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02 Mar Banfield | Mars Veterinary Workforce Study

Posted at 05:19h in Peer to Peer EXTRA! by
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Dear VMAE Members –

As you have undoubtedly heard from your members, the profession is facing a shortage of veterinary professionals that threatens the sustainability of the industry. That’s why Mars Veterinary Health commissioned a series of studies with Jim Lloyd, DVM, PhD of Animal Health Economics to better understand the scope of the problem and how we can contribute to solutions.

Here are some key takeaways from the papers:

  • The ~25,000 new graduates expected over the next 10 years will still leave a shortage of nearly 15,000 companion-animal veterinarians by 2030—an overall shortfall of approximately 16%.
  • Based on current U.S. educational capacity, it would take more than 30 years of graduates to meet the 10-year need for credentialed veterinary technicians.
  • Despite the growing number of specialists, a clear shortage exists. For the specialties considered, the number of job openings at the five corporate practices considered markedly exceeded the total number of anticipated job market entrants, ranging from 1.7 open positions for each entrant to as high as 4.1.

While we look at how we inspire new veterinary professionals to enter the field, we must also make the profession more sustainable for those already in it – many of whom are likely acutely feeling the many impacts of the shortage.

Across Mars Veterinary Health and our family of practices, we are committed to innovating and collaborating to:

  • Strengthen the pipeline through new educational and career pathways for veterinary professionals
  • Provide student debt relief through $25 million in financial counseling, refinancing, and lump sum, and stipend support by 2025
  • Increase access to care for more pets through innovations like 24/7 telehealth services for clients, providing more than 320,000 telehealth chats in 2021 alone
  • Offer health and wellbeing resources, with a focus on mental health
  • Invest in Equity, Inclusion & Diversity (EI&D) initiatives to make the field more representative of society and improve culturally competent care

Click here to download a ZIP file that contains each of the one-pagers covering findings from our research, and starting today, you can find the new studies and other related materials at marsveterinary.com/tackling-the-veterinary-professional-shortage/

To create A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS, we know we need to help make a better world for the people who care for them – and the entire profession, too.

If you have questions or want to chat, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for all you do for the profession and I hope to see you all at the next VMAE meeting!

Best,

Kelly O’Brien
Director of Public Affairs
Mars Veterinary Health