You have to love the animals and the clients - Hospital Manager VCA Employee Review

2.0
Jul 10, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They offer fair benefits and because they offer low salary, there are lots of entry level openings. There are opportunities for advancement, especially if willing to relocate and a smooth talker. Veterinarians have opportunity to make a lot of money if they can talk clients into "thorough" treatment plans. High net hospitals profit share. If you are in the right hospital in the right region, it can be an awesome experience.

Cons

Corporate focuses attention toward large and specialty hospitals. Difficult to retain clients due to high total invoices. Veterinarians and support staff pushed to only offer "best medicine" which is usually way beyond what clients can afford. High employee turn over rate due to low wages. Corporate, or "home office", creates "alliances" with vendors and restricts how patients can be treated. More and more upper level employees have absolutely no animal care experience and only care about increasing profit. As a hospital manager or medical director, you have to bend the rules to keep good employees and clients. As a hospital manager of a smaller hospital, you have to due the work of a business owner without the rewards. This includes 50-80 hour work weeks and always being on call. Large hospitals can "afford" to hire management support such as bookkeepers, department leads, inventory managers and maintenance workers.

Explore other reviews about VCA

5.0
May 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Small animal, exotics, free care to wildlife, opportunities to work with zoo animals. Internal promotions to change all management has made the work environment very positive. Boarding facilities. Opportunity for certifying for internal crematory.

Cons

Pay rate less than expected for experience level. Corporate in California has increased prices every year that is causing all of my friends and family to change vets. With our rural area and low average income, pets are getting euthanized instead of having testing and treatment. Staff should have more discounts for employee pets.

4.0
Jun 12, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

This company offers many opportunities for doctors and techs to grow in their careers. They provide tons of support and they've been making HUGE changes to veterinary medicine on a whole. I have never known another company to offer so many benefits and perks for staff (especially techs), and they're even making lots of effort to invest in the veterinary receptionists-the front line associates of the hospital. They're also making great strides to acknowledge some of the feedback we've had for many years. They're savvy and smart, making business decisions that build on a company that will be around a long time (and has.)

Cons

There have been times where transparency and communication are lacking, and sometimes to the point where hospital-level employees feel left out or unheard. Some bigger topics like onboarding and navigating what support comes from where could be more clear. It feels like they've been fusing on new concepts/policies/features to the company, making it feel like a clunky machine rather than building something new and streamlined. Maybe it's in the works, but how do we know down here?

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