Ignacio "Nacho" Mérida Isla is a veterinarian and business consultant who has spent more than 2 decades bridging clinical medicine and management. A graduate of the University of Zaragoza with an MBA from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and an Advanced Practice Certificate from the University of Liverpool, he still works as a locum veterinarian across the UK, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Spain, even as he built Assís VBA, his consultancy for veterinary practice owners. Since 2012, he has advised dozens of clinics across Spain and Latin America through his Platino Program, helping practice managers translate financial data and KPIs into healthier businesses—and healthier work-life balance for the people running them.
Mérida Isla is also one of the most recognizable voices in Spanish-language veterinary management education. He co-authored "¿Qué le pasa a mi centro veterinario?" with Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA, and led the multi-author "Manual práctico para la gestión de centros veterinarios," now published in Spanish, English, and Chinese. His YouTube channel reaches thousands of veterinary professionals with practical management advice, and he has spoken at conferences throughout Spain, Latin America, the UK, and the US—including as the first Spanish-language guest on VetGirl on the Run. He currently coordinates the management track at Mexico's CVDL conference and continues developing tools, training programs, and health-plan models aimed at making veterinary practices more sustainable for the people who run them.
“Most careers are not built on moments of brilliance but on years of showing up while quietly suspecting you are underqualified,” writes Ignacio Mérida Isla, DVM, MBA, MRCVS, CertAVP. His reflection explores impostor syndrome, professional growth, and why uncertainty can be a sign of becoming a better veterinarian.
Veterinary medicine is often measured against the “gold standard.” But like the Olympic podium, silver and bronze still count, especially when gold is beyond a client’s means.
