Equipping veterinary professionals in leadership and innovation is the driving force of an educational program.
Offered by Veterinary Practice Partners (VPP) and taught by faculty of the University of Denver, the VPP Leadership Academy is a 10-week “mini executive MBA program” targeted to clinical leaders as well as corporate-level personnel through a better understanding of macro trends in the veterinary industry.
In July 2024, VPP selected the class for its Fall program, which will be a combination of in-person and virtual meetings slated for Sept. 12-15 and Nov. 21-23 in Chicago, Ill.; and Nov. 4-8 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Veterinary Practice News caught up with Doug Aspros, DVM, chief veterinary officer of VPP to get his perspectives and insights on the future of veterinary leadership and industry trends.
1) How has the veterinary industry evolved in the past decade from your perspective?
Doug Aspros (DA): The changes in the industry over the past 20 years have been transformational. Among the most notable include the emergence of more corporate practices, vertical integration across platforms and the proliferation of branded de novos. While many of the changes have been positive, some–including veterinarians losing control over their destinies and their ability to practice on their own terms–have not been beneficial.
Additionally, the evolution of the veterinary industry in recent years, driven substantially by the growing human-animal bond and the unresolved issues arising from the pandemic, has put increasing pressure on veterinarians to meet what the public demands for clinical services.
While professional programs have expanded in both number and size, there are gaps in real-world preparedness for new graduates from even the very best programs to meet that need.
To fill this gap, practices need to invest in preparing their doctors and technicians to thrive personally and succeed professionally. At the same time, they empower those with further ambition to lead practice teams of their own.
We can’t keep veterinary medicine in the hands of veterinary professionals without investing in the development of our youngest team members. I believe this starts with quality education and development programs and extends to opening avenues for these professionals to chart their own career paths by giving them a voice in the decision-making process as well as the financial benefits of a healthy practice. This includes offering co-ownership opportunities that open the door to many for whom ownership would otherwise be unattainable.
2) What are the current trends in clinician professional development programs veterinarians are finding most valuable?
DA: Building a confident and competent clinician has four basic pillars: technical skills, communication skills, leadership skills, and business acumen skills.
General practitioners need the foundational technical skills to deliver higher-value services to patients–particularly general surgical and dental procedures–that both benefit patient health and allow doctors to practice at the top of their license. There is a significant gap between specialty referral and routine wellness care that can be filled by better-prepared GPs.
Communication skills aren’t soft skills but critical to both client satisfaction and doctor confidence. Too many doctors are underprepared to have the hard but necessary conversations that engender trust and loyalty with clients. In the end, these doctors do themselves a disservice by handing these critical responsibilities off to technicians.
Additionally, doctors are leaders, regardless of their actual title in the clinic. If we’re to lead the future of our own profession, we need to invest in understanding our role in team leadership and invest in our ability to drive culture, medical quality and client service.
Finally, veterinary medicine is about more than being a great clinical practitioner, it is about understanding the nuances of running successful and sustainable practices. Proper education, continuing training, mentorship and career development opportunities lay a foundation for profitable operations.
3) How are veterinarians leveraging new technologies to improve practice management and focus more on patient care?
DA: I think we’re on the cusp of an explosion of AI tools used in the delivery of care. There are exciting new practice information management software (PIMS) systems, smart test results, and diagnostic components (including AI support for radiology studies) that are emerging that will integrate modalities more seamlessly.
Data-driven, not anecdotal, insights are leading to a better understanding of the care we provide. This, in turn, is helping clinicians have a more complete understanding of the care they deliver while also allowing them to benchmark their performance against colleagues in their practice and others in their network.
4) Which leadership skills or training courses do veterinarians find most beneficial today, and how do these contribute to practice success?
DA: My daily focus at VPP is to ensure our development programs are impactful and give doctors the tools they need to thrive. The course I’m most excited about is our VPP Leadership Academy, what our faculty refers to as a mini executive MBA. This 10-week formal certificate program is delivered in partnership with University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. Open to doctor leaders, developing associates, practice managers, and VPP staff, this course focuses on what it takes to be a team leader, build and sustain a culture and adapt to changing times. At the core of the teaching is that successful practice leaders don’t start with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) goals, but instead, build their practices around a mission, values and people.
In terms of medical education, doctors appreciate our dental and surgical courses offered through the Viticus Center in Las Vegas (really a premier facility for our profession) that allow them to expand their offerings with high-value services. Additionally, most find the immersive Frank Communication Workshop program for VPP, delivered by Dr. Jane Shaw and her team at Colorado State University, to be revelatory, as I did when I went through it myself.
5) From your experience, which areas of medical specialization are proving most rewarding for veterinarians, and what factors are driving this trend?
DA: From a purely professional perspective, I think dentistry is a great place to start. There is so much room to provide better care in a GP setting, and dental care will be general practice-based for a very long time. From a productivity perspective, it offers the best ROI. It’s not a specialty in this context, but it is a valuable skill that can really support the viability of a practice.
For many new graduates, critical care is an appealing and lucrative avenue of specialization, but I fear the more sporadic nature of client engagement may result in sacrificing that trusted relationship with clients–which was what initially drew many of us into the profession and can be a significant source of personal satisfaction.
The most rewarding special interest is personal–doctors should strive to find what excites them and embrace it. It’s important that clinicians commit to not just life-long learning, but continuous professional development. Doctors need to keep their career feeling fresh, interesting, and like it has forward momentum. It’s a long journey, and it’s up to each practitioner to care for, nurture, and maintain their vitality and health to maximize it. It’s easy for veterinarians in today’s industry to feel like hamsters in a wheel. We do have agency in our profession and our futures, but it’s up to all of us to find the places where we can exert our influence for better outcomes for ourselves, our patients, our clients and our communities.
For more information, visit the Veterinary Practice Partners website