Test Your Knowledge of Veterinary Practice Management!

Challenges and Opportunities in Veterinary Practice Management

• Changes in the pet population, increased competition, and legislation have made good management more important in the veterinary profession.
• Professional practice management will be crucial for the success of veterinary practices in the next 5-10 years.
• Management training is essential for those responsible for managing veterinary practices, regardless of their background or experience.
• The role of practice management is constantly changing as individual practices increase in size and corporate practices emerge.
• Specialist management is needed for larger, multi-site practices, with managers responsible for financial, human resource, technical, marketing, and strategic aspects.
• Effective marketing management is becoming increasingly important in the veterinary profession.
• The effective use of well-trained staff, especially veterinary nurses, is crucial for the success of veterinary practices.
• Nurses' clinics can increase sales and bond clients to the practice, and support staff can actively promote practice services and products.
• Veterinary surgeons must actively promote other practice services and nurses' clinics and help bond clients to the practice.
• The manager's responsibility is to delegate tasks, train and develop staff potential, and instill the fact that veterinary practice is a business that needs to make a profit to survive.
• Management training comes in many forms, from university qualifications to business studies courses, but very few are specifically designed for veterinary practice management.
• While a double qualification in veterinary and management knowledge is reassuring, any good manager should be capable of acquiring the 'business' of veterinary practice on the job.

Adapting to Change in the Veterinary Industry

• Veterinary practices are facing increasing competition for fewer clients.
• Managers must continually monitor trends and changes in client needs and demands and supply new needs and demands at competitive prices.
• Clients are becoming more sophisticated and critical of their pets' care, and practices cannot afford to provide mediocre care.
• Veterinary surgeons may have to rely more on income from fees as income from drugs is reduced.
• Fee charging is a difficult area for veterinary surgeons to change compared to other professions.
• Veterinary surgeons are no longer the sole providers of veterinary information, as clients can access vast amounts of clinical information online.
• Practices must adapt to 21st-century technology by making their information available online and contacting clients via email.
• Staff also have increasing demands for better working conditions, longer holidays, and more free time for outside activities.
• Veterinary practices are turning towards specialization and offering referral facilities for specialists in fields such as cardiology and radiology.
• Some practices have diversified into veterinary-associated enterprises such as kennelling, grooming, and pet shops.
• The number of large practice groups and corporates is increasing, and some may be floated on the stock market.
• Veterinary nurses are subject to professional regulation through the non-statutory register for VNs and the VN Guide to Professional Conduct.