Graduate of CSU’s combined MBA/DVM program pursues joint passions as veterinarian and consultant
Torn between a passion for veterinary medicine and an interest in finance, Dr. Sarah McFadden-Palmer built her dream career from scratch so she could pursue both.
McFadden-Palmer works part-time as an associate veterinarian at Mulnix Animal Clinic in Fort Collins and part-time as a valuations coach for Blue Heron Consulting, helping other veterinarians across the country with the financial side of clinic ownership.
As a graduate of CSU’s combined Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program, the path makes perfect sense. The five-year program, a collaboration of the University’s College of Business and College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, gives students the chance to gain skills in veterinary practice management, business and economics on top of their veterinary education.
Business chops aren’t a part of most veterinarians’ skillsets, although some schools — including CSU — are starting to change that by offering some financial courses as part of their DVM degree, she said. That’s essential: Most clinics are private, so many vets become small business owners as their careers progress.
“A lot of vets don’t graduate with that training, so it’s really neat to be an advocate and educator to make sure that people have a better understanding of where their financials are,” McFadden-Palmer said.
“I have a lot of vets who have no idea what their practice is worth — like, literally no idea,” she added. “They don’t know what their financials look like, so it’s really nice to give them a report and say, ‘Here are all the things I’m seeing. This is where you’re at. These are the pieces and the parts of how your clinic is operating.’”
Building a career that’s the best of both worlds
McFadden-Palmer started her career conducting clinical trial research for head and neck oncology, but after nearly four years, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a vet. She earned her master’s degree in veterinary biomedical and clinical sciences from CSU, then set her sights on vet school.
She was thrilled to learn that her “intermediate career” made her eligible for CSU’s combined MBA/DVM program.
“I had always wanted to take more finance classes and have a better background in finance, but my undergrad didn’t offer any of those classes unless you were a business major,” she said. “I always was more interested in the business side of things. I figured it gave me more flexibility in what my day-to-day looks like and gave me a back-up option if I needed it — and it ended up being my primary option now, which is great.”
McFadden-Palmer jokes that her career is a result of never being able to make up her mind.
“I was a double undergrad major, and I’m a double DVM/MBA,” she said, laughing. “I just can’t say no to trying two things at once, apparently — but I like learning from both sides of it. I like seeing the financial side and how the practice can operate, because that can be a totally different thing from how the medicine is practiced and how a veterinarian is associating with their clients and getting to know people.”
Since graduating with her doctorate in 2020, McFadden-Palmer has established a career that gives her the best of both worlds. On an average week, she spends around 30 hours in the veterinary clinic, working in small animal general practice, and 15 to 20 hours working from home for Blue Heron Consulting, a veterinary consulting company.
In her consulting job, she works as a valuator, providing appraisals of businesses similar to how real estate appraisers estimate the value of a home. She often works with veterinarians who are either interested in buying into a clinic or selling their clinic.
“I go through all their financial statements, dig through everything, come up with a number based off of market data that is supported in the industry and come back and tell them what the value is,” she said.
‘Diagnosing’ a clinic’s financials
McFadden-Palmer’s two jobs complement each other well: It’s essential for valuators to know the industries they’re working in to be able to develop accurate valuations, so the fact that she’s a practicing veterinarian is an enormous advantage.
“There’s a huge operational advantage that I have to understanding the finances because I’m working in a clinic and can see how the cash flow goes in and out of a clinic and how you need to bill and charge for everything or how you can do certain things with certain discounts,” she said.
Her experience working in a clinic helps her understand other clinics’ financials much more quickly, and it also means she’s more easily able to relate to her consulting clients.
Working as a veterinarian often involves breaking down complicated diagnoses or treatment plans in a way that the animals’ owners can understand. Now, in her consulting role, McFadden-Palmer breaks down complicated financial information for veterinarians, helping them understand what “healthy numbers for a clinic” are.
“I talk a lot about ‘diagnosing’ a clinic, and ‘These are the treatment options,’” she said. “I go through it that way so a veterinarian can understand it if they don’t have a really strong finance background, to give them some of the tools and pieces to be able to understand that a little better.”
Being ‘super, super focused’ on medicine and finance
Although she enjoys her valuation work, McFadden-Palmer still can’t get enough of the “hands-on component” to being a practicing veterinarian.
“I like to have a pet in front of me and touch them and get to know them and say hi and do my physical exam,” she said. It allows her to build relationships and have conversations with the pet owners, which is especially rewarding because the clinic where McFadden-Palmer works is in her own neighborhood, where she lives with her three dogs.
“There’s one side of me that’s super, super focused on the medicine, and one side of me that’s super, super focused on the finance,” she said.
McFadden-Palmer’s advice to others is to remain open to possibilities in your career — because sometimes, it’s the parts of your job that you never thought you’d like that end up becoming your passions.
“I’m doing things that I never thought that I would be doing, and it’s kind of a cliche thing to say, but there is a saying to go towards your goals but keep an eye out for the little glimmer in the corner of your eye that you might not have seen or thought of,” she said.
Author: Ellie Mulder Leonard
Source: https://biz.source.colostate.edu/
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