I am so thankful that my veterinary school offers a course in veterinary doctoring and business. The harsh reality is that a veterinary practice is a business and as much as we'd all love to give away our services, we can't, or if we did, we could not keep our doors open for long.
I think it is important for any new veterinary graduate to cover the topics we discuss in our business course. Our professor went above and beyond by giving us real world information and insight into being a successful business person. He had many guests join our class to share their thoughts and outlook - and they were all impressed at what we were learning since they had nothing similar taught to them while they were in veterinary school.
One of the major assignments in the course was to create a business plan. A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. We applied ourselves as "the business" - i.e. our goals, how we've prepared for them, and how we plan to obtain them. It was a pretty big project, I think mine came out to almost 20 pages, but I was very thorough and found the assignment very helpful. It's something that really made me think about what I want to be doing in 5 years, but more importantly it laid out a plan or "map" for how I'm going to get there. Mine is too big to share here, but if any pre-vets or other vet students are interested, I'd be happy to share mine via email.
For all you pre-vets, if you have time, it might not be a bad idea to take a business course. It might teach you something and balance out all those science courses you're taking right now in preparing for veterinary school.
See "Why Are Vets So Expensive?" if you haven't yet - really eye opening for most readers who are non-vets. I think as a person involved in the veterinary profession, I like how someone was able to express their thoughts so creatively on a public forum.
I think it is important for any new veterinary graduate to cover the topics we discuss in our business course. Our professor went above and beyond by giving us real world information and insight into being a successful business person. He had many guests join our class to share their thoughts and outlook - and they were all impressed at what we were learning since they had nothing similar taught to them while they were in veterinary school.
One of the major assignments in the course was to create a business plan. A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. We applied ourselves as "the business" - i.e. our goals, how we've prepared for them, and how we plan to obtain them. It was a pretty big project, I think mine came out to almost 20 pages, but I was very thorough and found the assignment very helpful. It's something that really made me think about what I want to be doing in 5 years, but more importantly it laid out a plan or "map" for how I'm going to get there. Mine is too big to share here, but if any pre-vets or other vet students are interested, I'd be happy to share mine via email.
For all you pre-vets, if you have time, it might not be a bad idea to take a business course. It might teach you something and balance out all those science courses you're taking right now in preparing for veterinary school.
See "Why Are Vets So Expensive?" if you haven't yet - really eye opening for most readers who are non-vets. I think as a person involved in the veterinary profession, I like how someone was able to express their thoughts so creatively on a public forum.
2 comments:
I'm so glad your school is giving you training in this area! We didn't have anything like this when I was in vet school and it's something so few new grads really understand.
Ya, Thanks Dr. Bern! I think these skills are so valuable for my future! We also learned about negotiation, employment contracts, and insurance coverage! I am so lucky, just need to keep these principals in mind as I move forward in my career!
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