Welcome to our DVM + MBA series, where we‘re hearing from veterinarians who’ve combined their passion for animals with serious business chops. From running multi-doctor practices to climbing corporate ladders, they’ve done it all—and now they’re sharing their secrets.
Dr. Pam Hale is one of those veterinarians who felt this vocation since childhood. She went to Tuskegee University for her degree in animal science and then veterinary medicine. After 10 years in private practice, Dr. Hale ventured into what we now call ”the corporate world.”
Back in the ’90s, hospital groups with multiple locations were rare, and leadership training for veterinary professionals was practically unheard of. So when Dr. Hale took on her first management role as chief of staff at a newly built hospital, she relied on intuition and instinct. Her success in that role quickly led to promotions — first as regional medical director overseeing multiple locations and eventually as senior medical director for an entire region.
Dr. Hale’s first business lesson came from the solo practice owner she worked with right after veterinary school: ”Charge for what you do.” Fast forward 30 years, and Dr. Hale is an accomplished veterinary executive who has overseen 200 hospitals and managed a $200 million budget. Alongside her consulting work for veterinary groups, she serves on the AVMA Trust Board and runs Vet Leader Coaching. Originally designed as an internal training program on transformational leadership for her doctors, Dr. Hale decided to open this 12-week course to the broader veterinary community so more people could benefit from this knowledge.
Having been part of the C-suite with large veterinary consolidators, Dr. Hale is a strong advocate for business education as a path to elevate more veterinarians into top roles within corporate groups. She believes this will amplify their voices in operational decisions — a passion that initially drove her to pursue an MBA.
We interviewed Dr. Hale to explore her views on veterinary ownership and how it ties into the veterinarian’s oath, what new opportunities an MBA can open to a DVM, and her thoughts on ways to channel private equity investments to benefit veterinary medicine. We’re sharing this conversation in her own words.
As an associate veterinarian in private practice, my focus was purely on caring for pets, while the owner usually made all the decisions. When I stepped into my first leadership role, I had no clue about the people management aspect of veterinary medicine.
Back then, my leadership approach was based on gut feeling. I assumed that if I worked hard and set an example, my team would naturally follow suit. But I soon learned that wasn’t always the case — positive behaviors don’t always translate into the staff emulating them.
I think this was when my natural leadership skills kicked in. For example, I had a receptionist who was disorganized and needed constant reminders about her tasks. I started giving her a daily list and it dramatically improved her performance.
Later, I learned that this approach is known as situational leadership. I started paying more attention to how each person needed to be coached to succeed in their role. I also read many books and took management courses offered by our company. Leadership is a combination of both nature and nurture.
“I knew an MBA would open more doors for me”
When you go to veterinary school, you start with an idea of what medicine is, but then you dive into the theory. The same goes for business education — you might have a general idea of how a business works, but you gain deeper insights into the theory and economics behind it.
When I was promoted to senior regional manager, overseeing 200 hospitals, I began considering an MBA. Although it wasn’t required for the job, I felt there was crucial knowledge in business theory that went beyond my hands-on experience.
I wanted to become better at my job and knew an MBA would open more doors. Sometimes, I’d hear terms like ”basis points” in meetings that I didn’t quite get. I’d make a note and make sure I understood them by the next meeting.
Having those three letters instantly shows I have business acumen. I don’t have to keep proving it. It opens up new opportunities. It helped me land roles like executive vice president of operations, where I handled both medical and operational leadership.
I got my MBA after 25 years into my career. Already familiar with management and leadership, I could ask the right questions. For those new to management or still in school, it’s hard to know what you don’t know.
I’d recommend working in the business world for a few years before pursuing an MBA. Many concepts will make more sense with practical experience. As a student who hasn’t managed people, you might think, like I did as a young leader, that simply telling people what to do will be enough. It’s not that simple.
An MBA is valuable if you want to learn business jargon and deepen your understanding of practice financials or if you plan to manage people and drive a business to profitability. If you already have a foundation, formal studies help put it into context. It’s like graduating from veterinary school and discovering that animals don’t always follow the book.
If you’re happy being an associate veterinarian and seeing patients for your entire career — which is perfectly fine — an MBA might not be necessary. I’d suggest gaining some work experience first and then deciding where your professional interests lie.
If you’re interested in getting the knowledge, even if you’re not sure how to apply it right away, learning for its own sake is wonderful. For example, I recently earned a Juris Master’s degree — not because I want to be a lawyer, but because I want to understand the law better.
There are shorter certification programs that can be a great way to explore business concepts before committing to a full MBA. However, if you’re aiming for a top role like COO, a certificate might not carry as much weight.
My studies were virtual, except for the first week when we met our cohort and instructors in person. The following 11 months were online, with video classes twice a week. This setup helped us stay connected with classmates. In the end, we returned to present our business case, which we’d been working on throughout the program.
For the first six months of the program, I wasn’t working. Going to school full-time wasn’t planned; it just happened naturally between jobs. By the time I started my new role, I was already used to my study routine and knew I could balance both work and school.
I paid for all my degrees myself. If your employer covers tuition, that’s great, but be aware of any strings attached.
Practice owners know how to manage a business. They know they need to retain people, to see as many patients as possible, to keep inventory lean. An MBA teaches you better ways to do that. You’ll learn what number to aim for with your inventory and what EBITDA is.
What helped me a lot was training new managers and teaching up-and-coming business leaders. Remembering when I didn’t know these things or even what to ask, I was able to create a much better training program for them.
Associate veterinarians and the whole team should understand how the hospital operates and generates revenue. I tell associates that we’re a for-profit business. We need to make money to pay their salaries and afford salary increases. It’s all part of the productivity equation.
Often, veterinarians reach a ceiling at roles like chief medical officer, but what about being a CEO or COO in a veterinary group? Many companies don’t promote DVMs into these top positions, thinking we lack business acumen, even though many veterinarians have successfully built businesses worth millions.
Corporatization of veterinary medicine leads to more non-veterinarians making operational and potentially even medical decisions. When we let non-DVMs take over, we lose control. It contributes to burnout and dissatisfaction.
Veterinarians getting business education is important to break that trend and have more DVMs in leadership positions. If we do not insist on veterinary leadership and ownership, we also forsake the animals we took an oath to protect.
The infusion of private equity money could actually elevate veterinary medicine. It can fund practice renovations, new equipment, and improved marketing. However, veterinary medical teams should be led by veterinarians, with DVMs present at every level of the company, including the Board.
As I moved up in my career, I realized I needed to advocate more for veterinarians and their teams. I started speaking up and am happy to have a say in decision-making. If anyone’s going to influence clinical decisions, it should be a veterinarian like me.
