Ownership through Medical Leadership
Written by: Dr. Bonnie Bragdon DVM, MS
Love your employer but want to grow? Consider climbing the career ladder by taking roles with increasing responsibilities. The first leadership for veterinarians in practice is often medical director or chief of staff and may even grow to a regional or national role leading other medical leaders to achieve the organization’s mission. While an MBA provides valuable education, on the job training is often enough to grow your career into management. No new job openings? Consider tackling a problem or goal your leadership is targeting, like improving a new associate’s production or resolving inventory problems. And volunteering for a non-profit allows experimentation with new skills and work duties with no risk. Non-profits need help in so many functional areas. Do good and learn valuable skills at the same time.
Owning your Practice
Ready to own your practice and your medicine? Start by exploring. Visit a trade show at a conference to connect with expert advisors, such as practice brokers. Gain knowledge by attending lectures and network with practice owning peers by joining organizations like the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Owners Association. Explore different models for ownership including starting a new practice from the ground up, buying an independent practice, or partnering with another veterinarian or national practice for partial ownership. Be aware there is always a minority owner and a majority owner in a partnership. The majority owner rules in disagreements. Legal structures and an operating agreement are important in starting an enduring and equal partnership. Be aware of predatory practices. Determine in advance who the majority owner is, what responsibilities each partner has, who does what, and how each partner is compensated. Compensation for work is separate and different from payout of profits. Whether you start or buy a practice, plan for 6 or more months paying yourself from working capital or savings as volume builds and you can eventually pay yourself a salary.
Early Career Ownership
Ownership may not be a top priority as you learn the clinical skills needed to practice. You may have skipped management and ownership electives in school in favor of clinical lectures. Be open to new experiences and experiment with different leadership roles as an associate. As you explore options, be sure to keep your finances as healthy as your patients. Pay debt on time and use credit wisely and keep credit cards to a minimum. Save cash over time for a safety net or down payment towards buying a practice. While a down payment may not be required by a bank for financing, most banks will expect as much as $25,000 cash reserve.
Mid-Career Development
After mastering clinical skills, mid-career veterinarians may feel constrained by everyday practice. Veterinarians have so many career options for continued growth. The first decision to consider is whether to add to your clinical skills and grow technically or look to take on more management skills and grow as a leader. Growth as a medical expert could mean going back to school to pursue a formal program in specialty medicine or could be as simple as spending time to learn new procedures at short certificate courses. Know the transition from technical expert to management leader can be challenging as new skills take time to develop and it requires a paradigm shift. Continuing your career path towards leadership may lead you to practice ownership. If practice ownership isn’t for you, corporate practice and careers in animal health offer development opportunities from entry level leadership roles as a manager or director up to executive roles in practice operation, technical support, research & development, and technical marketing. At this stage in your career, it is most important to be patient with yourself and persistently pursue opportunities. In addition to developing new skills, researching opportunities and creating a network take time and discipline. Spend the same time and dedication to your career growth as you did to becoming a veterinarian. Moving your career in a new direction is just like becoming a veterinarian. It can be a long path with challenges and setbacks. Be flexible but disciplined.
Owning AFTER Ownership
As a former practice owner, I know building a career after ownership requires a paradigm shift. If you aren’t ready for retirement, you may experience an unfamiliar moment of indecision. Having new opportunities to consider may be a welcome change but can be overwhelming. Often having too many options can make a decision more difficult. Give yourself time and experiment. Re-engage with hobbies and interests outside veterinary medicine which may have taken a backseat to building your business. “Try” new careers by volunteering and informational interviews. Connect on LinkedIn for networking and take time to talk to experts at a trade show to understand the larger landscape of animal health and veterinary medicine. Your management and leadership skills transfer to many different jobs. Have a political interest or want to do good? Explore options in government public health and policy positions and non-profit organizations supporting your beliefs and ideals. Want to mentor and coach others on their path to success? Consider possibilities for building or joining a consulting and coaching business. Have a vision for improving the veterinary profession? Seek out work in organized medicine and explore careers in association management. Interested in travel and public speaking? Take a deeper look into the business of animal health and explore careers at drug and diagnostic companies in technical support, marketing, and R&D. As a business owner, you have developed confidence and are comfortable with taking action and making decisions. Be prepared when returning to the world of employment for an adjustment to life in a larger system with different systems of rules and policies. You may have become a “lone wolf” as a practice owner and will need to understand new ways of getting things done within a more layered organization. Be open to new ideas, observe others, and ask for help. Have patience and know your judgement and experience are a great foundation for continued growth.
So, what’s holding you back?
Let’s face it, business ownership and medical leadership is risky. It requires learning new skills and being adaptable. Know you will make mistakes and experience failure. Failure is part of learning. Failure helps us understand what is not working on our path to success. And failure doesn’t have to be fatal. When making a risky decision, consider what is the worst outcome, the best outcome, and the most likely outcome. If the risk is too great, try a less risky move in the same direction. Let’s consider hiring a new veterinary technician. You have a single candidate but still worry about making the new addition to the team. Instead of feeling forced to hire the only candidate you have, have the person work a few shifts temporarily on a contract basis to give yourself and your team time to fully understand what the candidate can bring to the team. Even after hiring the new candidate, be sure to manage the first 90 days carefully with a clearplan for termination in the event the candidate fails to meet your expectations. Business decisions are scary and risky but generally aren’t fatal. Many of the decision-making skills veterinarians apply in caring for patients can be applied to leadership and business decision making. Find ways to experiment with leadership and push yourself outside your comfort zone. Connect with experts to build a network of advisors for guidance and feedback to mitigate risk. It’s never too early to connect with practice brokers, financial experts, and network with practice owners. You were able to learn the Krebs cycle and passed biochemistry. You can diagnose complex diseases and handle nonverbal patients with sharp teeth. You can become a business leader and practice owner.
When veterinarians own their business, they own their medicine and their destiny.
About Dr. Bonnie Bragdon DVM, MS
Dr. Bonnie Bragdon is a leader in the veterinary medical field, with more than 20 years of experience gained from professional roles supporting diverse commercial and clinical activities. She currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer of CenterPoint Bio-Tech, which is developing novel technology to improve the accuracy and accessibility of in-house diagnostic equipment for veterinarians across disciplines. Dr. Bragdon’s passion is bringing cutting edge products to her colleagues in clinical practice to improve the care of animals and the veterinary healthcare teams who serve them. As a licensed veterinarian supporting commercial organizations, her top priority is to ensure scientific and technical data are carefully interpreted and applied in clinical practice. Tapping skills, she developed during master’s level training in veterinary clinical science and business administration, she works to educate veterinary clinicians about the medical and practical use of products across practice types and species focus. Her career began in clinical practice, and she understands veterinarians’ pain points and needs. After receiving her DVM and master’s in veterinary clinical sciences from the Ohio State University, she practiced companion animal medicine and surgery for ten years. She now works across functions in early stage startup diagnostic companies to lead and advise in the development of diagnostic devices utilizing surface acoustic wave biosensors, holographic cell reconstruction, and proprietary electroporation techniques for the continuous extraction of interstitial fluid.
Dr. Bragdon is enthusiastic about contributing to the veterinary profession and has served in volunteer roles for the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Industry Veterinarians, and the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics. She is cofounder and president of the Independent Veterinary Partners Association (IVPA). As its cofounder and leader, she has grown IVPA membership to more than 400 hospital members through marketing, strategic partnerships, and business development. Her passion for evidence-based medicine inspired her to earn a master’s degree in veterinary clinical science at The Ohio State University while simultaneously studying for her DVM degree there and raising two children. She has continued her education by completing master-level training in business administration and executive leadership at Georgia State University, completed other sales courses, and pursued additional leadership expertise through individual executive coaching.
For more information on the IVPA, visit https://www.iveterinarians.org/
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