Managing the Professional Practice: The Certificate in Applied Business

1. Managing the Professional Practice:The Certificate in Applied Business Nate Sawyer, Director of Undergraduate Studies, CCE Bill Henry, Faculty Director, Applied Business; Health Systems Management, CCE January 21, 2010

2. Welcome. And our dogs.

3. Certificate in Applied Business: Managing the Professional Practice • Designed for professions in which… • the small practice remains a common business model, • intense clinical or technical training leaves little room for business and management skills development, • a business credential is considered an asset by employers, thereby affording job candidates a competitive edge, • a business credential can aid a practitioner in securing a start-up loan and/or investment capital. • Examples include dentists, architects, lawyers, alternative medicine practitioners, artists, and engineers. • Does this include veterinarians? According to an affiliate VBMA Chapter…

4. We’re preaching to the choir. • Tuition hikes outpacing growth in veterinary income • Debt to salary ratio doubled since 1983 • Intensive veterinary curricula limit opportunities for business and management education What is the solution? (Source: “Why Business Education is Important,” Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Chapter of VBMA, www.vbma.biz/files/WhyBizEdisImportant.ppt)

5. Increase your income through education. There is a direct correlation between utilization of key business competencies and increased profitability. • (Source: “Why Business Education is Important,” Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Chapter of VBMA; citing Brakke Study, 2000. The Brakke Study measured the utilization of 19 core business practices associated with well-managed companies.)

6. Research demonstrates the need for management education. Brakke and KPMG studies: • report veterinarians could improve their economic success through business education • cite deficiencies in core business competencies • Organizational management • Financial management • Human resource management • Client recruitment (marketing) • Client retention (communications) Brakke Management and Behavior Study (J Am Vet Med Assoc, Special Report JAVMA, Vol 217, No. 3, August, 2000. KPMG LLP study as cited in Kogan et al, Vet Med Today: Perspectives in Professional Education, JAVMA 226:7, 2005;

7. Success in veterinary practice demands more than clinical skills. • 73% of practice owners now rate business skills as essential for success. • 77% of practice owners report difficulty in finding associates with business skills. • 60% of practice owners rate new graduates’ business skills as marginal. • 32% rate those skills as inadequate or poor. Source: KPMG LLP Study as cited in Kogan et al, “Vet Med Today: Perspectives in Professional Education, “JAVMA 226:7, 2005

8. What’s missing? • Do you know how to maintain good relations with your employees? • Do you know how to communicate effectively? • Do you know how to design and implement HR programs that prevent employee turnover? • How is your business acumen?

9. Successful veterinarians = excellent clinical skills + competent management Competent Management: • Financial management • Marketing • Human resource management • Practice development • Effective communication

10. Successful veterinarians = excellent clinical skills + competent management “Many veterinarians are not earning up to their potential because of a lack of financial expertise and/or because of the failure to use management practices proven to improve business performance.” From the Brakke Management and Behavior Study (J Am Vet Med Assoc, Special Report JAVMA, Vol 217, No. 3, August, 2000 ): “The laughter of veterinarians who maintain they were never exposed to business courses and were nevertheless successful…grows less raucous. Their numbers are dwindling.” From Haas KB, Looking at business in a professional world. Letter to the Editor. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 206: 25 1995), cited in Draper, Uhlenhopp JVMA 29(2), A Veterinary Business Curriculum Model, 2002):

11. A solution you can bank and frame.

12. Certificate in Applied Business: focused,accessible, affordable 2008 consultations with U of M College of Veterinary Medicine students, faculty, and leadership revealed three primary design challenges: • Curriculum • Access • Cost

13. Curriculum: what do I need to know? Five Courses (15 credits): based on core competencies identified in Brakke Study • ABUS 4022: Management in Organizations OR HSM 4561: Health Care Administration & Management • ABUS 4091 (new): Financial Management in the Professional Practice (Designed and taught by David Lee, DVM, MBA, Director, University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center) • ABUS 4104: Management and Human Resource Practices • ABUS 4703 (new) : Marketing the Professional Practice • ABUS 4023 (revised, new faculty): Communicating for Results OR ABUS 3301: Introduction to Quality Management

14. What can I expect from the coursework? • Online • Diverse cohort • Undergraduate (upper division) • Mix of highly focused and generalist content • Divergent thinking • Collaborative activities • Nutshell: same level of critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative abilities as needed by successful practice manager.

15. Access: how can I fit this in with my DVM curriculum? • Summer program: courses scheduled for certificate completion in one or two consecutive summers • Fully online: courses designed with weekly modules; can be completed wherever summer finds you • Course registration: handled by CCE Student Services • Advising: available through CCE (by appt. and walk-in)

16. What will this cost? Opportunity cost: • Today versus when you are in practice • Versus MBA Cost of not pursuing business education?? Actual Cost*: • One course (3 credits) – $1,319.28 • Full certificate in one term (15 credits) - $5,421.00 *Based on 2009-10 residentundergraduate tuition rates. Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.

17. How do I get started? 1 – Apply for admission to the Applied Business certificate program through the College of Continuing Education (CCE). 2 – Register for classes. (Your enrollment will represent a separate “career” from DVM; separate transcript, billing, GPA, etc.) 3 – While you are enrolled in Applied Business coursework, CCE is your college office for advising needs related to the certificate.

18. How do I contact CCE? • We’re neighbors! Come see us during regular business hours in Suite 20, Classroom Office Building (walk-in advising available) • Call, e-mail, or visit us on the Web: • phone: 612.624.4000 • e-mail: cceinfo@umn.edu • web: www.cce.umn.edu

19. Thanks! (applause)