By: Bob Lester, DVM
I believe optimism is a choice. It’s not a naïve or unrealistic mindset but a deliberate and strategic approach to life and business. Given the choice between seeing the glass as half full or half empty, I choose half full. At times, that view conflicts with my training as a scientist. Veterinary professionals are taught to challenge claims, demand evidence and always ask, “Yeah, but …?” We are trained skeptics, conditioned to look for the downside — an essential skill when maximizing patient health. But outside of veterinary medicine, I sometimes find our profession drowning in a stream of glass-half-empty, fear-based narratives about our future. For example:
- AI will take my job!
- Corporate practice networks are ruining the profession!
- New veterinary schools will flood the market!
- Veterinary professional associates will compromise medical quality!
- A virtual veterinarian-client-patient relationship will threaten pet health!
- The state board will take my license!
What if we suspend our innate negativity bias and flip the script? What if things go right?
What if AI Supports Veterinary Professionals Instead of Replaces Them?
Imagine AI-driven scribing, diagnostics and decision-support tools leading to improved medical outcomes, reduced burnout and more patient care time. Instead of doing tedious administrative duties, we connect with clients and build relationships. Instead of decision fatigue, we have real-time insights to guide our clinical judgment. Critical thinking, communication skills and genuine human connection will become even more essential in a world where AI handles routine tasks.
What if the Corporates Get It Right?
What if the suits in the boardroom listen to the voices on the clinic floor? More veterinary professionals are moving into leadership roles, shaping strategy and prioritizing team well-being. A sustainable model that balances people, pets and profits isn’t just an ideal; it’s achievable. The distance between the boardroom and the exam room shrinks, and corporate consolidation moves from a threat to an opportunity, improving care for pets and teams.
What if Independent Practices Flourish?
New-build practices, new practice models, joint ventures, partnerships, franchises and the purchase of retiring doctors’ practices — all of which include equity for veterinarians, credentialed veterinary technicians and practice managers — fuel a renaissance in independent practice ownership.
What if New Veterinary Schools Produce Even Better-Prepared Graduates With Less Debt?
Innovative education models, including competency-based, three-year DVM programs, distributed clinical models, professional skills training, shared faculty, asynchronous offerings, distance learning and AI-assisted instruction, enable new graduates to enter the workforce as competent, confident and financially stable professionals. Loan repayment programs, employer-sponsored tuition assistance and state incentives make veterinary school more accessible and reduce its financial burden.
What if Team-Based Care Finally Replaces the Outdated “One Doctor, One Patient, One Exam Room” Model?
Veterinary medicine joins the rest of health care, recognizing that good care is a team sport. Client service representatives, veterinary assistants, credentialed technicians, technician specialists, veterinary professional associates and general practitioners all work at the top of their training. License protection, expanded duties, respect and fair compensation become the norm. The shift to fully leveraged, team-based care transforms the profession.
What if Pet Lifespans Continue to Increase?
We move from reactive to preventive to predictive medicine. Regenerative medicine, gene therapy, nonsurgical sterilants and precision oncology revolutionize care. The connected pet and AI-driven diagnostics detect disease before symptoms appear. New pain management strategies extend lifespans and quality of life. Emerging care options become available to support our aging patient population. Dogs routinely live to be 20, and cats to 30.
What if Access to Veterinary Care Grows Dramatically?
Pet health insurance, wellness plans, flexible payment options and expanded telehealth, including the ability to establish a virtual VCPR, reduce the financial and logistical barriers to veterinary care. Work-from-home opportunities expand. More pets get the care they need.
What if Personal Well-Being Continues to Improve?
Flexible work schedules, fair compensation and mental health support reduce burnout and build sustainable careers. New career options are available. Emotional intelligence and leadership development become core skills, creating a healthier workplace culture.
What if Clients Can Use Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts for Veterinary Care?
Legislation recognizing the value of pets in human health allows owners to use pretax health care funds for veterinary expenses. More pets receive preventive and lifesaving treatments.
What if New Practice Models Reduce Pressure on Full-Service Clinics?
Veterinary care expands beyond the traditional general practice model. Membership-based practices, urgent care, dental-only clinics, veterinary technician-delivered care, mobile services and telehealth provide more options for clients and care providers. Meanwhile, general practices expand their scope when the pet family’s needs aren’t best served by referral.
What if Regulatory Bodies Adapt to the Future?
Licenses become portable and protected, duties are expanded, and new veterinary schools are allowed the flexibility to innovate. Having served two terms on my state’s examining board, I can count the number of licenses revoked on one hand. If you communicate, empathize and document your findings, you don’t need to fear your state board.
What if Workforce Expansion Improves Access to Care and Reduces Stress?
A diversified profession, including more veterinary schools, alternative pathways, a robust pipeline of support staff, and improved retention through better compensation and career development, means more hands-on staff and less strain on individual providers.
Let’s Do It
The coming years will see our profession embrace team-based care, telehealth, AI, and a stronger voice in legislation and corporate decision-making. We can expect improvements in pet insurance, workplace well-being and medicine.
Veterinary medicine is evolving. If we learn to innovate, we create a profession that is more efficient, equitable and fulfilling for all.
Our profession was built on the shoulders of giants. What we do for society has never been more critical. But the model that got us here is struggling. Change is needed.
We have two choices: Resist change or lead it.
What if things go right? What if even half of these changes go right? I’ll take that.
Our future is bright.