Career Center

Best Friends Animal Hospital located in Grayslake, Illinois is seeking a dynamic, innovative, and experienced leader to join our growing and family-oriented team as our Medical Director.

ABOUT OUR HOSPITAL

Best Friends Animal Hospital is a full-service small animal hospital that treats dogs, cats, and small mammals (about 10% of our caseload). Our practice which was founded in 1997 is a very well-established and respected hospital within the suburban community of Grayslake, Illinois. We are fortunate to have many loyal clients and long-standing staff. Furthermore, we continue to serve a new and growing clientele that is drawn to the clinic for our compassionate, individualized quality care, and communication (we are currently booked two weeks out)! Because of this, we are seeking an experienced veterinarian who is seeking an opportunity to lead and provide mentorship to our ambitious hospital staff as well as being open and comfortable to work on challenging and unique cases.

ABOUT OUR (INTERIM) MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Our interim Medical Director, Dr. Bryan Haag, is dedicated to providing Best Friends with leadership, growth as well as staff and doctor development. His past experience as a former practice owner, mentor, and leader of multiple practices, combined with our experienced and dedicated practice manager, will drive Best Friends to the next level of optimum quality care and medicine for our patients, all the while keeping the same “family feel” that our clients and community know and love.

ABOUT OUR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

Our hospital is fully equipped with digital radiography, an in-house laboratory, tonometry, cold laser, and a new Midmark dental machine. Additionally, we utilize the services of a prominent, mobile ultrasonographer to perform our diagnostic ultrasounds and echocardiograms. Our doctors perform a variety of soft tissue surgeries and dentistry. For more complicated cases and orthopedic procedures, we are fortunate to have boarded surgeons nearby that we can refer to. We also have a surgeon who is on-site every Tuesday and Thursday to perform surgeries.

ABOUT OUR STAFF

Best Friends is lucky to have hospital support staff who are crucial to the success of patient and client care. Every doctor has 1-2 technicians each day to assist them with appointments or surgery. To keep our practice running smoothly and efficiently, our Practice Manager is very detail-oriented, organized, and appreciates and encourages thoughtful, creative, and transparent communication.

Our team has a family dynamic and is known for our little turnover, with most of our team having worked here for over 15 years. Furthermore, our team truly prioritizes work/life balance by consistently trying to accommodate requests for time off. We love to have fun at work by having potlucks, BBQs, Socko de Mayo (yes, we gave each other themed socks!), Secret Santa, and holiday parties. We love spending time together outside of work, meeting each other’s families, camping, taking group trips to the zoo and bowling alley, and even vacationing together!

LEARN MORE ABOUT US

bestfriendsgrayslakevets.com

LOCATION

1203 N IL Route 83, Grayslake, IL 60030

ABOUT GRAYSLAKE, IL

Grayslake is a family-friendly community, with activities for all ages. We are centrally located between Chicago and Milwaukee in beautiful Lake County, IL. We have a Metra station, allowing easy access to Chicago as well as free parking so you can catch a ride from the hospital to the airport should you enjoy traveling free of hassle! There are endless recreational activities, including swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, skating at Gray Lake, relaxing on the beach at Jones Island Park, strolling the boardwalks birdwatching at Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve, or enjoying the rides at Six Flags.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Medical Director (MD) of Mission Veterinary Partners (“MVP”) is responsible for the continuous pursuit of Medical Excellence encompassing patient care, client service excellence, lifelong learning, and hospital efficiency. This key leader is responsible for role modeling for all associate veterinarians and providing them with coaching and mentorship in the ongoing pursuit of Medical Excellence. The MD will work in close partnership with the Practice Manager (PM) to create an environment of collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement. Together the MD and PM will create and maintain a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for their team leading to high levels of teamwork and retention. In collaboration with their Regional Director, the Medical Director and Practice Manager will develop an annual operating plan for their hospital to continually advance in Medical Excellence and total performance.

A successful Medical Director will excel when they lead with a growth mindset, an attitude of servant leadership, continuous role modeling of clinical excellence, and utilization of the power of the MVP network, leveraging it to their advantage to enable recruiting and achieve hospital goals. The Medical Director contributes to the hospital's total performance in the areas of revenue growth, Professional Client Transaction (PCT) overall growth and consistency amongst doctors, increasing pet visits, client Net Promoter Score (NPS), and employee satisfaction and retention. Together, as a team, the Practice Manager and Medical Director lead their hospital toward a total EBITDA goal. The Medical Director may serve in a dual role as the Hospital Director.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Veterinary Duties (80-90%)

The following duties and responsibilities generally reflect the expectations of this position but are not intended to be all-inclusive, percentages are guidelines but may vary based on clinic needs determined by the Hospital Director.

• Perform duties included in the associate Veterinarian job description.
• Achieve specific production goals as elected in the hospital’s annual planning.
• Maintain veterinary excellence by attending annual CE, striving for continuous improvement, and leading innovation within the veterinary team.

 Medical Director Duties (10-20%)

• Consistently role model Medical Excellence, setting the example for the highest quality of medicine, client service, education, and efficiency.
• Continuously strive to establish excellent relationships with all doctors resulting in engagement, retention, medical and surgical skill development, compassion fatigue abatement, and modeling leadership that serves.
• Manage the veterinarians in the hospital to include regular performance discussions, performance reviews, hiring, firing, discipline, corrective actions, and the like.
• Conduct regular coaching conversations with the veterinarian team to support their ongoing individual development including production reports and PCT reviews.
• Support Practice Manager in establishing doctor schedule to ensure client needs for convenience and availability are met.
• Participate in the interview process for associate veterinarians; other staff as needed to support the PM.
• Attend the annual conference held by MVP and demonstrate a willingness to participate in networking
• Attend hospital staff and leadership meetings as appropriate.
• Hold monthly hospital doctor’s meetings to include:
  • Educating and leading the veterinary team to make determinations around SKU consolidation, appropriate product selection, and laboratory strategy.
  • Ensure timely conveyance of contemporary topics and provide educational pieces in the pursuit of medical excellence.
  • Discuss new procedures and services that can be offered to clients to grow the business.

• Strive for a culture of teamwork amongst all team members via engagement and empowerment with a high eNPS. Work to understand how to get the most from each individual veterinarian as everyone’s style and motivations are different. Look for the good in all and leverage unique skills.
• Promote and role model a culture of recruitment and mentorship. Supervise internship, externship, and mentorship programs to ensure a positive experience for students and/or new graduates.
• Serve as an ambassador for your hospital and MVP via community engagement including schools, universities, and local events.
• In collaboration with the Practice Manager or Inventory Manager ensure compliance with local, state, federal, and DEA regulations within the hospital ensuring hospital is exercising best practices for controlled substance compliance.
• Support Practice Manager in MVP initiative rollouts at the hospital level.
• Maintain and uphold our Core Values and Mission Statement of MVP.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

(Education, licenses, certifications, and experience required to fulfill the essential duties, computer skills as required)

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine; minimum of 3 years’ practical clinical experience.
• Understanding or willingness to learn financial and operating management of the hospital.
• Intermediate computer skills and proficiency in MS Excel, MS Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Licensed Illinois Veterinarian (active and clear).
• Excellent, demonstrated medical and surgical skills are essential.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, DVMs, and teammates to build a results-driven, team-oriented environment.
• 1+ years of leadership experience desired but not required.

 ESSENTIAL BEHAVIORS, SKILLS, AND ATTITUDES REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS IN THIS POSITION

• Commitment to Mission Veterinary Partners' core values of Service, Teamwork, Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Doing the Right Thing, and Treat Everyone Like Family. Demonstrate those positively and proactively in all your interactions.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, Veterinarians, and teammates to create a growth-driven, team-oriented environment.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills with an acute ability to listen attentively and to communicate effectively throughout all levels of the organization.
• Relationship-building skills and servant leadership mentality; ability to appreciate people with different backgrounds and points of view.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of internal and external Standards of Conduct as well as legal regulatory requirements.
• Engagement in MVP programs and resources to expand expertise in leading and building teams, managing and influencing people, and customer service excellence.
• Engagement in MVP programs and resources to expand expertise in all aspects of teammate management including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, retention, promoting, disciplinary actions, job performance evaluations, and teammate professional development.
• Enthusiasm and desire for a progressive, growth culture are required.

OUR BENEFITS PACKAGE

• Competitive and generous base salary
• Production bonus with no negative accrual
• Medical Director leadership bonus
• Hospital performance bonus
• Signing bonus and relocation assistance
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Mental health resources and support
• Company-paid wellness programs
• Paid license fees
• 401(K) with employer match
• Paid time off
• Rigorous (optional) 1-year leadership program
• Paid continuing education + dedicated days off to attend

We would appreciate the opportunity to learn about you, your passions, and why you feel this position is a great fit for you. Please apply today for immediate consideration.

About Mission Veterinary Partners

Mission Veterinary Partners is a veterinarian-founded network of 300+ animal hospitals throughout the United States. While it’s important to know what we are, it’s probably more important to know what drives us - We have one mission: to be the employer of choice in veterinary medicine. Our mission is to be more than just a business model. We represent a work culture and mindset revolved around the health and well-being of each of our team members, so they can provide the best care possible for our clients and patients! We’re always looking to connect with like-minded individuals so if you are looking for a new team, reach out today to see how we can help. For more info on our animal hospital locations and career opportunities: https://missionveterinarypartners.com/careers/

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