Every veterinarian an entrepreneur

You worked hard to earn a seat in a good college. You worked hard as an undergraduate to earn good grades and gain important experiences in animal husbandry, agriculture, research, and veterinary science. You earned a place in an entering class at a college or school of veterinary medicine, and you stuck it out until you earned the right to graduate with the DVM, VMD, MRCVS, BVetMed, BVMS, or an equivalent degree. Then, if intending to practice in the United States, you passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination and perhaps also completed 1 or more state examinations or other requirements and gained the right to hold a license to practice veterinary medicine.

Every step of the way, what you accomplished, you earned, and no one can force you to employ them without your consent. You own them, you control them, and you can choose to use them to serve who, where, and how you wish, and in ways that fulfill your needs alone, both professional and personal. That's what it means to be independent. You are free to shape and run your professional career and your life as you see fit.

Given that an entrepreneur is someone who takes a risk for the potential of future benefit, you already are one! Did you not risk your talent, time, and treasure in achieving that education, degree, and license? Of course, you did, and in employing them now to serve the priorities of your life, you are already an entrepreneur. That remains so regardless of whether you choose, at any given time, to be self-employed or to work for others. This way of thinking about your profession applies equally well whether you choose to work as an associate at a brick-and-mortar private practice (independent or consolidated), perform house calls, own a brick-and-mortar private practice yourself, or serve in a public practice role in government or the private sector. Every form of professional work as a veterinarian still places you at its center with the freedom to take new risks and monetize your expertise in ways that suit your needs.

I think it is incomplete or even a bit shortsighted when colleagues and students—future colleagues—assert that they “never want to own a practice.” The fact is, and for the reasons stated above, they already do “own a practice.” They own themselves, their professional accomplishments to date, and the knowledge and skills necessary to create the kind of practice life they want. We all do. We own our personal practice of veterinary medicine no less than we own ourselves. We make of it what we wish, and by our choice alone!

We have all overcome many kinds of challenges to achieve what we already have. When we began, the outcome was always uncertain, yet we persevered until we accomplished our goal of becoming veterinarians, a path often born in childhood, decades earlier. I urge all colleagues to take their accomplishments and the hard-earned confidence they engender, and to continue dreaming big as you seek your desired professional future. Don't fear that future, as veterinary medicine remains a bright and hopeful profession, full of myriad opportunities. Go and seize yours!

Arnold L. Goldman, DVM, MPH, is president of the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Association (IVPA). He can be reached at: [email protected]. Learn more at: www.iveterinarians.org.