Practice ownership is still possible, but the path is changing

Uncharted Veterinary Community’s latest ownership-focused podcast taps into a defining workforce question for veterinary medicine: if an associate wants more control over culture, schedule, and long-term income, is it still practical to buy a hospital, build one from scratch, or stay employed and wait? In “To Buy, to Start, or to Stay - Is Practice Ownership Possible?”, Dr. Andy Roark and Roy Jane revisit ownership not as a broad industry trend, but as a career choice individual veterinarians are actively weighing in a market shaped by debt, consolidation, and shifting access to capital. The timing matters, because the ownership conversation has changed from “should I ever do this?” to “what path is still feasible now?” (learn.unchartedvet.com)

That question has been building for years. AVMA reported in 2022 that practice ownership had become less common among veterinarians who identified as owners or associates, dropping to 42% in 2018 from 47% in 2008, with younger veterinarians and women less likely to be owners. In response, organizations across the profession have started building explicit ownership pipelines, including fellowships and business-training programs meant to bridge the gap between clinical readiness and financial readiness. Uncharted’s own programming reflects that demand: alongside podcasts for associates and leaders, it has promoted a dedicated Practice Owner Summit and leadership certificate offerings built around the operational side of running a hospital. (avma.org; unchartedvet.com)

The backdrop is a profession where independent practice is still very much present, even as corporate structures have expanded. In AVMA’s 2025 Economic State of the Profession report, 93.9% of practices captured in the 2024 Veterinary Practice Owners Survey were independently owned, though that survey reflects the practices sampled, not the full market share picture. The same report also shows ownership is often more structurally complex than many associates realize: a majority of practice owners held the practice in one legal entity and the land and building in another, underscoring that buying a hospital is often also a real-estate and financing decision. (ebusiness.avma.org)

Debt remains one of the biggest barriers. AVMA’s 2025 report found average DVM debt for all 2024 graduates was $168,979, and $202,647 for graduates with debt; 38.5% had debt of $200,000 or more, and 16.6% had debt of $300,000 or more. Those numbers help explain why ownership can feel out of reach, especially for early-career veterinarians evaluating whether to take on a second major obligation in the form of a practice loan or startup financing. Still, AVMA and lender-oriented coverage have also documented that veterinary buyers can secure significant financing when the practice fundamentals and borrower profile are strong, even early in their careers. (ebusiness.avma.org)

There are also signs the conversation is shifting again. In a separate Andy Roark podcast conversation with VMG president Matthew Salois, Salois said he was seeing renewed interest in independent ownership, including from veterinarians who had previously sold to corporate groups and later returned to independent practice. In that discussion, both Roark and Salois linked the change partly to slower consolidation and higher borrowing costs, while also arguing that tools once associated with larger groups, including certain technologies and data capabilities, are becoming more accessible to smaller hospitals. That isn’t hard evidence of a broad market reversal, but it does suggest the decision framework for associates may be widening again. (drandyroark.com)

Another reason the question feels more urgent is that many veterinarians experience ownership change from the employee side before they ever get a chance to become owners themselves. In Uncharted’s “Surprise! Your Practice Just Got Sold,” Dr. Gene Bauer described getting a call from his boss after the practice had already been sold, with little warning and plenty of anxiety for the team that remained. His account is a useful reminder that “stay” is not always a passive choice; associates may be deciding whether to remain through a sale, leave after one, or use that disruption as motivation to pursue ownership on their own terms. (learn.unchartedvet.com)

For veterinary professionals, that’s the core takeaway. Ownership may still be possible, but it’s less likely to be a single leap and more likely to be a staged strategy: strengthen personal credit, learn practice finance, understand valuation, assess whether a startup or acquisition better fits the local market, and decide how much operational responsibility matches your goals. Just as importantly, leadership and team systems matter after the deal closes. Uncharted’s popular 2025 episode on training initiative argued that what looks like a people problem is often a systems problem, and that leaders can unintentionally train learned helplessness. For would-be owners, that is more than a management lesson: buying a hospital means inheriting or rebuilding the conditions that shape whether teams act with initiative or wait to be told what to do. (ebusiness.avma.org; learn.unchartedvet.com)

The economics can still be compelling. AVMA compensation data in the 2025 report show owners in several practice categories out-earn many associate roles, but those earnings come with staffing, payroll, compliance, and facility risk attached. (ebusiness.avma.org)

The “stay” option, then, isn’t necessarily a failure of ambition. In some markets, staying may be the rational choice while a veterinarian builds savings, seeks mentorship, or waits for a better acquisition target. In others, buying into an existing hospital or pursuing an alternative equity model may offer a more realistic on-ramp than a solo startup. AVMA’s reporting on ownership fellowships and business training reflects that the profession increasingly sees ownership readiness as something that can be taught, not just inherited or stumbled into. (avma.org)

What to watch: Watch for more formal ownership-development programs, continued debate over consolidation’s long-term effects, more owner education built around leadership and operations, and whether 2026 borrowing conditions and practice valuations make first-time acquisition easier for associates than they were during the peak M&A years. (drandyroark.com; unchartedvet.com)