Business Rotation
I started this rotation with no idea what I was doing. However, I can now say that I know at least 2 things. I do not think I have said this on my blog yet, but I want to own a practice in the future. A lot of small practices are being bought out by corporations because they can offer the baby boomer generation more money than a new grad can. I do not want to get sucked into cookie-cutter medicine or nationally set prices for goods and services.
One of the main things I learned was financial analysis. We want it to be all about the medicine, but our profitability is what keeps our shelves stocked, our lights on, and allows veterinarians to earn a livable wage. The most interesting thing I learned was categorizing revenue by DVM. It let me look at areas of weakness within the practice. Am I spending too long in appointments? Are clients not approving estimates? If so, why not? Am I not efficiently scheduled? Etc.
My favorite part of this rotation was that I was given the opportunity to visit several private practices, varying from a small town vet clinic to a large referral center and audit them. I was a fly on the wall, following clients around to determine appointment efficiency, observing staff workflow, observing the duties each role in the hospital is tasked with. I also got to look at their financial data to help identify and problem areas or look at areas of interest to the practice owner.
From our team observations, we would come up with themes or ideas for improvement for the practice which ranged from staff education to scheduling to client flow through the clinic. Really, I had a lot of fun and got to see very different models of medicine for how things are run, as well as eyes that will never see things quite the same way again.
I still want to own my own business some day, but I want to pay someone else to keep track of the numbers for me. It was great to learn the meaning behind them, but if I had to look at them frequently, I might go crazy.
My next rotation is ophthalmology. It was suggested that I bring Coriander in to practice on, but since we no longer have a wildlife ward, I don’t think I will. He deserves a space in hospital without vocalizing predators surrounding him.











