This summer I was privileged to participate in the mid year meeting of Vet Partners in Kansas City.

Missouri. One of the founder members of VetPartners, formerly known as the AVPMCA - the Association of

Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors - was Dr James Wilson DVM JD.

James F. Wilson, DVM, JD graduated from Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1967 and

UCLA's School of Law in 1973.

During the 16 years he lived in California, Dr. Wilson practised small animal medicine. He was a partner

in Four Corners Veterinary Hospital in Concord, California and in 1986 he moved to Pennsylvania where he

served as medical Director at the University of Pennsylvania's small animal hospital. Currently he teaches

veterinary law, ethics, business management, and career development at 18-20 veterinary schools each year

throughout the USA with sponsorship from the Veterinary Pet Insurance Company.

Dr. Wilson has authored six books and over 130 articles in various veterinary journals. Since 1990, he has

been consulting with veterinary practitioners, students, residents, specialists, and lawyers on such issues

as personnel management and motivation, employment contracts, restrictive covenants, starting new veterinary

practices, evaluating the reasonableness and accuracy of existing practice appraisals, veterinary malpractice

issues, drafting and implementing the use of legal consent forms, and customizing production-based

compensation procedures to fit individual practices and coaching them as to how to implement this method

for paying associates.

In 1994 Dr. Wilson was a founder of the American Veterinary Medical Law Association and in 1996 was

awarded the prestigious Clinical Sciences Teacher of the Year Award by the Student AVMA House of Delegates,

the only time this has been awarded to a non-clinician.

In 2000 he co-founded the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors

(now known VetPartners) and currently serves on the Career Development Committee of VetPartners and as

a faculty advisor for several veterinary school chapters of the Veterinary Business Management Association

The Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) is the largest independent veterinary

student organization in the world and the fastest growing veterinary student group in the United States.

The Association has 28 chapters at veterinary schools across the country, 3 international chapters

including one at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, and over 2,600 student members. The organisation

is founded on the determination, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit of future veterinary leaders who

desire a higher level of business education than that which is being offered through veterinary colleges.

The VBMA is lead, managed and organized entirely by veterinary students. VBMA student leaders and members

have aspirations that vary from being the most valuable part-time associates possible to being the

leaders of veterinary industry and the veterinary profession. Through their involvement in this

organization, veterinary students develop communication, customer service, negotiation, leadership,

and managerial skills that enable them to elevate their careers and our profession as a whole.

The organization is truly a grass-roots movement that is organized and advanced by veterinary students

working within their own schools. Each school is different, and each chapter at that school focuses on

issues and topics of greatest interest to their own student body.

The National VBMA is an umbrella organization for these chapters, providing a conduit for communication

among schools and resources that support educational and organizational opportunities for every chapter.

The National Board is also comprised entirely of veterinary students who work to provide programs,

mentorship opportunities, and financial support to chapters while creating a consistent level of quality

and style in our educational programs nationwide.

You can

target="_blank">click here to visit the VBMA website

VetPartners (formerly known as the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors) which promotes excellence and ethics in veterinary consulting and advising

through continuing education, communication, collaboration, and collegiality, and to establish and

improve business practices and standards.

VetPartners objective are:

• to increase the knowledge of veterinary practice consultants and advisors in the fields of veterinary

  business management and veterinary practice valuations.

• to elevate the profession's understanding of veterinary business practice management and practice

  valuations through educational programs.

• to cooperate with veterinary, legal, accounting, appraisal and other allied professional organisations

  to enhance the public benefit in the application of veterinary practice management, consulting, advising

  and practice valuations

• to communicate with veterinarians, veterinary related parties and veterinary students to improve the

  profession's understanding of business principles and to

• to create and maintain a member code of ethics

VetPartners' focus today is to provide a credible environment and stimulating forum where members can

grow and learn from each other, address industry trends and concerns that affect the stability and growth

of members and their clients and drive partnerships that work to ensure solid and cost-effective outcomes.

You can

target="_blank">click here to visit the VetPartners website