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Veterinary Practice Management

Enhance your veterinary clinic management skills with expert-led online coaching.

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This program offers coaching, feedback, and the opportunity to engage with both your instructor and fellow participants through online forums designed to enhance your learning. Ideal for those currently working in a veterinary clinic and looking to implement best business practices, this certificate is built around assignments, quizzes, and interactive discussions.

Assignments are tailored to help you create practical documents that can be immediately applied to improve your clinic's business outcomes. While the program is online, each course is guided by an instructor with years of hands-on experience as a Veterinary Practice Manager.

Delivery: Online

Dates: Course start dates vary

Prerequisites: None, although a minimum one year experience working in a veterinary setting is strongly encouraged

Certification: Non-credit Certificate

Completion of the certificate also fulfills the continuing education requirements necessary to apply for the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager Designation offered through the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association.    

Length of Program: 10 Weeks/Course

Registration Deadline: Two weeks prior to course start date. Pending availability; late registrations may be accepted with a late fee. Limited space available so register early.

Required Text & Materials: Practice Made Perfect - A Complete Guide to Veterinary Practice Management, 3rd Edition, Heinke, Marsha L., McCarthy, John B. (2012). Published in Lakewood, Colorado. American Animal Hospital Express.

*Please note that this is the only textbook required for this certificate program and it is required for all courses. If you work for a clinic that is a member, you may be able to purchase the text for a reduced price.

Purchase this textbook through AAHA: www.aaha.org or call 1-800-252-2242 ask for the ‘member service centre’.

What will you learn?

This fully online certificate is comprised of six courses:

  • Veterinary Marketing
  • Veterinary Financial Management
  • Veterinary Communications
  • Veterinary Systems & Operating Procedures
  • Computer Applications
  • Veterinary Human Resources

 Following completion of the program, the learner will be able to:

  • Demonstrate effective communication and personal management skills in the veterinary clinic setting
  • Apply management skills in the supervision of employees
  • Support business success by developing a strategic marketing plan
  • Adhere to legal and ethical obligations for veterinary clinic operations
  • Manage the human resource requirements of the veterinary practice
  • Confidently manage and report the financial aspects of a veterinary clinic
  • Manage the daily operations of the veterinary clinic

Course Details

Courses can be taken individually and in any order 

Veterinary Communications | VPM 7004

Dates: Sept. 14 - Dec. 4, 2026
Cost: $899 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Learn the art of actively addressing situations to obtain the best possible outcome. Gain a greater understanding of the importance of effective communication to your success as a practice manager. Acquire the knowledge, skills and strategies that will assist you to utilize appropriate written, verbal, intrapersonal and interpersonal communications to facilitate success with clients, staff, and other stakeholders. During this course, you will have the opportunity to apply the skills that will make you a more effective team leader within your team, and build your confidence handling a variety of situations that arise, including those that require conflict resolution skills.

Veterinary Marketing | VPM 7001

Dates: March 30 - June 18, 2027
Cost: $899 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Support business success by developing a strategic marketing plan for a veterinary clinic. Analyze factors that affect clients' perceptions, develop a client retention program, and identify your options for external marketing, including the use of social media. Learn how marketing is part of every client interaction and how to evaluate marketing efforts to generate the greatest value for your dollar.

Veterinary Systems and Operating Procedures | VPM 7005

Dates: March 30 - June 18, 2027
Cost: $899 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Acquire the skills to evaluate the business systems and operation procedures in a clinic and support positive changes that improve business outcomes. Become familiar with all types of documents, agreements and contracts that are utilized within the veterinary business. Positively impact the clinic you work in through a comprehensive understanding of the legislative, compliance, and reporting requirements, as well as the ethical implications of various policies.

Veterinary Human Resources | VPM 7002

Dates: Jan. 11 - April 2, 2027
Cost: $899 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Learn how to effectively develop and manage the clinic's most important resource - the staff. Determine staffing requirements, create job descriptions, interview and recruit, coach and mentor your team effectively. Examine best practices for negotiation, performance evaluation and improvement, and successful team leadership.

Veterinary Financial Management | VPM 7003

Dates: Sept. 14 - Dec. 4, 2026
Cost: $899 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Confidently manage all financial aspects of a veterinary practice. Gain an understanding of accounting principles, the ability to evaluate Key Performance Indicators and overall financial performance, as well as select the appropriate tools to control clinic expenses and monitor clinic financials. Choose the most appropriate strategies to manage cashflow, develop internal protections to avoid embezzlement, and successfully compose a concise financial summary for presentation to your supervisor.

Computer Applications | CMP 7100

Dates: Jan. 11 - March 5, 2027
Cost: $799 + GST
Prerequisites: None
Delivery Method: Online

Students will work with a variety of software, including selected Microsoft Office programs, to create and edit business documents. The exploration of various Apps and Web Design applications will provide students with a foundation for application of these technology tools for other courses and the workplace.

Required Materials: You will be required to have access to a desktop computer or a laptop computer in addition to a current version of Microsoft Office in order to complete course assignments and activities.

  • The time commitment does vary by person given the different speeds of reading and navigating online, but a good range would be approx. 6-12 hours/week. There are assignments, as well as required forum posts, and the average would be approx. One assignment every 1.5 weeks, and a couple of forum posts each week.

  • Most people only take one course at a time, although if you like it is possible to take two at one time as long as your personal and work commitments allow you enough time each week.

  • Yes – you are not required to register for the ‘certificate’, you just register for the courses as you want to complete them & then when you have completed all six, you will receive the certificate. We encourage people to take only one course at a time unless they have a good deal of free time for the coursework.

    Students have five years to complete this certificate.

  • This is a certificate program consisting of six courses. There is no requirement to register for the 'certificate program', but rather you register for each course as like, and they can be taken in any order.

  • Yes - the courses in this program contain valuable information and will help you gain the skillset that you would need in order to successfully manage a boarding facility or animal shelter. The content is specifically geared towards veterinary clinics, however all three types of facilities deal with similar challenges: financial, human resource, volunteers, communications, effective policies and procedures etc.

  • Yes - we are pleased to accept students from international locations for this online program. As long as you have adequate reliable Internet, and are able to pay your tuition via credit card, all will work out well for you. The course materials for each course are all delivered through our online learning platform, and the instruction is asynchronous, meaning that although you need to follow due dates for assignments and forum postings, there is no specific time that you are ever required to be online, so timezone differences would have no impact on your ability to successfully complete the courses in this certificate.  You are required to order your own textbook for this program (the one text is all that is used for all six courses), and this book must be purchased from the United States, so you would want to order the text with enough time in advance that shipping to your home country you will receive it prior to the start of your first class.

  • The courses are instructor led, so although you can work on the assignments & forum posts at any time that is convenient for you (there will never be a specific time you are required to be online or engaged), there are set timeframes within which to complete all components, and you will receive feedback from your instructor  on both your assignments and forum posts.

For more information:

Industry Training & Continuing Education

Phone: 403.556.4740
Toll-Free: 1.800.661.6537
Email: itce@oldscollege.ca

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