Practice management: Is necessity the mother of contention?

Authors: Patchett G
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 29, Issue 9, pp 146, Sep 1981
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: General
Subject Terms: Management, Veterinary profession
Article class: General Article

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Abstract: During much of this century veterinary undergraduates were led to believe that because the practice of veterinary science is a profession, after graduation they should never treat clinical practice as a business. This notion was reinforced by their peers, especially those outside clinical practice, and still exists today. With the dependence of rural practice on the supply and sale of remedies for viability, few practices have ever been run on purely professional lines in New Zealand; but until very recently a minimal level of business ability was adequate to maintain practice viability. The expansion of the Veterinary Club movement reduced the requirement for veterinarians to take financial responsibility for practices and, despite the major development of veterinary services during the fifties and sixties, the supply of services usually lagged behind the created demand…

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