TRIAGE™ vs. VetLead
An honest comparison of two veterinary leadership programs — built for different problems.
Both programs run six modules. That's where the similarity ends.
VetLead is a coaching-based, team-wide leadership curriculum built by a corporate leadership coach. It's established, CE-credited, mid-market priced ($897), and best for practice owners rolling out a shared leadership language across an entire team.
TRIAGE™ is a systems-based leadership operating system built by a practicing emergency medical director. It's role-specific (medical directors, lead clinicians, nurse managers), pressure-context segmented (emergency, urgent care, multi-site, GP), and best for clinicians who were promoted into leadership and need structure, not encouragement.
If your team needs shared frameworks and accountability across roles → VetLead.
If you personally got handed the keys and are running on instinct → TRIAGE™.
At a glance
Per-seat pricing decreases with team size. TRIAGE™ becomes the cheaper program at 6+ seats, with custom enterprise pricing at 16+ seats — a structural tier VetLead doesn't offer.
| TRIAGE™ Leadership System | VetLead Veterinary Leadership Program | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded / built by | Kaelyn Petras, DVM — Emergency Medical Director | Randy Hall — Leadership Coach, ex-Pfizer Animal Health |
| Core framing | Leadership operating system | Leadership coaching curriculum |
| Modules | Six (T·R·I·A·G·E) | Six (Foundation → Self Leadership) |
| Format |
Self-paced modular (individual) Cohort delivery (hospitals / groups) |
Hybrid — on-demand video + 2 live group coaching sessions |
| Duration | 6 weeks self-paced or cohort schedule by group |
10–12 weeks |
| Audience | Individual leaders in high-pressure roles | Whole practice teams + owners |
| Vertical segmentation | Emergency, Urgent Care, Multi-site, General Practice tracks | Generalist (any practice type) |
| CE credit | RACE approval pending (expected early June 2026) | RACE + CVPM approved |
| Individual price | $1,200 per seat | $897 per participant |
| Team pricing |
$900/seat (3–5) $750/seat (6–15) |
Same $897/participant regardless of team size |
| Enterprise / multi-site | Custom pricing for 16+ seats | Not offered | Try before buying |
Free Module 1 + Leadership Diagnostic |
Money-back guarantee |
| Industry tenure | Launched 2026 | Established; partners include AVMA, AAHA, NVA, VMG |
Methodology: coaching versus systems
This is the difference that actually matters.
VetLead is coaching-based. Randy Hall's twenty years coaching leaders in and outside of veterinary medicine show in the program design. You learn frameworks — accountability, change, hiring, self-leadership — and then bring real situations to live group sessions where Hall coaches you through them. The methodology assumes leadership is a capability you develop with reflection and reps.
TRIAGE™ is systems-based. Kaelyn Petras built it from the inside of failing emergency teams she was running — not from a coaching practice. The methodology treats leadership as an operating system: a set of installable patterns that govern how decisions get made, how conflict gets named, how performance gets managed, how psychological safety actually gets built (by pattern, not invitation). You're not learning a mindset. You're installing infrastructure.
Neither is wrong. They solve different problems.
If your leadership challenge is "I need to grow into this role and develop my judgment," coaching wins.
If your leadership challenge is "I'm handed the keys, my team is leaking, and I need to stop the bleeding," systems wins.
Audience: whole team versus role under pressure
VetLead's design is team-wide. Multiple people from a single practice move through the cohort together, learning a shared language. The pitch to a practice owner is: get everyone speaking the same leadership vocabulary. This is genuinely valuable if you're an owner driving culture change across a team that's been operating without one.
TRIAGE™ is role-specific. The program is built for the specific people whose jobs are leadership but whose training was clinical: medical directors, lead clinicians, nurse managers, multi-site supervisors. PIVOT publishes separate tracks for emergency, urgent care, multi-site groups, and general practice because the pressure context changes what leadership actually looks like day to day. A nurse manager in a 24/7 emergency hospital is not solving the same problem as a head nurse at a daytime GP clinic.
If you're a practice owner buying for your whole team: VetLead's model fits naturally.
If you're an individual leader (or a small group of leaders) inside one of those pressure contexts: TRIAGE™ was designed for you specifically.
Format and time commitment
VetLead asks for roughly 2 hours per week over 10–12 weeks: on-demand videos, learning worksheets, and two live group coaching sessions with Randy Hall and peers from other practices. The cohort structure means you start and finish with a class.
TRIAGE™ offers two delivery formats. Individual leaders take it self-paced over 6 weeks — one module per week, accessible anytime, immediately deployable on shift. Hospitals, multi-site groups, and teams enroll as cohorts on a rolling basis — start dates are scheduled when a hospital is ready, not held to a fixed calendar. The "operating system" framing matters here: each module installs a specific structural element you can use on shift immediately.
Bottom line: VetLead's locked 10–12 week cohort works if you need external accountability and your timeline matches theirs. TRIAGE™'s dual-format design lets you start when you actually have the fire to fix — self-paced if you're solo, cohort if you're rolling it across a hospital.
Pricing
VetLead is transparent: $897 per participant, billable to the practice, includes a 1-year VetLead membership (workshop library, templates, on-demand content). Separate workshops priced from $1,199. RACE and CVPM CE credits are included in the price.
TRIAGE™ is structured for both individual and team buyers. Individual seats are $1,200; teams of 3+ pay $900/seat, teams of 5+ pay $750/seat. CE accreditation is currently RACE approval pending, expected early June 2026. The free Module 1 preview lets you evaluate the methodology before any seat is purchased.
Honest read: if your buyer needs documented CE hours to justify spend internally, VetLead has lower friction until our RACE approval lands. If you're evaluating per-seat economics for a team of 4 or more, TRIAGE™ is the cheaper program — and the only one with role-specific tracks. Different buyers, different math.
What customers say
VetLead publishes named testimonials from across the industry (Dr. Adam H., North Royalton Animal Hospital; Dr. Alan B., Pet Medic Urgent Care; Joanna C., Foster Animal Hospital; Ruth S., Oradell Animal Hospital). Twenty-plus years of brand presence and partnerships with AVMA, AAHA, NVA, and VMG.
TRIAGE™ launched in 2026. We don't pretend to have twenty years of testimonials. What we have: early adopters including Dr. David Toomey (Medical Director) who says the program "completely reframed leadership for me — instead of constantly putting out fires, I now have a clear structure for communication, accountability, and decision-making that actually holds up under pressure." Dr. Meghan Smallcomb (Emergency Veterinarian) is putting her entire leadership team through it. Ten veterinary leaders have completed the free Leadership Diagnostic, and the public Insights library contains 10 deep articles on systems-based leadership.
We'd rather show you the methodology than ask you to take our word for it. Try Module 1 free.
Who each program is best for
TRIAGE™ is best for you if:
- You're a medical director, lead clinician, nurse manager, or new practice manager who got promoted because you were good at the clinical work
- You work in emergency, urgent care, multi-site, or a high-volume GP — pressure context defines your day
- You've read leadership books, taken courses, or hired coaches and felt the advice didn't survive contact with a Tuesday night shift
- You want installable structure, not a mindset shift
- You want to lead without burning out — yourself or your team
VetLead is best for you if:
- You're a practice owner rolling out leadership development across an entire team
- You need a program with documented RACE / CVPM CE credit to justify spend internally
- You value live group coaching and a peer cohort from other practices
- You want shared frameworks and language that your whole team adopts simultaneously
- You're running a stable practice focused on growth, engagement, and culture rather than leadership crisis
When you should pick something else entirely
- Veterinary Leadership Institute (VLE / VLI Trek) — if you want an immersive,in-person leadership development course and have a week to dedicate
- Uncharted Veterinary Community — if you want ongoing community over a defined program
- Dr. Dave Nicol's Veterinary Leadership Academy — if you're a UK/AU practice owner specifically
- VMG peer groups — if your real need is a peer board of fellow owners, not training
No one program is the answer for everyone. Better to pick well than pick fast.
How to start with TRIAGE™
- Take the free Leadership Diagnostic6 questions, immediate result. Tells you which of the six TRIAGE™ modules you should install first.
- Try Module 1 freeFull module, no email gate beyond signup. See whether the methodology lands before you commit.
- Start TRIAGE™Individuals can begin self-paced anytime. Hospitals and multi-site groups schedule cohort start dates on enrollment.
If you're already in a VetLead cohort and finding it doesn't translate to your specific context, that's exactly the gap TRIAGE™ was built for. The two are compatible, not exclusive — many of our early users have done other leadership programs first.