Proudly serving the equine ambulatory needs of Central New York for over 18 years

Equine Practice faces a shortage of veterinarians in the coming years as current veterinarians approach retirement and less veterinary graduates enter and stay in the field of practice.

****EDIT: Now that our stories are gone and this post is still being shared, we figured we should update the post and share the background information.

While there is a larger number of veterinary students graduating each year, fewer are entering and staying in equine or large animal practice. Of graduating veterinarians, 1-3% will enter equine practice and of those 30% will leave equine practice within 5 years of graduation. The reasons are multifactorial but the biggest issues specific to equine and large animal practice are the salary disparity and debt:income ratio compared to small animal practice, particularly relative to lifestyle. The long hours, afterhours on call, and 24/7 access by text and cell are just a few of the factors that make small animal more appealing. If your veterinarian is sticking around in equine or large animal -- know that it's because they're passionate about the profession, love what they do, and enjoy working with the horses. Help them enjoy a full life by supporting their efforts to take time away from work. ❤️

As clients, you can help promote a healthy lifestyle fo veterinarians and veterinary staff in equine practice. How?
1. Recognize the industry must change with respect to expectations of your veterinarians time and availability. Think about it, do you have 24/7/365 direct phone access to your family doctor? Understand that you may not always see your veterinarian on emergency but another vet whom they work with.
2. Respect the boundaries that your veterinarian establishes to having time outside of being a veterinarian and value that time. Veterinarians having private time to rest and recharge means they're a better vet when you really need them! Consider whether that text is really necessary or if it can wait until business hours or better yet, be an email.
3. Utilize your veterinarians for routine preventative healthcare. Preventative healthcare and routine examinations by your veterinarian can go a long way to avoiding emergencies AND having an established relationship with your veterinarian can make it much easier to get emergency care when you really need it.

What other ideas do you have in how clients can help encourage retention of veterinarians in equine practice? What questions do you have regarding the crisis in veterinary medicine? ... See MoreSee Less