you need to assess whether a practice is a good fit for you.

5 Suggestions for Making the Most of your Externship

Dr. Gomez will be sharing her advice on how to get the most out of our internships as we get closer to becoming a veterinarian. The five tips she dives into are as follows: 1) dont be afraid to travel, 2) be professional, 3) be prepared, 4) engage with as many doctors as possible, and finally 5) use the internship as a possible job interview.

Career Mapping in the World of Corporate Veterinary Medicine

Speaker: Kelcey Collins How to navigate and identify career opportunities that align with your personal and professional goals. If you’re wondering how to select a position with a Corporate Veterinary Group- this presentation will offer some key things to consider before you make a selection.

“Tell-Health, One Veterinarian’s Journey Into the Virtual Exam Room”

“From Ideas to Impact: Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Plunge”

“Bouncing into Our Resiliency”

Stop Bossing, Start Coaching

How can you coach like a boss? The command and control leadership style is out-dated and at every turn being rejected by the up-and-coming generations. We will look at the key tenets of how organizations can move from bossing to coaching with their team members to create a thriving workplace that respects the key drivers of motivation of autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

VMG and Practice Ownership

Dr. Oberschlake obtained his DVM from Ohio State then did an internship in Large animal medicine and surgery at the University of Minnesota before entering a mixed animal practice. He initially spent 20% of his time in small animal practice. The majority of his time was spent in Bovine surgery and theriogenology work. which included 15 years of Embryo Transfer practice. He transitioned to owning two small animal hospitals in 1996 in the Fox Valley area of WI. He became the first VMG practice in the state of WI and will be sharing his journey into practice ownership. A short portion of the talk will be on the Veterinary Management Group (VMG) and what it provides for private practice owners.

Practice Ownership in Today's World

Once a standard protocol after graduation, practice ownership is becoming a diminishing dream. Many factors contribute to this, such as increases in student debt, changing work ethics, increases in equipment and real estate costs, as well as competition from other practices and veterinary groups. If you have a desire to own your own practice, there’s many aspects that should be taken into consideration to determine if practice ownership is a right fit for you. Once you’ve decided that practice ownership is in your wheelhouse, how can you select or build the best practice for you and for your community? How can you make sure you have the best support staff to help you achieve your and their dreams?

Understanding a P&L Statement

Profit and loss statement. Breeaking down the veterinary hospital P&L to better understand veterinarian salaries, profit centers, and KPIs in your hospital.

You Can’t Make Money If You Can’t Count Money

During this presentation, you will have the opportunity to learn about why daily bookkeeping and accrual bookkeeping is important to your business. We will also cover how various bookkeeping styles can affect your financial statements.

What Leadership Looks Like

Do you think you are a leader? If you answered, “yes” please join us and see if you have what it takes. If you said, “no”, I may be able to convince you otherwise. This is going to be a fun and interactive discussion with very few PowerPoint slides.

Evaluating Mentorship - What you want and want clinics can offer.

Please join Dr. Alissa Edoff for a discussion on the importance of externships and mentorship in your first position out of school. We’ll discuss what mentorship really means and why CityVet is leading the way.

"Financial Statements"

Western Summit 2023.

"Practice Ownership Considerations for Students"

Westen Summit 2023. This session journeys deeper into the path to ownership addressing topics like start-up vs acquisitions, lending criteria, cash flow, building your team, and more.

"Building a Career that lasts"

Western Summit 2023. Dr. Bowden is a 2016 WSU College of Veterinary Medicine graduate and a VBMA Honors Portfolio Graduate. She will start by discussing the 8 areas of wellness, imposter syndrome, and how we set standards for ourselves about what being a good vet is. She explains how soft skills and efficiency improve patient care and the bottom line. She discusses how to build client trust, how good medicine is good business, and how to communicate value.

"What I Look for In a Resume"

Western Summit 2023. A resume is frequently your initial introduction to a potential externship, scholarship, job, research grant, etc. In conjunction with a cover letter, it can lead you to the opportunity of your dreams or block your chance for advancement. After discussing what goes into a classic resume, we will review YOUR resumes and give you accolades as appropriate or coaching as needed. This is a unique way to set yourself up for long-term success by learning how to build a resume or fix your resume’ for the future.

"Rx For Patient Care: Effective Communication"

Western Summit 2023. Join Dr. Kristi Yee, owner of Hometown Veterinary Hospital, as she shares communication strategies utilized inside and outside of the exam room to optimize patient healthcare. This talk will discuss: confidence and competence in your veterinary knowledge, comfort with conveying your veterinary knowledge to clients and team members, dealing with uncomfortable situations, and professionalism in a social media age.

"Practical Implementation of Hemp Products in Practice Information"

Western Summit 2023. This talk will go over the dosing strategy, record writing, and general monitoring and laws of hemp products. This lecture also will cover reading a certificate of analysis and choosing a product.

Understanding your Debt: A Guide to Financial Literacy

Work to improve your career and professional development in this discussion by the mission veterinary partners team. They will use your debt as a springboard into understanding the basics of personal finance that are critical to know as you launch your career as a veterinarian.

Communicating with Pet Families Along a Spectrum of Care

Are you still a little confused on the exact definition of Spectrum of Care? Do you wonder how to communicate treatment plans along a spectrum of care best suited to pet family needs? Or do you want to know how Nationwide works with the veterinary medicine, and potentially network with the vets from Nationwide? Come join us for a 2 hour workshop to learn more!

Finding Your Why & Ultimately Your Passion

Without a clear why, the focus becomes what and how and that leads to a passionless trudge through the day to day. Your team, your friends and ultimately your family follow you and buy in to what you do because of your why. Once you know your WHY, you have a choice to live it every day. Living it means consistently taking actions that are in alignment with the things you say…When the things we say and the things we do are aligned with what we believe, we are fully living our WHY.

How Veterinarians Get Paid

Dr. Weinstein will be discussing the various ways that veterinarians get paid, including production-based, straight salary only, and more!

Diversity, Inclusion, & Inclusive Mentorship

Dr. Valerie C. Marcano is a speaker, consultant, and veterinarian with her core values of authenticity, integrity, and fairness to advocate for health and belonging in veterinary medicine. Dr. Marcano received her veterinary and PhD degrees at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a board-certified diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. Her educational background affords her experience in research, government, diagnostics, and private industry. In 2020, Dr. Valerie co-founded Pawsibilities Vet Med, a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to increasing support for veterinary teams and individuals from underrepresented communities. Pawsibilities Vet Med offers a virtual mentorship platform, regular professional development opportunities and numerous resources to its members. In 2022, Dr. Valerie founded ValCri Consulting, LLC providing inclusive mentorship, poultry health and veterinary accessibility consulting services.

"End of Life Discussions"

BCP Category 3 lunch talk, held in HPC Ap2. This meeting will cover one of the most difficult conversations to have with clients involves end of life decision making. These conversations must balance the patient’s needs with the emotional and financial needs of the client and can take a large emotional toll on the veterinary team. We will discuss management of cases where clients refuse euthanasia in a critically ill patient and others where clients request euthanasia for a patient that could be treated. How do we, as veterinarians, handle these conversations, advocate for our patients, serve the human-animal bond, and preserve our own wellbeing?

IN-PERSON: Increase Access to Care by Engaging Teams and Improving Efficiency

What if veterinary teams could work more efficiently, providing more care for more pets and achieving better outcomes for pet families? This presentation maps out action plans to help effectively engage technical staff and utilize a spectrum of care approach, delivering better results for your patients, increasing productivity, and boosting team satisfaction.

How to evaluate the health of a practice and/or starting up & closing a business

Dr. Drew Neilley, DVM CVA, will discuss how to evaluate the health of a veterinary practice. Part of this will include starting up and closing a practice.

Part 2: Your 5 Year Plan to Financial Success + The Profit of One More + What We Wish We Knew in Vet School

Join us after hours with Dr. Joe Whalen, the co-founder of Partners Veterinary Group, as he divulges into a plan for veterinary students and young associates to set themselves up for financial freedom and practice ownership. Additionally, he will share how a little extra effort can yield tremendous gains. He will close out this 2 hour session with a compilation of speeches from 20 practicing veterinarians sharing their advice as your future colleagues.

Part 1: Your 5 Year Plan to Financial Success + The Profit of One More + What We Wish We Knew in Vet School

Join us after hours with Dr. Joe Whalen, the co-founder of Partners Veterinary Group, as he divulges into a plan for veterinary students and young associates to set themselves up for financial freedom and practice ownership. Additionally, he will share how a little extra effort can yield tremendous gains. He will close out this 2 hour session with a compilation of speeches from 20 practicing veterinarians sharing their advice as your future colleagues.

Know Your Value: A New Grad's Guide to Contracts

Join Dr. Heather Roberts, DVM for a Know Your Value: A New Grad’s Guide to Contracts lecture. In this lecture, Dr. Roberts will walk you through understanding what you are worth and what should you earn as a new grad. Dr Roberts will also cover questions about what reasonable compensation and parts of a contract look like so you can feel confident and prepared before your interview!

Master the Interview for Mentorship & Career Success

Applying for your first job includes the practice interviewing the candidate and the future team member interviewing the practice. Learn how to be interview ready by “stacking the deck” and utilizing the STAR Method. Determine what is on your future practice “wish list” and what are your “deal breakers” as you seek out your dream job. This presentation is already optimized for a virtual session.

It’s Crazy Out There! Picking the Right Practice and Justifying Your Compensations

With the shortage of veterinarians practices are offering great signing bonuses, benefits and compensation. The fast rise in compensation being offered may alter the judgement of those looking, especially with student loans. Many fail to look at what is most important- picking a heathy practice where a new veterinarian can grow and thrive. This talk will discuss current labor trends and offers. We will also analyze practices behaviors and give important questions to determine if this is “the right practice.” We will also discuss traits of high producers that if repeated will help you justify your this higher compensation.

Business Taxes

Nobody wants to pay them, but everyone wants to understand them! This lecture is presented by Dr. Katherine Stieh, a DVM/CPA who will review all pieces of the tax puzzle and review your personal responsibility when it comes to paying taxes.

Clinic Ownership

Dr. Margaret Trumble along with Dr. Andrea Anderson will be talking to our LSU VBMA chapter about the fundamentals of owning a veterinary hospital as a female veterinarian.

Entrepreneurship in Veterinary Medicine

Dr. McMillan will be discussing entrepreneurship in the veterinary field, as well as the importance of establishing a healthy work-life balance in order to build a more sustainable career. He will also discuss externship opportunities through GoodVets.

How to Pitch

Craft your 90-second elevator pitch for the upcoming pitch competitions. Throughout the workshop, you’ll learn how to quickly and effectively tell your story to any audience. You are not required to have a business idea for this workshop! But if you do have an idea, the workshop will help you create your pitch.

The Economics of a Toxic Workplace

According to HR experts, one in five people will leave their job because of a bad company culture. The cost of that turnover is an estimated $223 billion just in the US. Billions of dollars are wasted every year with employee turnover. Find out how much it costs to replace team members, from expensive lawsuits, to the cost of finding new employees, and learn how you can protect yourself and your own practice from the expense of a toxic workplace.

Know Your Value: A Production Report

Dr. Gerardo Navas will discuss how to maximize your production as a newly-practicing veterinarian and examine the factors involved in finding your ideal production volume.

Let's Talk about CE

Dr. Verna Serra, along with Dr. Allie Poole and Dr. Lynsey Rinelli from Veterinary Emergency Group will be talking to our chapter about continuing education. What is it, why is it important, and how do we utilize it for our career and personal development? Come to this lunch meeting and find out all about it!

How to Put Your Best Self Forward

A professionalism workshop: top tips on professionalism and how they can help you stand out in your career and moving forward. Speakers include Dr. Lucy Clunes (DOS panelist), Dr. ANthony Andall (SAS panelist), Dr. Anna Cyrus-Murden (SOM panelist), and Dr. Kerri Nigito (SVM panelist)

Conflict Resolution Workshop

Disagreements are natural and knowing how to navigate tension and resolve disputes without alienating others takes skill. Seize the opportunity to build your conflict resolution skill set by attending this workshop!

Building a Successful Career in Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Yarnell will be providing us with his tips and insights into how he grew his practice from a single doctor with a support staff of 4 into a highly successful 6 doctor practice with a staff of 30. The discussion will include practice philosophy, challenges faced, preparing for practice growth, and work-life balance. Dr. Yarnell will also be sharing his experience in building wealth along the way.

10 Suggestions for Making the Most of Your Externships

Your externship experiences will be some of the most enjoyable time during your veterinary school career. But finding the right ones can be challenging. This talk provides 10 valuable and practical ways to be sure your externships are valuable and enjoyable. Maybe that means using it as an extended job interview, or traveling to some exotic location, or diving into the deep end of medicine or surgery. Whatever it is you would like to achieve with your externships, this talk can help you find it.

Veterinary Ethics and Law - VMED 9010

Professional Development and Business Fundamentals - VMED 9050

How to Slay the Interview

This interview workshop is designed to strengthen your interpersonal skills in order to slay the interview. We will discuss the most updated strategies and techniques, such as how to present yourself confidently, showcase your expertise and experience, and pass the vibe check. We will also cover the importance of research and preparation, as well as tips on how to de-stress the process. By the end of the evening, you will have the skills and knowledge to make a lasting impression and have the best chance of success in your veterinary interviewing process.

Protecting yourself while protecting your patients

Understanding the role of insurance in veterinary medicine to protect yourself and your career.

Western Summit A Practical Guide to Financial Statements

We will be discussing how to read financial statements and how they can be used to evaluate the state of your future veterinary business!

Leading Up and Enacting Change in Your First Job Without Rocking the Boat

Leading Up - Enacting change in your first job without rocking the boat!!! Your first veterinary job is stressful simply learning how to practice and what it means to be a doctor. Many new grads exacerbate this stress by unwittingly causing rifts with their employer and coworkers. This presentation is designed to help newly minted veterinarians navigate these uncharted waters to tactfully build influence without damaging relationships and their reputations.

Thinking outside of the box in Business Management

Dr. Solomon operates a dynamic and growing multi-site clinic in Amarillo. He has created an extraordinary, team-focused culture by providing the doctors and staff with a refreshing work-life balance, numerous personal-growth opportunities, and an environment where each person is empowered to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

How can you utilize business strategy to create long-term success in veterinary medicine?

There are proven strategic frameworks to help business owners be competitive during changing times in veterinary medicine. These timeless methods can be applied to both your personal career strategy and your practice’s strategy. Learning to employ strategy properly is a valuable topic for all practitioners.

A Practical Guide to Financial Statements

We will be discussing how to read financial statements and how they can be used to evaluate the state of your future veterinary business!

How to thrive in your first year of practice

Dr. Singletary will share specific examples on how to thrive as a first year DVM following the framework that he uses to mentor first year DVMs at Good Dog Veterinary Care. He will share the first year ”road map” for a successful transition from student to DVM. Not only does Dr. Singletary have first hand experience mentoring the recent graduates on the Good Dog Veterinary Care Team, he also strongly believes in student mentorship and has hosted and mentored over 30 third and fourth year student externs in the last five years. He knows what hurdles new DVMs will face and he is excited to share specific steps to overcome these obstacles!

Internship and Mentorship

Join us for lunch and learn with Dr. Christina Moore, DVM, MBA from Thrive Pet Healthcare. Dr. Moore will be discussing internship and mentorship within the veterinary field. She personally graduated from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012, then completed a 1-year rotating internship in NY, NY. After a couple of years in small animal general practice, she moved into a role on the business side of veterinary medicine, working with veterinarians to find their best fit practice. This led to a role with Thrive Pet Healthcare, where she has spent the past 5 years recruiting vets and techs for the Thrive teams, leading a team of recruiters, and now leading Thrive’s University Relations and Doctor Mentorship programs.

Veterinary Profession Loss and the Financial Implications of Turnover in Veterinary Practice

Dr. Paulson will be detailing common reasons for veterinary profession resignation and how practice considerations for engaging and retaining veterinary professionals can ensure they start, stay, and grow with your practice.

Mentorship and Wellbeing

We’re all told that a good mentor relationship can provide an exceptional value to a young professional, but how do we ensure the quality of that relationship, and what happens to your wellbeing when that relationship isn’t good? Dr. Riolo joins us to discuss setting up for a successful mentor-mentee relationship and what to do if things aren’t working out.

"Finding Balance and Happiness in Your Veterinary Career"

A roundtable/Q&A type session about being true to yourself as you grow over time as a veterinarian in today’s everchanging landscape. We’ll touch on life in both traditional veterinary practice as well as alternative careers such as industry.

How to Handle Student Debt Crisis

Options for getting out of student debt.

Remembering the FOOD in food animal medicine – tools for producer education

Food animal veterinarians are the backbone to a safe and secure food supply. Learn how incorporating preventive medicine techniques in practice benefits the health of the livestock herd and business through short case studies. Producer education tools provided by the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program will be discussed and how you can enhance your practice and education in the field.

Know Your Numbers: A Guide to Profit and Loss Statements

Dr. West Hamryka will be presenting on ”Know Your Numbers: A Guide to Profit and Loss Statements”. This presentation teaches basic financial literacy and gives students a better understanding of how to evaluate profitability - the hallmark of how we value practices and people.

Western Summit: Practice Ownership Considerations for Students

Jeremiah is a healthcare consultant supporting veterinarians ranging from students to retirees. He works in conjunction with a dedicated team of industry experts providing a comprehensive option for Health Care Professionals to achieve their financial and professional goals. Wells Fargo Healthcare Industries Group is a specialized division focused exclusively on the needs of, Veterinarians, Dentists, Optometrists, and Medical Doctors.

Western Summit: Building a Career that Lasts

She will start off discussing the 8 areas of wellness, imposter syndrome and how we set standards for ourselves about what being a good vet is in our minds. She transitions into how soft skills and efficiency improve patient care and the bottom line. She discusses how to build client trust, how good medicine is good business, and how to communicate value.

Western Summit: What I Look for in a Resume

A resume is frequently your initial introduction to a potential externship, scholarship, job, research grant, etc. In conjunction with a cover letter it can lead you to the opportunity of your dreams or block your chance for advancement. After a discussion of what goes into a classic resume’ we will review YOUR resumes and give you accolades as appropriate or coaching as needed. This is a unique way to set yourself up for long term success by learning how to build a resume’ or fix your resume’ for the future.

Western Summit: Rx for Patient Care: Effective Communication

Communication strategies utilized inside and outside of the exam room to optimize patient healthcare. Discussion will include: Confidence and competence in your veterinary knowledge, Comfort with conveying your veterinary knowledge to clients and team members, Dealing with uncomfortable situations, and Professionalism in a social media age.

Practical Implementation of Hemp Products in Practice Information

We will go over dosing strategy, record writing and general monitoring and laws. This lecture will also cover reading a certificate of analysis and choosing a product.

Equine Veterinary Business Management

Dr. Hayna will discuss the management of equine veterinary business management, especially as it relates to mobile service business management.

Why Millennials Make the Best Clients

Dr. Jill Lopez, founder and CEO of Vet Candy, LLC, will discuss the marketing trends in veterinary medicine and how these trends impact your clientele as a practicing veterinarian.

Practice Ownership Considerations for Students

This session journeys deeper into the path to ownership addressing topics like start-up vs acquisitions, lending criteria, cash flow, building your team, and more.

Operational Excellence

”Operational Excellence” - centers around creating communication avenues and routes for DVMs, support staff, and clients. It also touches on creating workflows for new DVMs to help avoid the most common problems new DVMs face. This presentation is adapted from the operating protocols for veterinarians at Swann Animal Clinic in Amarillo, TX.

Protecting Yourself as a Veterinarian with Insurance

Dr. Rebecca Stinson from the AVMA Trust as well as Philip Ladner, a local insurance agent that works almost exclusively with veterinary practices, presented ”Protecting Yourself as a Veterinarian with Insurance”. They discussed topics such as how to protect yourself as a vet with insurance, why you need insurance while in practice, and how to go about getting it.

Taming the Feral Inventory

Taming the Feral Inventory: Learn the basics of veterinary inventory management beginning with how good inventory management impacts practice management. We will cover deciding what to keep on the shelves, how much to stock, and how to keep track of it all! The information presented applies to all veterinary practices, large and small.

Living with Intention; 5 Actions for a Life of Passion and Purpose

How to avoid a post-vet school deceleration, become an effective clinician and achieve professional success. Also discuss future challenges and opportunities in ties of vetmed.

"Ownership shortly after graduation and business ethics"

Dr. Lima will be discussing the process of becoming a practice owner shortly after graduating veterinary school. Additionally, Dr. Lima will provide information on important business ethics that are important for all graduating veterinary students to know as they begin looking for employment and should they choose to start their own practice.

ZOOM: How to Network on LinkedIn

Dr. Jill Lopez is someone who has done it all: DVM, MBA, and CEO of Vet Candy. As someone who understands the different spheres of veterinary medicine and business, join us as she guides us in mastering how to use LinkedIn and refining our profile. These tools will be a booster to those attending MVMA and interested in connecting with more veterinary professionals lifelong!

ZOOM: Clinic Culture and Staff Retention

Join us and Dr. Brownlee, current V.P. of the MVMA, as she shares her expertise about clinic culture and staff retention developed throughout her career as a clinic owner and veterinarian in the Twin Cities.

IN-PERSON: Clinic Culture and Staff Retention

Join us and Dr. Brownlee, current V.P. of the MVMA, as she shares her expertise about clinic culture and staff retention developed throughout her career as a clinic owner and veterinarian in the Twin Cities.