Do you like animals and business? Then this might be the career for you! Here’s what you need to know about this great job from Practice Manager, Amy Carnes at Quail Hollow Animal Hospital in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
What does a veterinary practice manager do?
A veterinary practice manager runs the business side of an animal hospital. This usually includes:
- Hiring people
- Deciding what to spend and charge (budgeting)
- Ordering supplies
- Finding ways to improve quality
- Managing equipment and building repairs
- Most important: Making sure pet owners (clients) are happy
This might be the right job for you if you like:
- Animals
- People
- Computers
- Saving money
- Improving how things work
- Helping solve problems
What’s great about this job?
Veterinary practice managers get to know many clients – and pets! They form a strong bond, seeing animals from when they are babies through old age. These relationships are very rewarding. Practice managers also help make the practice better by listening to staff and clients.
Veterinary practice managers help practices succeed by:
- Sending surveys to clients to see what they think
- Helping solve problems among coworkers, clients and staff
- Rewarding employees for good work
- Attracting more pet owners with advertisements or marketing
- Finding and hiring good workers
- Getting the best health benefits possible for employees
- Making sure employees have interesting work
- Finding everyone the best training
- Charging fair prices
- Creating ways for the practice to grow
What is hard about being a veterinary practice manager?
Making sure clients pay
To make sure the practice stays in business, the veterinary practice manager must make sure clients pay for services. Sometimes clients say they can’t afford it. The veterinary practice manager can help them by letting them make smaller payments.
Helping everyone get along
Just like friends fight, sometimes people who work together don’t get along. It’s up to the veterinary practice manager to help everyone in the practice work together. Sometimes clients get upset with how they were treated. The practice manager helps the client and staff members work out their differences.
Euthanizing pets
Practice managers get to know clients and their pets. That means they are sometimes there when a pet is too old or ill to have an enjoyable life. It is hard to comfort the owner at these times. It is also hard to see a pet you’ve known have to be “euthanized” (have his/her life ended).
Does a veterinary practice manager ever work with pets?
Yes! The veterinary practice manager gets to talk to owners and see all the pets. They do this to make sure owners are happy with the care they are getting. Veterinary practice managers do not do anything medical with the pets like giving shots.
What else veterinary practice managers can do:
- Make sure things work well for a number of practices, not just one
- Work for companies to help improve products for other practice managers
- Teach
What education does a veterinary practice manager need?
Get a 4-year college business degree. Here are some other programs.
What can you do to start getting ready for this job?
- Volunteer for a veterinary practice or animal shelter
- Take a lot of computer and business classes
- Run your own business like lawn mowing or snow shoveling