A first-of-its-kind study recently published by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) seeks to ascertain the views of veterinarians employed at corporate-owned hospitals compared to those working in privately-owned hospitals about benefits and general work conditions.
CASE STUDY:
Differences in perceptions and satisfaction exist among veterinarians employed at corporate versus privately owned veterinary clinics by Lori R. Kogan, and Mark Rishniw. (8.22.23)
https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/261/12/javma.23.06.0326.xml
RESULTS:
- Fifty-five percent of participants indicated a preference for working in private practice compared to 12% preferring corporate practice.
- Veterinarians working in private practice reported higher satisfaction with feeling known as an individual by upper management, hospital culture, the ability to fire difficult or abusive clients, and mentorship.
- Veterinarians working in corporate practices reported feeling more pressure than those in private practice to generate revenue and see more clients per shift.
Sample size consisted of a total of 896 responses from veterinary members of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) working as associate veterinarians in corporate or privately owned hospitals.
UPDATED: March 29, 2024
RELATED:
- Vets Fret as Private Equity Snaps Up Clinics, Pet Care Companies (3.29.24)
https://stateline.org/2024/03/29/vets-fret-as-private-equity-snaps-up-clinics-pet-care-companies/- Veterinarian said she and other vets were feeling pressure from management to make a certain amount of money from every appointment. If a pet owner wasn’t going to spend enough, the message from management was to offer more services. She was urged to pack in more patients outside of normal business hours.
- “Before, I never felt any pressure to be making a certain amount of money in a day,” Ezell, who started working at the clinic in 2021, told Stateline.
- Veterinarian said she and other vets were feeling pressure from management to make a certain amount of money from every appointment. If a pet owner wasn’t going to spend enough, the message from management was to offer more services. She was urged to pack in more patients outside of normal business hours.
- Common Perceptions of Corporate Practices
https://www.pets.care/common-perceptions-about-corporate-owned-veterinary-practices/- DOCTORS SPENDING LESS TIME WITH PATIENTS: Veterinarians are under pressure to see high numbers of patients — DVMs are pushed to care for an excessive number of pets per shift.
- Corporate vs. Privately Owned Veterinary Clinics (9.26.23)
https://podcastindex.org/podcast/5688404?episode=15579217507- Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AVMA journals: In this episode, we chat about differences in perceptions and satisfaction among veterinarians employed at corporate versus privately owned veterinary clinics with our guest Lori Kogan.
- “I’ve been hearing things for a while now that, that maybe less satisfaction from those that were in corporate, and then some real, sometimes dread or fear when they when they learn that their hospitals can be sold to a corporate practice,” according to Lori Kogan — and so that’s what really led me to want to explore this more.
- Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AVMA journals: In this episode, we chat about differences in perceptions and satisfaction among veterinarians employed at corporate versus privately owned veterinary clinics with our guest Lori Kogan.
- Common Employee Complaints of Veterinary Consolidators
https://www.pets.care/common-employee-complaints-of-veterinary-consolidators/- Many employees of veterinary consolidators say their employer prioritizes profits over patient care: Six price increases within 1 year and employee pay hasn’t changed. They don’t care about their employees, clients or patients. They are just investors. Corporate employees only visit practice when something is affecting them financially.