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Letting Go of the Need to Be “Best” At the end of all rankings - after the tables, the metrics, the arguments - there remains a quiet, persistent image: A podium. First place. Second place. Third place . We understand it instinctively. It is familiar. Ordered. Comforting. But veterinary medicine does not live on a podium. The Seduction of “Best” The idea of “best” is powerful. It simplifies decision-making. It creates clarity. It offers a sense of arrival. To be “#1” is to ha

The email arrives. Or the press release. Or the carefully worded announcement on the school’s website. Or the piece in the Alumni Newsletter. Or the post on Linkedin or Facebook There it is again. “Ranked #1 in the nation for the 10th consecutive year.” The headline is clean, confident, and irresistible. It signals excellence. It reassures stakeholders. It travels well to alumni newsletters, donor briefings, and prospective student inboxes. And yet, beneath that polished surf

I have never cared for the phrase: “We are the #1 veterinary school in the United States.” Not because excellence should not be celebrated, but because I am not entirely sure what, precisely, is being celebrated. What does #1 veterinary school actually mean? And perhaps more importantly, what does it do for a profession that prides itself on care, diversity of practice, and service? What Are We Really Measuring? Most veterinary school rankings are built less on objective outc

Force #1: Financial disparity with private practice There is an easy explanation for the thinning corridors of academia. Money. It is the first thing everyone says, often with a shrug, as if the matter were settled. Of course, they leave. They can earn twice as much in private practice. And it’s true. A boarded neurologist, surgeon, or internist can step out of a university clinic on Friday and, by Monday morning, double - sometimes triple - their salary in specialty practice