New online course for veterinary business at UC Davis

Gorodenkoff / stock.adobe.com

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine announced in a university release¹ the start of a new veterinary business graduate course in partnership with the Graduate School of Management, titled, “Foundations of Veterinary Business.” This course runs from May 15 to August 12, 2023. The course combines a mix of asynchronous (webinar recordings/online coursework) and synchronous (live Zoom sessions) learning with 3 mandatory Zoom sessions on Saturdays throughout the course.

The Foundations of Veterinary Business will focus on 4 subtopics including managerial accounting, finance, marketing, and strategy/human resources. The goal of this program is to help participants develop both the general and veterinary-specific business knowledge to successfully start, purchase, and operate veterinary practices.

"This program is an excellent investment for veterinarians considering practice ownership, as well as current practice owners and other practice leaders who want to take their business understanding to the next level," Dean H. Rao Unnava, Graduate School of Management, said on the course website.²

Sponsored by Zoetis, students will be able to take their learned knowledge into an interactive environment with the 3 live Zoom sessions covering practical, veterinary-specific business concepts taught by industry experts. Students will also complete a small group capstone project analyzing the business performance of actual practices.¹

“The difference between having confidence in running a business in any environment and feeling buffeted by changing conditions is understanding the mechanics,” said Jim Clark, DVM, MBA, leader of the UC Davis Foundations of Veterinary Business online certificate program. “Our experienced experts walk you through the fundamentals you need to have that confidence in any situation.”¹

“The Foundations of Veterinary Business course provides invaluable resources for anyone considering practice ownership. Real-world examples of clinics, including profit/loss and balance sheets, are presented for a thorough discussion with a panel of experts. This helps contextualize opportunities for practice development within today’s market and understand operating costs and revenue sources. In addition, the connections I gained through this course have been vital as I navigate the journey towards practice ownership,” said Chloe Block, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology).²

References

1. UC Davis online course helps in tricky business environment. News release. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Published March 21, 2023. Accessed March 22, 2023.
2. Foundations of Veterinary Business. UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Accessed March 22, 2023. https://gsm.ucdavis.edu/executive-education-programs/foundations-veterinary-business?utm_source=eblast&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vetmed