Changing Perceptions of Corporate Veterinary Care

By Dr. Melissa Detweiler, DVM and Dr. Carissa Tran, DVM, Area Medical Directors, Vetco Total Care

5 min read

Think You Know Corporate Veterinary Medicine? Think Again!

Vetco Total Care is Changing Perceptions of Corporate Veterinary Care

We hear it all the time at conferences or during interviews: “Vetco Total Care … is that part of Petco?” Yes! Vetco Total Care full-service hospitals are in neighborhood Petco pet care centers, providing pet parents with convenient access to all the general practice veterinary services they need for healthy pets. As area medical directors for Vetco Total Care, we speak with candidates and vet students daily—and sometimes, we hear their concerns around the traditional corporate veterinary practice model. 

However, we’re confident that Vetco Total Care offers pets, pet parents and veterinary professionals a unique experience that prioritizes their needs. There is a reason nearly 1 in 2 new hospital veterinarians come to Vetco Total Care through employee referrals!

We’ve compiled the top questions and comments we hear to demonstrate how Vetco Total Care is changing the corporate veterinary medicine model, which empowers doctors to practice autonomous medicine, prioritizes the wellbeing of our doctors and hospital partners, and focuses on delivering the highest standards of pet care.

Misconception #1: Corporate veterinary medicine is metrics driven and prioritizes profit over quality of care.

This is the number one concern we hear. Because we’re veterinarian led, Vetco Total Care prioritizes the highest standards of care for our patients. As area medical directors, we are responsible for ensuring our doctors and teams have everything they need to deliver rigorous standards of care, from continuing education, to field support, the equipment, and medications they need, and a well-trained staff of vet techs, assistants, and office managers. In fact, our full-time veterinarians receive a $3500 continuing education stipend, and vet techs receive $1000.

These high standards extend beyond the hospital: Petco is the first pet retailer in history to be awarded the coveted American Humane Certified™ Seal of Approval. American Humane is the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare with the most recognized, credible, and respected humane programs. The seal was awarded after a careful assessment of the welfare, well-being, and overall condition of all animals at all Petco locations.

We also work hand-in-hand with our Pet Wellness Council, a coalition of independent, leading experts in veterinary science and animal care, is charged with serving as an external source of unbiased advice and counsel to Petco’s leadership team on a range of topics across the pet care industry, as well as guiding the development and aggregation of credible pet care science to help educate pet care professionals and, ultimately, all who care for pets. 

Misconception #2: Corporate medicine is “cookbook medicine” with rigid protocols.

Vetco Total Care doctors are empowered and trusted to practice autonomous medicine, with the freedom to practice within a broader framework.

Area medical directors and hospital veterinarians are truly empowered to determine diagnostic and care protocols, build treatment plans, select medications based on what is right for their patients, and keep their overall health and wellness front and center. This also enables our doctors to put all their education, continued training, and experience into practice. Autonomous medicine also empowers our doctors in terms of staffing and surgery loads, as we don’t have patient quotas.

Misconception #3: Corporate veterinary medicine is boring—it’s just vaccinations, spays, and neuters all day.

Vetco Total Care full-service hospitals offer well and sick visits, preventive care, dentals, transfusions, mass removals, and outpatient surgeries for dogs, cats, and companion animals. Our hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art Idexx labs, surgical suites, digital radiology, ultrasounds, cloud-based practice management software and more. As a doctor working with Vetco Total Care, you will diagnose and treat a wide variety of patients and medical cases.

For example, recently a cat was referred to one of our Vetco Total Care hospitals for a second opinion, as he was in pain and not eating. Our doctor discovered a mass at the base of the cat’s tongue that the referring clinic had missed. She biopsied it, diagnosed salivary gland adenocarcinoma, and referred the cat to an oncology specialist. Unexpected situations like this are the sort of thing we see every day.

Lastly, we have doctors who have specialized training in chiropractic care, acupuncture, and exotic pet medicine. There is never a dull day at Vetco Total Care!

Misconception #4: Clients have poor customer experiences with corporate medicine practices.

Vetco Total Care creates a customer experience that is regularly acknowledged as exceptional, demonstrated by our customer OSAT (Overall Satisfaction) survey scores.

From our 2021 Customer OSAT data, Vetco Total Care received a

9.4/10 rating for overall guest satisfaction

9.5/10 for veterinarian quality of care provided

9.6/10 for veterinarian care personalized to your pet

9.6/10 for veterinarian & hospital staff friendliness

Our doctors and hospital staff prioritize quality patient care, client communication and build real relationships that will last the lifetime of the pet and beyond. 

Misconception #5: Corporate vet medicine requires veterinarians to work excessive hours with little staff, support, or flexibility.

We have experienced and seen the physical and mental toll that unrelenting stress and long hours can take on veterinarians and staff. Veterinarian stress, depression, compassion fatigue, and career burnout are things we take seriously.

We encourage everyone at Vetco Total Care to be their best self at home and work. But it’s not enough to say this—we support it with:

Regular hours (and getting home for dinner)

No hospital overnights

No emergency on-call hours

No quotas on selling wellness plans

No unattainable productivity or high-pressure sales 

Industry-leading financial, health and mental wellness benefits 

For example, we offer annual equity stock grants for all hospital veterinarians. These Total Rewards provide peace of mind, security, and support career longevity.

We offer full-time, part-time, and relief roles that allow veterinarians flexibility to fit their life stage and lifestyle.

And each Vetco Total Care hospital is appropriately staffed with trained, licensed veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants, a hospital office manager, and a client concierge.

Our leadership team is dedicated to always looking for new ways to empower our veterinary staff to bring their best selves to work.

Misconception #6: Corporate medicine requires noncompete agreements.

Vetco Total Care has never required staff to sign noncompete contracts. We don’t believe in noncompete agreements for veterinarians, as the agreements can add unnecessary stress, create an unhappy environment, and disrupt the continuity of pet care. Veterinarians deserve equal opportunities to explore new roles, practices and experiences that give them greater career satisfaction, earning potential, personal autonomy, and well-being. This means ZERO noncompete contracts.

Misconception #7: Corporate practices turn doctors into salespeople, requiring them to push products, regardless of what the patient needs.

As a Vetco Total Care veterinarian, you are empowered to make product and service recommendations based on what is right for pets and pet parents. You will not have quotas to meet on wellness plans. 

Misconception #8: Corporate veterinary medicine is bureaucratic; you can’t get what you need and will wait months for approvals, medications, new equipment, and resources.

Vetco Total Care veterinarians enjoy the support of an area medical director (maybe one of us!) who will help facilitate requests for training, staff, tools, adding new medicines to the formulary and more. You have a voice and an advocate when you work with us.

As one of our colleagues, Dr. Michael Ogden-Schuette, DVM , says, “Vetco Total Care is making great strides to change the idea of ‘corporate’ medicine from a stigma to an indication of all the layers of support veterinarians, pets, and pet parents receive.”

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