Pet Owners Across The US Facing Veterinarian Shortage

More pets, fewer vets. There's a nationwide shortage of veterinarians impacting clinics' ability to care for our four-legged friends, with longer wait times for appointments and more stress on veterinary doctors currently in the workforce.

Data from the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2021 showed 44% of veterinarians have at some point considered leaving the profession; 39% in the last five years. And nearly 26% indicated they want to work fewer hours, citing reasons like work-life balance, stress, anxiety and burnout.

Those reasons prompted Dr. Jackie Kucskar to leave her job in general veterinary practice in 2019, where she found herself trying to squeeze in as many patients as possible in a high-stress environment.

"It was a huge burden on me and my quality of life was suffering greatly. And I felt like I wasn't being the best veterinarian that I could be for my patients and for the people who came along with those patients," says Kusckar.

Dr. Kucskar now performs spay-neuter surgeries and cares for shelter pets at the Animal Protective Foundation in New York's capital region. "The fact that I can feel like I'm truly helping animals every single day - it makes me really happy," says Kucskar.

The turnover rate for veterinarians is higher than other medical professions, all while the demand for vets is growing. A Mars Veterinary Health report projects by 2030, the U.S. will need nearly forty-one thousand additional vets and one hundred thirty-three thousand credentialed vet techs to care for America's pets.

The College of Veterinary Medicine at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, is training up the next generation to help fill that gap in the workforce. The school opened during the pandemic and will graduate its first class in 2024. Dr. Carmen Fuentealba is the dean and says there is an upside to that shortage. "Many, many job opportunities," she says, adding many of her students are already having conversations with prospective employers.

Students say they're being prepared for the rigors of the profession, including discussions about mental health starting early in their education. Third-year student Kelly Locke says the shortage actually gives her and her classmates leverage "to show that what we're learning and the degrees that we have are actually worth what we should be compensated and how we should be treated in the industry."

Earlier this year, two-dozen industry leaders called on the AVMA to support an increase in veterinary college class sizes and additional programs to help alleviate what they call an "acute and growing" workforce crisis. Some corporate practices recently started offering signing bonuses as high as $100,000 to attract vets to the job. Advocates also suggest empowering veterinary technicians to work at the top of their license to help reduce some of the pressure on doctors.