Practice Progress: Navigating Change in Vet Med
From VHMA Manager to Manager by Veterinary Hospital Managers Association
March 12, 2026 · 34 min · Episode 84
About this episode
Karen Hart discusses her experiences and insights on leading change in veterinary medicine.
I am really excited to have Karen Hart, CVPM, CCFP , on the podcast. Karen is the Director of Hospital Operations at the Burlington Emergency and Veterinary Specialists (BEVS) and is an MIT-trained engineer turned veterinary practice manager. Leading people through change has taught me something truly humbling: enthusiasm alone doesn't bring others along, and Karen discusses what it actually takes to make change work in the real world of veterinary medicine! Listen as Karen walks us through her journey and how she spent her career stepping into practices specifically to lead transformation. She has implemented technician triage programs, restructured workflows, and has even driven full cultural resets, and what I especially love about her perspective is that she doesn't treat change as chaos but rather as a system - one that can be designed, tested, adjusted, and strengthened. Karen and I also get honest about the parts that no one likes to talk about - software changes that take far longer than expected and inspections landing at the worst possible time, protocols that suddenly don't fit your new workflows, and burnout that starts before the change even begins. I reflect on how…
People in this episode
Host: Veterinary Hospital Managers Association
Guest: Karen Hart
Topics covered
- change management
- veterinary medicine
- leadership
- workflow restructuring
- cultural transformation
Keywords
- veterinary practice management
- change
- transformation
- workflows
- burnout
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Burlington Emergency and Veterinary Specialists
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