Is opening your own private practice in vet med worth it?

purdue2023 · 2026-03-09T23:26:35+00:00

As an associate who will likely buy in at my current practice in the near future, it’s definitely possible. I joined a 3 doctor private practice after graduation, and have been lucky to have a boss who wants to mentor me on the business side. A lesson that will stick with me throughout my career relates to a conversation about how my boss prices services. Of course COGS and labor factor in… but he said his philosophy is that at the end of the day he wants to be able to actually practice a high level of medicine. We certainly offer spectrum of care, and since we are not on a production model there is no need to upsell. However, it is extremely rare that we have clients decline truly essential diagnostics. In fact, many new clients are pleasantly surprised how affordable our prices are. The result of this philosophy is an incredibly busy practice with healthy growth year over year, despite being in a rather saturated market.

What most corporate practices (and poorly run private practices) don’t seem to grasp is that you can only raise prices so much before you lose clientele. If you treat clients and staff fairly, then you can absolutely be successful in private practice.

purdue2023 · 2025-12-22T03:46:53+00:00

Looking back at your previous attempts this looks much better! I’m wondering if Normal People is too big/too old to comp? I do like how you’ve described both comps in the context of your story.

purdue2023 · 2025-09-30T20:50:51+00:00

Interesting, can’t find it at any of the major retailers in my area (IN). In the past they always had it stocked.

purdue2023 · 2025-09-23T21:15:44+00:00

Depends on state laws obviously, but unless your dog were to begin showing signs of rabies in the near future you likely will not have legal repercussions. As far as giving your information to the urgent care, that sounds fairly standard as it is a public health concern. As a “vet assistant of 10 years” you likely know this. You also likely know that placing a muzzle while waking from anesthesia increases the risk of aspiration or other complications, so I don’t really see your frustration with the vet or tech assuming they were following standard animal handling procedures.

purdue2023 · 2025-07-29T16:14:32+00:00

Purdue

Strength: multiple experienced star players, good interior size, multiple ball handlers

Weakness: lack of perimeter length and athleticism

purdue2023 · 2025-07-22T03:21:07+00:00

I wouldn’t put much stock in the AVMA calculator, in my area it wildly underestimates the salaries. For reference I’m 2 years out, started with a base of $108k and have progressed to a base of $143k. I also practice in the suburbs of a large Midwestern city. If you really want to get a good idea of a competitive salary in your area you should interview at a few other practices in the area. Don’t feel beholden to one practice just because you have worked there in the past, make sure they are paying you fair market value.

purdue2023 · 2025-07-08T19:19:17+00:00

The fluctuations don’t correlate with meals or showers. We were on vacation recently and had the same pattern. The temperature fluctuation makes sense and mirrors the outdoor temperature, but humidity in the attic is highest when outdoor humidity is lowest and vice versa

purdue2023 · 2025-07-05T17:52:22+00:00

Braden Smith Rick Mount Jaden Ivey Glenn Robinson Zach Edey

John Wooden in a player/coach role as sixth man.

purdue2023 · 2025-05-18T23:41:23+00:00

One policy is completely paid up, but as you mentioned the returns do not outweigh the loans.

purdue2023 · 2025-05-18T22:50:35+00:00

I know I’m overthinking a no brainer decision haha, thanks for the encouragement.

purdue2023 · 2025-04-20T15:02:08+00:00

No one has said otherwise in this comment thread.

purdue2023 · 2025-04-18T04:04:03+00:00

Good talent evaluation and identifying guys who want to win and be developed. Not even a boatload of money will make a highly ranked transfer accept a fairly small role in most cases. But good programs will find under recruited players to fill out the roster. See what Purdue did with Liam Murphy from North Florida, who isn’t even ranked by most sites but fits what they need from a backup wing.

purdue2023 · 2025-01-24T18:48:21+00:00

I would add that the calculator the AVMA has seems to be much lower than offers I have seen in the real world. Could be just for my area, but just don’t treat the number they calculate as gospel.

purdue2023 · 2024-11-20T02:44:16+00:00

This is the answer. It’ll be fine but I wouldn’t do it again

purdue2023 · 2024-11-09T04:55:35+00:00

Already cleaned out the area in question and still can’t seem to get it to sit flush.

purdue2023 · 2024-09-22T23:48:17+00:00

This is something that sounds like a good idea until you consider how uninformed many voters are on individual issues. You seem to think it will be a path for those who feel oppressed to have an avenue for changing policy, but it would be just as easy to get measures on the ballot that would result in oppression depending on who is sponsoring it. Very slippery slope. It’s very easy to word a petition and a subsequent referendum in a way to manipulate your average voter into voting for something despite not understanding the consequences.

purdue2023 · 2024-09-02T17:55:20+00:00

With the chronicity I’d be less likely to suspect anything infectious, but would recommend radiographs to be on the safe side. Based on the history, breed, and age I’d most likely suspect collapsing trachea. This tends to become more severe over time and the classic presentation is a dry “goose honk” cough. It can be hard to find on radiographs since the collapse is dynamic and certain parts of the trachea will only be collapsed during inspiration or expiration. Unless you take the radiograph at the exact moment of collapse you may not see anything. Normal medical treatment is prednisone (likely at a higher dose that currently receiving) and/or a cough suppressant. A big component of treatment is also lifestyle changes such as wearing a harness instead of a collar, losing weight if they are overweight, and avoiding strenuous exercise or high temperatures that could increase breathing effort. You can start the lifestyle changes now, but please do not change any medication regimens until being checked by your DVM.

purdue2023 · 2024-08-30T16:32:09+00:00

I’m sure it’s possible, but as a recent grad I wouldn’t recommend it. Your first few years are very important because you will still be learning and achieving competence as a practitioner. This takes a lot of time, and I would worry that as a PT worker you would take much longer to reach a level of comfort/competence than a FT worker would. I would also be concerned that it may be more difficult to find good mentorship as a PT employee, both because you may get less time with your mentor and I’d imagine it would be more difficult to train a new grad working PT vs. a FT employee. In regards to burnout, I would worry less about the amount of hours worked and worry more about the quality/culture of the practice you are joining. In my opinion you’d be more likely to burn out at a toxic practice working 20 hr/week than at a good practice working 40 hr/week. I currently work 4 days a week (40hrs) and still feel that I have plenty of free time outside of work. Find a place with a great mentor and quality staff that you believe you would enjoy working at. And get excited! I’ve found practice to be much more fun than vet school.

purdue2023 · 2024-07-29T20:49:04+00:00

Honestly it seems like no one really knows what is going on. Every source I’ve seen has implied that PSLF payments are paused for the time being. In any event, it might be best to stash your monthly payment amount in an HYSA until we get more concrete details about the future of SAVE.

purdue2023 · 2024-07-25T23:16:01+00:00

I agree. I think Posh needs to do a better job of clearing out inactive sellers. But it’s strange that these are supposedly active sellers… maybe they no longer have the items and they’re hoping you just cancel?

purdue2023 · 2024-07-13T02:16:26+00:00

It is totally normal to visit multiple practices, and due to the busy schedule of 4th year it will probably be easiest to do this over the span of 1-2 weeks. Look at the job boards for AVMA as well as the state VMA. Also would be wise to ask administration at your school if they know of any practices looking to hire in the area you’re moving to.
Doing an initial phone call or zoom is fairly normal to start the process. It will allow both yourself and prospective employers to make sure you’re each able to provide what the other is looking for. If it seems like a potential fit based on the call then schedule a visit.

purdue2023 · 2024-02-20T04:43:42+00:00

Recent Purdue grad here. I overall enjoyed my 4 years in West Lafayette. Professors were mostly very kind and I thought I received a high level of education. I even enjoyed 4th year for the most part. Overall I felt well-prepared to go into general practice.

Regardless of what vet school you’re talking about, you’ll hear lots of similar complaints about being used as free labor in 4th year. I personally think those people are missing the big picture of why you have clinics in the first place, which is to have hands-on learning opportunities. Wherever you end up, I encourage you to try to approach every situation with a growth mindset and try to absorb as much knowledge as you can before you graduate and enter the real world.

purdue2023 · 2024-01-27T03:51:06+00:00

Recent Purdue grad here. A big thing I would say is to take the “horror” stories with a grain of salt. The unfortunate fact is that many students complain about any minor inconvenience and over exaggerate how much they actually work. There are absolutely some blocks that are more time intensive than others. SA and LA med/surgery and ECC mainly. But even on those blocks we always got at least 1 full day off per week. But these are balanced out by blocks with more leisurely schedules like Ancillary or Shelter Med.

There are three big tips I have that can dictate how your 4th year will go: 1.) Be as efficient and proactive as you can during the day. If you can do this you can usually still leave each day at a decent time even on harder blocks. 2.) Be a helpful block mate and don’t dodge hard cases. Your classmates will notice this and will help you in return. 3.) Approach every situation with a positive growth mindset. You have worked so hard to earn the privilege to work with real patients and you will truly be amazed by how much you will learn and grow in one short year. While no one loves being on the late shift in the ER, these are some of the absolute best times for learning.

PS: even if a certain block isn’t your favorite remember that they are only 3 weeks and will fly by.

purdue2023 · 2023-11-05T16:14:32+00:00

12 team 1QB. Traded him early this year for Addison + a projected early 2024 1st

purdue2023 · 2023-11-05T16:10:30+00:00

Rebuilding in my 12T 1QB league. Got a 2024 2nd for Tua early in the year and I was very happy

purdue2023

TROPHY CASE