Workforce Needs in Veterinary Medicine (2013) / Chapter Skim
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11 Conclusions and Recommendations
11 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 217-231
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From page 217... ...
However, since the economic downturn that started in 2008, veterinary schools have lost tens of millions of dollars in public financial support that has increased the cost of a veterinary education to students. To generate much-needed revenue, class sizes have increased, especially with higher-paying non-state residents.
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From page 218... ...
Thus, while pursuing less-costly approaches to delivering veterinary education and veterinary services is generally required, it is even more essential that the colleges and schools of veterinary medicine engage employers and public and private funders in their efforts to target and strengthen particular fields of veterinary expertise and research. In this chapter, the committee presents its key findings and conclusions about the state of the veterinary profession and the prospects for its future, and it explores options for how the veterinary schools and colleges can prepare their graduates to better respond to the changing societal needs for veterinary expertise.
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From page 219... ...
In contrast, unmet needs occur in settings where well-paying veterinary positions are lacking. That includes situations in which positions exist, but offer salaries too low to attract candidates, as well as instances in which expertise in comparative medicine might be relevant, but positions that explicitly require veterinary expertise do not exist.
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From page 220... ...
Unmet needs for appropriately-compensated positions exist in the public sector for veterinarians who have specialized training in epidemiology, food safety, wildlife and ecosystem health, and public health. Jobs in those fields generally offer salaries that are much lower than those in the private sector, many have salaries that are too low to attract top candidates, and some are not advertised with a requirement for a veterinary degree, so many of the positions remain unfilled by veterinarians.
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From page 221... ...
veterinary schools, companion-animal practitioners, and the quality of and access to a veterinary education, particularly as the profession attempts to increase the numbers of underrepresented minorities in its ranks, must be studied closely. This analysis must be approached in the context of meeting the need for veterinary services in all sectors of the profession, and seek to balance the actual demand for companion-animal veterinary medical practitioners with the capacity to meet those needs within current and future economic realities.
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From page 222... ...
Veterinary schools need to demonstrate a commitment to building the kind of faculty that can lead cross-disciplinary and inter-professional studies, to find partners to support graduate training, and to develop collaborations with entities outside the veterinary schools to seek research and other support. Effective research programs require long-term commitments by teams of investigators.
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From page 223... ...
Veterinary schools must improve their ability to attract funding if they expect to remain in the mainstream of biomedical research, by hiring more DVM-PhD mentors to attract grants and provide graduate training of veterinarians at the doctoral level, both in the biomedical field and in research projects of primary importance to animals. CONCLUSION 3: The current return on investment for veterinary education is unsustainable and the cost of veterinary education is at a crisis point.
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From page 224... ...
In 2011, the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium report Roadmap for Veterinary Medical Education in the 21st Century: Responsive, Collaborative, Flexible provided a wide array of options. To thrive in an era of economic constraints, veterinary schools and colleges must develop innovative teaching methods and new collaborative relationships, and the profession must develop new business models.
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From page 225... ...
The costs of operating a specialized-care center could be readily passed on to animal owners if veterinary schools provided instructional opportunities at comprehensive small-animal medical centers in sizable urban or metropolitan areas. High-quality specialty practices developed through university-driven or university-private sector collaborations in which veterinary schools or colleges hold a controlling and standard-setting interest can offer exceptional resources of both infrastructure and highly-trained specialists.
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From page 226... ...
In addition, veterinary schools and colleges must work together through partnerships and group efforts, including other organizations and industry, to leverage resources and capabilities for providing alternatives to specialty training in veterinary schools. There are opportunities to meet the clinical challenges through inter-school collaborations; by relying more on talent in private veterinary practices, specialty practices, industry, and agencies; and by enlisting the support of government, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
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From page 227... ...
Recommendation 4a: To increase the economic value of veterinary services to producers, the education of food-animal practitioners should be reoriented towards herd health and interventions aimed at improving the financial health of the farm operation. Veterinary schools and colleges should work together to achieve this goal by creating centers of emphasis on food-animal medicine.
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From page 228... ...
There are models of successful centers in which advanced practical training and research is available, such as the Agricultural Research Service Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Nebraska; the Swine Center of Excellence at Iowa State University in conjunction with the Audubon-Manning Veterinary Clinic; the University of California-Davis Dairy Center at the Veterinary Medical Teaching and Research Center at Tulare, California; and the recently formed National Center of Excellence in Dairy Production Medicine Education for Veterinarians funded by USDA that is a collaboration among the veterinary schools of the Universities of Georgia, Minnesota, Illinois, and Kansas State University. Forming centers of emphasis (or excellence)
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From page 229... ...
However, the task of meeting the growing needs for safe, nutritious, and affordable food for the world's growing population is urgent and must be accomplished. Recommendation 5: Veterinary medical organizations and the deans of veterinary colleges should work to increase the visibility, standing, and potential of the profession to address global food se curity.
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From page 230... ...
global-hunger and food-security initiative, and PREDICT, a global early-warning system to detect and reduce the effects of emerging diseases that move between wildlife, domestic animals, and people. The Food and Drug Administration is beginning to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act, which will require veterinary medical research on ways to prevent food contamination and on issues of food safety on the farm.
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From page 231... ...
Conclusions and Recommendations 231 helped to sustain the human-animal bond; it enhanced the health and reproduction of zoo animals; and now it is increasingly caring for entire communities of free-ranging wildlife in a host of ecosystems. Times are challenging, but the veterinary profession continues to create its own future and now faces many options for remaining relevant to societal needs and being economically sound.
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