Veterinarians learn management
skills
By Ginny You
Staff Writer
Michael R. Thomas graduated from Harvard University
in 1968 and became a veterinarian. Then he found out he also needed
management skills.
Thomas wanted some education in management skills
for his new clinics and joined Purdue’s Veterinary Management Institute,
which is sponsored by the Krannert Executive Education Programs and
the American Animal Hospital Association. This has helped him in his
seven clinics in Indianapolis and central Indiana.
Thomas said it was something that he wanted to
participate in and that it has helped him in his practice.
"I’m an (education) continuation junkie
and the program seemed like an upper level management experience that
I wanted to participate in," said Thomas. "It gave me the
ability to understand my employees since one of the biggest values is
networking. It allowed me to share stories with comrades of people in
the same (environment)."
Richard A. Goebel, former director of Purdue’s
Veterinary Teaching Hospital, was one of the founders of the Veterinary
Management Institute, which started in 1989. The program was designed
for veterinarians and consisted of about 80 to 90 percent veterinary
students, according to Michael Sheahan, associate director of Krannert
Executive Education Programs.
Sheahan said the institute has since experienced
a shift in scholastic focus, with most of the participants being full-time
managers of veterinary practices.
While studying to become a veterinarian, there
is not much training in managing one’s own business. According
to David Schoorman, professor of organizational behavior and human resource
management, in veterinary practices small entrepreneurial practices
tend to have three to five doctors and a staff of 15. Although these
practices are not large, veterinarians still need to know about compensation
programs.
According to Sheahan, veterinarians realize they
need management skills in order to start or maintain a business.
"Veterinarians have little room for management
training because they are prepared in their field," said Sheahan.
"An interesting phenomenon is that they soon want to buy into veterinary
practices. They’re forced to serve as a manager, and most haven’t
had much training. So our mission is to take people with a technical
education and provide management for them."
The students, who come from various areas of the
world, receive what Sheahan calls a mini-master's in business administration
upon graduation.
"We give them a sense of a non-degree education
without tests or papers," said Sheahan. "But they do exercises
with the faculty like applying it and negotiating with suppliers and
finance modules with a case study and spreadsheets. They start with
human resource management so they can deal with people first, then productivity,
marketing — how to look for more opportunities to use their practice,
and strategic thinking to apply what we call a mini-MBA experience."
And for Thomas, who purchased his first Indianapolis
clinic in 1982 and now has 130 employees, what he has learned has helped
him guide his staff.
"Many of the same tools and skills of management
are practiced by non-veterinarians, so I need to be a spiritual leader
for them," said Thomas.
Thomas is also the president of the American Animal
Hospital Association in Denver, where Linda Lehman is the director of
accreditation, learning and development and will graduate from the institute
in February of this year. Lehman is one of the staff who doesn't have
any experience in veterinary or management, but has benefited from the
institute through personal and observed experiences.
"I benefited greatly through (the institute's)
academics, which are first rate with excellent professors from Krannert,
who’ve integrated what they’ve learned into their teaching
so we learn in a business sense," said Lehman. "It is valuable
for designated managers in the program to network with colleagues in
program because they keep in contact and have long-term benefits."
The institute costs $1,249 per module for American
Animal Hospital Association members and $1,624 for non-members. Each
module includes instruction, course materials, meals and completes with
continuing education units and certificates of veterinary practice administration.
It does not include lodging and transportation.
For further information, contact Sheahan at sheahan@mgmt.purdue.edu
or the association's member service center at 800-252-2242.
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