Is bigger better when it comes to the size of the specialty veterinary organization you work for? It depends on your goals for personal support and career growth, but in general, there is strength to be had in numbers. The size of an organization tends to be proportional to the size of the benefits they offer, and the veterinary field is no exception.
Here, we explore key benefits of working for a large company in the veterinary field, including perks like paid time off and health insurance, and broader benefits including resources, opportunities and culture.
More perks.
As you help deliver care for pets, you want your job to care for you in return; in other words, what sort of perks come with your future role? Is health insurance available? Does your employer offer retirement savings plans? If you have a pet of your own, are they eligible for discounts on care?
Employee benefits demonstrate that a company is invested in you – your personal well-being and satisfaction as well as your professional growth and future. With greater size comes the ability for an organization to provide more substantial perks and total rewards for employees of all levels.
For example, large hospital networks may provide moving stipends, sign-on bonuses and other perks to not only kick off your new career but also to keep you feeling valued and appreciated long after your journey is underway.
More resources.
Having the right resources to do your job is critical for managing work demands and being able to fulfill your role. Without the tools you need, you may feel like you’re not able to perform at a level that reflects your skills and competencies, which can be frustrating and lead to job dissatisfaction.
A foundation of resources like technology, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and employees are needed for a veterinary clinic to operate. But additional resources that extend beyond the basics are instrumental for fostering success and growth – not only of the practice, but of employees like you, too.
When considering a new position, do some research to find out whether the practice has the resources to help you flourish and feel confident in your team’s ability to deliver the best experience for patients and their owners. The larger a hospital is, the more likely it is you’ll have ready access to an extensive suite of resources, including the people, tools and equipment needed to succeed in your role, whether you’re part of the medical, client care, hospital management or another team.
If you consider yourself a lifelong learner, you’ll always have new and engaging information at your fingertips to keep you informed and on top of the latest developments in the industry.
People.
The greatest resource of any company is its people. Having the right team of dedicated individuals bringing their unique skills and talents together leads to delivering the best possible care to pets. Larger teams can be agile and flexible while also benefiting from power in numbers.
Challenges are an everyday part of veterinary medicine, and putting multiple heads together results in more solutions for complex challenges such as identifying a treatment plan for a patient with multiple comorbidities, improving patient handoff procedures or even figuring out ways to operate the hospital safely amidst a pandemic.
Larger veterinary organizations also tend to have more bandwidth dedicated to supporting your well-being. The more people you have on your team, the more flexibility there is when you’re sick or need a day off; someone can cover your shift, allowing you to take the time needed to rest, recharge and care for yourself.
Bigger organizations may also have dedicated resources for preventing burnout and stress among other wellness initiatives, including social workers, wellness committees and employee assistance programs.
The larger a company is, the more likely they are to have staff responsible for specific, non-medical roles, including marketing, IT or administrative functions like finance and human resources. While the support teams provide their expertise for the entire company, the medical staff can focus on doing what they do best: delivering care to patients.
Tools and equipment.
It may seem simple, but not everyone has the necessary tools and equipment to thrive at work. Having the right resources available is imperative for finding success in your role, and you want to be able to operate efficiently and effectively without toiling through manual or redundant tasks.
For example, if your practice has more resources and integrated technologies for things like dictation software or pre-populated patient record templates, the less time and effort you’ll spend on record-keeping, giving you more time to spend doing what you love.
Larger organizations are more likely to have the funds and staff power to routinely purchase and upgrade medical equipment and other technology to make your job easier and deliver the best experience for patients and their owners. Whether that’s modern computer workstations to attend virtual training classes to expand your skills, lightweight laptops or tablets that make it easier to take your medical records with you on the go or even the latest radiation therapy technology to deliver more precise radiation to cancer patients using fewer doses.
More opportunities.
Veterinary medicine is always changing, and whether you’re in the role of clinician, technician, hospital administrator or client care coordinator, you want to be able to learn and grow professionally along with the industry. Doing so not only supports your career goals and job satisfaction but gives you the opportunity to make a greater impact on the field of veterinary medicine. And, professionally speaking, having a variety of opportunities to grow and learn can prevent things like boredom or feeling stagnant and instead trigger inspiration and motivation.
Opportunities can take many forms, one of the most transformational for your professional journey being training and development resources. Having a company that facilitates mentorship or career pathing frameworks can help you develop your skills and talents to achieve your goals – whether they’re earning credentials, being promoted, learning about a cutting-edge medical treatment or transitioning into a new role, for example.
The bigger a veterinary organization is, the more vets, technicians, assistants and other paraprofessionals there will be to collaborate with. This will allow you to learn from others’ experience and education, develop new skills and methods of practicing medicine, and even participate in innovations in medicine that you hadn’t been previously exposed to.
Collaboration.
One indicator of culture is the level of collaboration your organization promotes. Are you encouraged to collaborate among your peers and work together to make a greater impact on the lives of pets? A strong culture of collaboration could look like mentorship programs, team training and activities or town hall meetings where everyone has a chance to share their thoughts and feedback on important matters, whether that’s a new policy for client check-ins or ideas to streamline the triage process for critical patients.
At a large veterinary organization like BluePearl, one of our cultural pillars is collaboration; not only is the sharing and spreading of knowledge encouraged, it’s also rewarded, and we have many programs and tools to support collaboration. One program is BluePearl Science, a division of BluePearl that coordinates clinical studies investigating new drugs, treatments and protocols to improve pet health. BluePearl Science acts as a collaborative network for veterinarians looking to perform clinical research and answer big questions that have the potential to change the industry.
We can make the biggest impact when we work together, and BluePearl emphasizes collaboration among our Associates in many other facets of the organization, including a dedicated collaboration tool for veterinarians to consult with other clinicians and specialists across the network of hospitals about particular cases, mentoring programs for all types of Associates and sharing hospital-specific best practices with other hospitals throughout the country-wide network.
A culture of health and positivity.
It may seem like the larger an organization is, the harder it would be to feel like you belong, but greater size encourages diversity; with people of all different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, your workplace will naturally develop a rich culture where your shared values drive everyone forward together in your mission to help animals.
Jobseekers may not initially consider larger specialty hospitals because they can feel intimidating at first glance – both in the sense of size and experience.
We know from experience that, even in a large network of hospitals like BluePearl, each hospital has its own unique culture and personality, and being part of a larger organization enhances the culture with diversity and inclusion initiatives, an emphasis on mental health and wellness and making sure that there’s always an element of fun in every day (as well as a realistic work-life balance).
Plus, if your goal is to become the best at what you do and achieve great things, working at an organization known for having highly trained and educated professionals creates opportunities to learn from the experts and benefit from their experience. Leveraging what at first may feel intimidating to advance your own career is particularly effective in an environment where collaboration, teamwork and supporting one another are ingrained in the culture.
Making a difference.
On a broader scale, a larger specialty veterinary organization can leverage its scope to drive cultural changes at the industry level. Massive cultural shifts – like developing better wellness support for employees or finding answers to medical challenges – don’t happen easily without a large group of people backing them up. To make lasting, industry-wide changes, organizations need a group of people large enough and passionate enough to drive meaningful change. And, the impact and ability to drive positive change can give you the satisfaction of seeing how you are making a positive difference – not just for pets but for the entire field of veterinary medicine.
Where do you see yourself?
Deciding what specialty veterinary organization you want to take your skills and talents to next can be a tough decision. There are many key benefits of working for a large company in the veterinary field, especially if you want to learn and grow as much as possible during your next adventure.
Wherever you want to go in veterinary medicine, BluePearl can help get you there. If you want to be a part of something big where you can leverage world-class perks, resources, opportunities and culture, start by exploring our open roles.
