Applications Sought for 2024 AABP Building Excellence in Rural Veterinary Practices Workshop

The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Veterinary Practice Sustainability (VPS) committee has received a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) for a series of practice management workshops for recently graduated rural veterinarians. These grants are intended to relieve veterinarian shortage situations and support veterinary services in the United States.

Following the successful administration of funds for similar multi-year workshops since 2017, AABP is using the grant to offer these workshops to early-career veterinary practitioners to develop and enhance their business and practice management skills.

Three different 15-veterinarian groups will attend one in-person session at the AABP headquarters office in Ashland, Ohio, or at an AABP conference location, then will participate in a series of six virtual training sessions for two hours each. Twelve virtual hours and 22 in-person CE hours total will also be obtained. Applications are open now at https://aabp.org/vps_workshop/default.asp. 

For rural practices and rural veterinarians to be successful in the long-term, it takes more than just being a great veterinarian,” says workshop coordinator Brian Reed, DVM, MBA. “They must be successful at running a profitable, service-oriented business where employees and doctors want to work, get compensated and respected for their efforts and serve their clients in ways their clients see value from them.

"To be sustainable, these employees and owners need to have acceptable work-life balance and feel they are successfully serving their communities.” Reed adds that the topics covered in these workshops give the early-career veterinarian the tools they need, that there just wasn’t the room in their vet school curriculums to cover, to accomplish these things.”

These workshops will offer a deep dive into practical business management topics related to managing a veterinary practice business, regardless of the size of the veterinary practice, Reed adds. “Major topics that will be covered over the course of the various teaching sessions include understanding business and financial fundamentals, strategic planning and budgeting within a practice, growth strategies and practice valuation, and purchase or start-up of a veterinary business.” In addition, many topics related to human resource management including leadership, supervision, communication styles, regulations and compliance issues, and recruiting and retention of talent will be discussed. Visit https://aabp.org/vps_workshop/description.asp for detailed information on the curriculum.

“Case studies will be used to help illustrate these issues in real world situations,” Reed says. He adds that marketing, entrepreneurism and personal finance will also be explored. “Each participant will also have the chance to select one of the faculty to work with in a coaching relationship on the project of their choice related to any of the topics covered that they deem useful to them. By the end of the project, attendees will have had the chance to build connections with peers and faculty that will serve them well into the future.”

Experienced faculty include Reed, who will instruct on strategic planning and financial management; Lesley Moser, DVM, who will instruct on starting a business and finding your strengths; David McCormick, MS, CVA of Simmons & Associates, who will present the practice valuation portion; and Richard Stup, PhD, a human resources management Extension specialist at Cornell University.

Who should attend?
Any early career veterinarian who has the desire to improve their understanding and implementation of business management topics should attend this workshop. “They may just be realizing they have a lot to learn in these areas after being in practice for a short time,” notes Reed.

He adds that potential workshop attendees may be considering or be in the process of buying into an existing practice. They may be exploring the possibility of opening their own practice, or feel their existing practice could use some improvement in various business management areas, but they don’t quite know how to make improvements yet. They may want to gain a better understanding of business management and finance topics so they can better advise their farmer clients in these areas. “All of these are appropriate reasons to take part in this unique program.”

Applicant requirements
This grant is intended for recent graduates practicing in rural/underserved areas. Applicant requirements include:
•    U.S. citizenship
•    Veterinary school graduation from 2014-2023 
•    At least 10% of practice income from food animals
•    Preference given to those practicing in or adjacent to a USDA-designated Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program area 
•    If not serving in/planning to serve in one of the designated VMLRP areas, applicants may indicate why the area they are serving should be considered a shortage area due to client needs for available technology and services
•    Preference will be given to practice owners or those with access to practice financial data, (veterinarians  without access to practice financial data, will be provided a set of financial records for a mock veterinary practice so that they may participate in the workshops if selected)

Workshop attendees are required to participate in pre-workshop assignments and conference calls, and will be asked to provide their practice financial data if they desire to obtain individualized analysis and training for their specific situation and needs. Sharing of data within the workshops is strictly at the discretion of the attendees.

An application process will determine participants’ eligibility for this free training. The course fee is paid through the grant, but attendees must pay for their own travel/lodging to Ashland, Ohio or an alternate location at an AABP conference. 

Find a detailed description, outline of the program, and an application, visit https://aabp.org/vps_workshop/default.asp.  The deadline to apply and select a workshop date is December 22, 5:00 pm Eastern.