14 Feb Take-aways: AVMA Economic Summit
AVMA convened the seventh annual economic summit October 23-24 just outside Chicago. Industry leaders, economics experts, educators, practitioners, and others (including yours truly!) gathered for an in-depth look at issues impacting the financial health of veterinarians and the veterinary profession. JAVMA News in the December 15, 2019 issue contains extensive coverage of the key topics and take-aways from the summit:
- Why they buy: Making sense of client spending – Consumer behavior explored at AVMA Economic Summit
- Understanding, enticing pet owner spending – Veterinarians can take a larger portion of the pet products market
- Words of wisdom on how to flourish in practice – A series of lectures in which professionals and a student shared three tips each on how to thrive in veterinary medicine
- Veterinarian shortage or salaries not keeping up? Economists also determine the optimal number of veterinary technicians per doctor
- Not too much, not too little: Veterinarians try to find sweet spot on hours worked – Dr. Laurel C. Himes “worked like crazy” for the first five years of her career
- Adapting to add rural practices, meet food demands – Decline in food animal veterinarians endangers people, lecturer says
- Good news, bad news for educational debt, starting salaries – New veterinarians make about $85,000 and owe about $150,000