Examination of factors that influence students' average client transactions in a small-animal primary care clinical environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the average client transaction (ACT) of fourth-year veterinary students in a university community practice setting at the University of Georgia (UGA) and to investigate variables that may affect the students' ACT. The revenue generated by each student was assessed to determine whether gender, ethnicity, academic class rank, area of emphasis, and UGA versus non-UGA student could affect the ACT of the students. Two hundred one students were evaluated over 19 continuous 3-week-long clinical rotations. For all students, the M ± SD gross revenue was $2,836 ± $1,051, the total number of client transactions was 18 ± 6, and the ACT was $154 ± $35 per student. During the study, hospital fees (price class) increased four times. No student-related factors were significantly associated with the ACT in the univariate analyses. No factors except price class were found to be significant in the two-factor analyses. Generating an ACT equivalent to the national average demonstrates that the typical student at the community practice clinic should provide a level of productivity to the practice owners who hire these students. The factors measured demonstrated little influence on the student's revenue-generating ability at the community practice clinic. Mentorship provided to students for each appointment might have affected the study outcome. Other variables, such as communication style, may affect the ACT more than those investigated in this study and warrant further study.