Becoming a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager

By Ashley Mase, CVT

The CVPM, or Certified Veterinary Practice Manager, distinction is the result of the realization that there was a need in the veterinary field for a program that would standardize everything that practice managers needed to know and do in order to effectively run a practice successfully. The CVPM offers professional recognition, even internationally!

So you want to become a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM)? In order to do so, there are several steps to take:

Application Process:

You must submit an application prior to taking your exam. The application consists of documents supporting your qualifications to becoming a CVPM. The VHMA (Veterinary Hospital Managers Association) CVPM Application is a 30-page document to be completed accurately that outlines your experience, education, continuing education, and references.

One of the experience requirements to become a CVPM is that you must be actively employed as a veterinary practice manager performing job duties that would be defined as those belonging to a practice manager for at least three of the previous seven years. There is also a list of thirty duties that are considered to be veterinary practice manager duties and you must be able to identify that you have performed twenty-six of them for at least three years in order to qualify to sit for the exam.

It is also a requirement that a transcript is submitted to prove that you have completed a minimum of 18 semester/credit hours in courses pertinent to management. These include courses such as accounting, economics/finance, computer science, marketing, management, labor relations/human relations, and law/taxation. This is to fulfill the education component of the application process. Continuing Education is another important component of the application process, as well as the recertification process later on. In order to submit the CVPM application, you must have documented 48 hours of continuing education courses that are specifically devoted to management topics and are within the preceding three years. A minimum of 24 hours of those hours must be from live, face-to-face events and no more than 10 hours can come from instruction and/or writing. Acceptable forms of continuing education include:

• Face-to-face classes

• Conferences

• Meetings, seminars, and symposiums (that are management-related topics)

• Live webinars and videoconferences

• Workshops, panel discussions, and roundtable discussions sponsored by an acceptable CE provider in a formalized setting

• College or university courses taken for academic credit at an accredited academic institution (In this case 1 credit/ semester hour earns 6 CE hours)

• CVPM question writing sessions sponsored by the CVPM Board

• Self-paced study which has an interactive component (quizzes, tests, etc., that demonstrate learning comprehension)

• E-learning also with an interactive component to demonstrate learning comprehension

• Instruction – 1.5 hours of CE will be accepted for every hour of presentation time for each course/workshop that is instructed. Credit is accepted only once per program/topic.

• Writing – an hour of CE will be accepted for each published article (published in an industry professional journal, magazine, and newsletter), chapter or book. Credit is accepted only once per article/topic. Article must have a minimum of 500 words.

There are also requirements for submitting seminars and CE from conferences to ensure they are accepted as well. These must be documented appropriately with the speaker’s name, subject, and supporting documents. CE must be sponsored by a state, national, or international organization in order to be recognized.

The last part of the application process is the references. Each applicant must submit four letters of recommendation. There are specifications for each in order to get a well-rounded sampling for the candidate. One letter must be from a person who is actively involved in the field of practice management and is familiar with you as a practice manager and can speak on how you are as a manager, such as a fellow manager from another practice you work with or practice consultant. A second letter must be from a past or present employer for whom you’ve been employed as a practice manager or from a peer who can speak on your management of a practice you have owned. The final two letters have to come from peers who have a professional association with you and can verify your character and integrity, such as a practice consultant, a vendor representative, or an associate VMD. You cannot count someone you supervise as one of your peers when considering someone to write a letter on your behalf.

Each person submitting a letter of recommendation must submit a Recommendation Form within 90 days of the application signed date.

The Examination:

Once your application is complete, you triple check it for accuracy and completion and submit your check for your examination fee so that it can be scheduled. The examination fee is $675 for Veterinary Hospital Managers Association Members or $825 for non-VHMA Members. Once approved, your application is active for two years and you have those two years to pass your exam until your application expires and at that point you would have to reapply.

The exam is offered at approved proctored testing sites all over North America. It is not available in a remote format. The CVPM examination is only offered four times per year. These are the following examination dates and associated application deadlines for 2023:

• 1st Administration: Monday - Saturday, January 23-28, 2023

Application Deadline: September 1, 2022

• 2nd Administration: Monday - Saturday, April 17-22, 2023

Application Deadline: December 1, 2022

• 3rd Administration: Monday - Saturday, August 21-26, 2023

Application Deadline: April 1, 2023

• 4th Administration: Monday- Saturday, November 13-18, 2023

Application Deadline: June 1, 2023

Ashley Mase, CVT, is the practice manager at the Animal Hospital of Chester County, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She was the 2021 PVMA Practice Manager of the Year and is a current member of the PVMA Board of Trustees, serving as the CVT At-Large. She has had a well-rounded career in numerous areas of veterinary medicine including academia, general practice, and specialty and emergency medicine. Her current focus is on building team relationships and growing as a leader.