Veterinary Shortage?

Honorable Mention, Forum
Arielle Breite, Cornell

Having recently had the opportunity to talk with some veterinarians who are “out in the trenches”, I feel as though I have some insight into the supposed veterinarian shortage. According to a large majority of these individuals there is indeed NO shortage of veterinarians at all. Not only are they not worried about a shortage, but instead are worried about the job outlook for our upcoming graduates. From what I gather, most veterinarians feel as though a shortage exists only in places where there is not enough business to support a practice. In the existing practices on the other hand, there are simply no openings for qualified applicants. In light of this, I am strongly against the opening of these new veterinary colleges in such places as Utah, Arizona and, our very own, New York.

Although, with my own graduation looming, I myself am worried about competing with the ever growing number of graduates for the few available jobs, I am also concerned about the quality of education these new institutions will provide and the cost at which they will provide it. With their seeming disregard of the current veterinary climate I worry that their only concern will be their own financial gain and not the education and wellbeing of the students they educate or profession they contribute to. My suggestion is that the AVMA take a stance on this issue and inform these new institutions that they will not accredit them. After all, if the AVMA will not look out for the future of our profession, who will?

Careful what you wish for...

Honorable Mention, Foot in Mouth Disease
Ellen Haynes, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

As veterinary students in busy referral hospitals, we encounter a wide
range of client (and patient) personalities.  Some clients are more
reserved and others seem to want to share more than we want to hear.
Recently, I worked with an older couple who brought their dog to the
Dermatology service because of a chronic skin condition.  During the
appointment, the owners limited their discussion to their dog and his
condition, but as they were getting ready to leave the hospital the
husband turned to me and told me that he wanted to tell me a story.
His wife, knowing immediately what he was going to say, asked if he
was sure it would be appropriate.  With that introduction, I couldn't
possibly resist and the man continued with this story:  Once there was
an old maid who lived alone with only her old cat for company.  One
day, a fairy appeared in her home and told her that he would grant her
three wishes.  Not wanting to waste this extraordinary opportunity,
the old maid thought and thought.  Her first wish, she said, was to
have as money as she could spend for the rest of her life.  As soon as
she spoke, a huge pile of money appeared in front of her.  Then the
spirit asked for her second wish.  The old maid asked to be the most
beautiful woman in the world and immediately her wrinkly, warty face
was transformed and she became a lovely woman.  Finally, she was asked
for her third wish.  After taking time to think carefully, she pointed
to her cat, who was sitting in the corner, and told the spirit that
she wanted the old tom cat transformed into a handsome prince.  As
with the other wishes, this was granted immediately and the
now-handsome prince crossed the room to the now-beautiful woman,
embracing her.  After a moment, the prince stopped and, smirking at
the woman, said, "Don't you wish you hadn't taken me to the
veterinarian all those years ago to have me neutered?"

A Growing Problem: Too Many Veterinarians

Winner, Forum
Shira Rubin, Cornell University 

Forum: "There are proposals/plans for new veterinary education programs in several places including Utah, Arizona, and New York.  There is still controversy over whether there is a shortage or excess of veterinarians to fill the workplace demands.  Weigh in with your opinions, comments, or suggested solutions."

There is ample evidence that there are going to be more veterinarians than jobs for veterinarians in the U.S. in the near future.  With plans for four new veterinary schools in the United States underway or in existence and class sizes increasing at many exisiting US veterinary schools, the number of graduating veterinarians is set to rise, perhaps dramatically.  Combined with the recent American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accreditation of several overseas veterinary schools and expanding class sizes at Caribbean veterinary schools, this could quickly become a crisis for the American veterinary profession.

 

Although the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) contends that there will be a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians by 2025, there is little evidence to support such a claim.  In fact, there may be too many veterinarians already, especially in small animal practice.  One indication that the supply for veterinarians has outpaced demand are the results of  the annual survey of employment, starting salaries and educational indebtedness of new graduates from U.S. veterinary medical colleges published by the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA).  Their reports show that since 2010 new graduates have been receiving significantly fewer job offers and the starting salaries of new graduates have gone down.  Even the oft-touted claim that there is a shortage of large animal veterinarians has recently been challenged.  The Association of American Bovine Practitioners (AABP) released a statement in 2011 that, "Continuing to increase the number of veterinarians interested in serving rural areas will not solve this problem. In fact, creating an ‘over supply’ of food-supply veterinarians will lead to widespread unemployment or underemployment of food-supply private practitioners and will have a significant detrimental effect on salaries for all veterinarians."

 

So what are the motivations behind the founding of these new veterinary schools?  And who stands to profit from them?  

 

1.  The developers for the proposed veterinary school in Buffalo, NY won a contest to renovate an abandoned human hospital.   If all goes according to plan, as many as 600 students may be enrolled at the campus within 3-5 years.

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Case Report: Adult Female Bald Eagle

Winner, Abstracts and Cases
Chelsea Anderson, Cornell University

Signalment: Adult Bald Eagle, Female

 

Common problems: Bald eagles do not commonly present to the Wildlife Health Center but most cases have been fractures secondary to trauma or lead toxicity.

 

History and clinical presentation:

This Bald Eagle presented to the Wildlife Health Center on 02/05/2011 after being brought in by a rehabilitator. The eagle was seen walking sternally with its wings folded, down an embankment and across a two-lane road into a bush. Upon presentation the eagle was quiet, alert and responsive and sternally recumbent. On initial evaluation of the legs, the bird was not moving and seemed to have no deep pain when stimulated by hemostats. The cloaca did not have any tone when palpated with forceps. When pressure was applied to the right metatarsal region, the bird reacted appropriately by flapping her wings and moving away from the stimulus. A small wound was seen near the uropygial gland but otherwise the integument was normal. The left leg was slightly abducted away from the body. A small amount of blood was seen in her mouth and on inspection was coagulated in the oral cavity, with a few drops in her glottis. She was weighed at 5.55 kg.

 

Presenting problems:

• Pelvic fracture (left most significant)

• Paraparesis

• Inability to urinate/defecate voluntarily (spinal trauma)

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Breed Specific Legislation

 Winner, Life as a Vet Student Category
Julia Drury, Cornell University

With the arrival of October, a month in which many celebrate Pit bull awareness, it is fitting to discuss Breed Specific Legislation and its affect on the veterinary profession. On March 22, 2012 Massachusetts passed the Bill S.2192 outlining that “no dog shall be deemed dangerous: . . . based solely upon the breed of such dog”. Massachusetts is one of a hand-full of states that has banned breed specific legislation (BSL). The drive behind BSL is that by banning or regulating ownership of certain “dangerous” breeds the number of dog bites and fatalities will decrease. Breeds that are frequently targeted with BSL are Pit Bulls, Rottweiler’s, Chow Chows, and Presa Canarios. The extremes of BSL legislation can be seen in Bermuda and Australia which include banning breeds, force muzzling in public, posting “beware dangerous dog” signs on the property, and banning importation of specified restricted breeds.

There is no scientific evidence that breed specific legislation is effective in reducing the number of dog bites or fatalities in communities. Rather, it places the blame of aggressive behavior on the dog breed instead of on the owner and does not address the fact that a dog of any breed can become dangerous when improperly trained or trained to be aggressive. We have all met, owned, or treated wonderful canine citizens that are pit bulls, chows, and Rottweiler’s. 

So how do we as veterinary professionals promote safety in our communities and decrease dog bites without demonizing certain breeds?

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