By Brandon Hess, CVPM, CCFP
Regardless of the size of a practice, there often comes a time for management team members where they are looking at career advancement and thinking “what’s next?”. Not only “what’s next for me within the practice?” but maybe even “what’s next for me within the industry?”.
Common Roles
First, you must have a clear picture of what common roles there are for managers within a practice:
- Department Manager: Oversees a specific department. Admin responsibilities would vary (ex. Scheduling, coaching, day-to-day management etc.)
- Inventory Manager: Oversees the procurement and handling of the practice’s inventory.
- Safety Officer: Manages the OSHA training and standards within the practice. These would include, but not be limited to: new hire training, annual re-training, facilities assessment, accident reporting and tracking.
- Office Manager: This position primarily would do clerical duties (payroll, finances, scheduling) but would have little-to-no clinical presence or HR responsibilities.
- Practice Manager: Once a manager begins having a clinical presence, and some HR responsibilities, they tend to be considered a Practice Manager.
- Hospital Administrator: A practice manager that begins taking on more financial decision making, and decision-level HR responsibilities would be considered a Hospital Administrator.
*These are the most common, and could vary widely depending on practice/organization size. Additionally, this is an over-simplification of each role. You can read about more details for each role here: https://www.vhma.org/resources/practice-owner-tools*
Explore Future Opportunities
From here I would recommend following the below steps to explore where you (and the practice owner) want you to go in terms of career advancement. What does the future look like?
- Talk to the practice owner and understand what their goals are for you, and the practice. What does the next 3 years look like? Communication, and feedback are incredibly important in the development, and career advancement of any management team member.
- Think about what tasks you enjoy, and responsibilities you would like to take over or be more involved in.
- Research what credentials other managers are obtaining, what’s available and what lines up with your personal goals and those of the practice owner.
- Research what other veterinary professionals are doing to expand their horizons. Many of these can be done while still managing a practice full-time: write blogs, write articles, speak at management conferences/CEs, vlog. There are many options out there to contribute to the industry, you just have to do some searching.
Additional Credentials
After the above, look into additional credentials you can obtain to grow as a manager and for the practice. Below is a list of some credentials veterinary managers obtain:
- Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) – Through the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA), and considered the “gold standard” for practice managers, this certification requires a minimal level of experience, and education. However, I strongly encourage any manager to look into the process of obtaining their CVPM. It requires education, and knowledge on topics from Law and Ethics to Marketing.
- Human Resources Certification: There are two HR organizations that have certifications commonly obtained within veterinary medicine. The Society for Human Resource Management (shrm.org) and HRCI (hrci.org). Both of these organizational certifications require a minimum level of HR experience, but the requirements can act as a guide for your development.
- Compassion Fatigue: Veterinary wellness is a hot topic, and professionals are looking for ways to learn more about how to help themselves and others. There are a few options, but the one I prefer is the Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional (CCFP) through www.evergreencertifications.com.