Originally Posted by Doc4Pets

With midterms taken care of, I had a little time to think. We all are working hard to excel through vet school and become competent professionals. And along the way, we all have set career goals that depend heavily on the type of practice we want to open. I was curious to see what some of my future colleagues are aspiring for.

Do you want to own your own practice?
Yes, I will be taking over 30+yr established stand alone practice in so cali. I would love to own a few practices.

Do you want to have a solo or group practice? Yes, if you count my wife, I already have an associate lined up. I also would definately be bringing in associate (s) at satellite practices.

Do you want to have a small animal practice or large or mixed? Small Animal only for me and a little of avian.

What part of the country do you see yourselves practicing? So cali only... I would love to open up a satellite practice in West LA along with the one in OC (I like OC living but it is depressingly lacking in culture).

Are you interested in vet technology and want to implement things like digital and dental radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy, etc.? I will suredly be equipping my practice(s) with up to date diagnostic tools like digi dental rad, paperless records, anesthesia monitoring, etc. I think if we treat our patients like they are important medically than we will be able to rightly ascend in the medical strata of our society. But I will try hard to stay within my budget as vet toys can get expensive... A digital radiology system is priced around 100k. Ouch!

Do you want to buy an existing practice or build from scratch? Both, I will be taking over a well-oiled vet machine but I am 100% committed to opening other practices. I like the challenge and I am very hands on. I developed our logo by myself using photoshop, I enjoy photography and will be applying these aspects for a website as soon I get off this island for the summer.

Do you want to go paperless? Yes, I can't see myself EVER writing down SOAP notes or hand writing prescription labels. If only the vet tablet was a mature technology, I would love to use it. But I think having a dedicated server for records and the program I like is Avimark. We also use avimark here at SGU but they don't utilize it because of power outtage situations.

Do you want to have a full functioning boarding facility? Yes, it is a boon for business IMO. I actually read an article in DVM magazine or vet econ, about a vet repudiating is advocacy for boarding after...... 26 freakin' years of filling his coffers with boarding loot! He basically said that boarding does not give a professional medical image as it may be seen as you are running a pet hotel. The nerve of this senile hypocrite! He practiced ALL his career with boarding and now that he is retiring, he denounces it... sorry, I had to get that off my chest! Anyways, boarding is a GREAT practice builder as it offers a place where pet owners feel connected enough with your practice to board their pet over vacation in your suites. I'll post some pics of the boarding facility back home as we just heavily renovated with new doggy suites that have glass doors and we are adding a product called easy turf (EasyTurf - Artificial Grass and Synthetic Turf - Artificial Turf by FieldTurf) to our outside exercise and play yard for our special guests and patients. Basically, its a synthetic turf grass that is used in NFL football stadiums and interestingly at Animal shelters in San Diego. Underneath the turf is a fully functional automatic drainage system that allows you to wash/sanitize the turf just as it were natural grass, without the water over flowing on the turf. The porous nature of the turf ensures proper drainage. A nice kidney shaped lawn adjacent to the boarding suites will look good!


I think it would be interesting to see what some of you guys/gals have in mind. I know this board anemic when it comes to participation, but there seems to be a quite a few lurkers. So, feel free to chime in as more perspectives add to the experience!