About the Issue

Major news regarding the veterinary shortage and what may be done about it:

(Feb 6, 2024) New legislation will help address pet overpopulation by expanding access to cat neuter services. Social Compassion in Legislation.

“Today, Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) introduced AB 2133, sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation (SCIL). The bill will allow Registered Veterinary Technicians (RVTs) to perform male cat neuter surgeries under the direct supervision of a California Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), following written protocols and procedures established by the supervising DVM.”

Lewis-Parisio, Chelsea. (Dec 5, 2023) PHOTO RELEASE: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine Announce Bold Community Medicine Program; Supporting Veterinary Practitioners, Rural Communities. Agriculture & Rural Development.

“Today s veterinary students are preparing not just to treat a wide range of animal patients and conditions, but also address significant challenges in the field of veterinary medicine. We re proud to offer these future leaders the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills, develop an understanding of local communities statewide, and network with potential future colleagues in the field of shelter medicine all while honing their technical abilities by assisting with the surgical care of animals in need, said Director of the MSU Veterinary Medical Center Kelley Meyers, DVM, MBA. We re thankful for MDARD’s support on this important project.”

Mithers, Carol. (Oct 17, 2022) The long-term consequences of the veterinarian shortage. DAME Magazine.

“The math is straightforward: More and more American households have pets but there are fewer and fewer working vets to care for them. Boomers are retiring, and only 33 accredited veterinary programs are turning out replacements. In 2021, there were more than 18 available openings for every vet looking for a job.”

Geurios A, Procher TR, Clemmer G, Denagamage T, and Levy J. (Sep 13, 2022) COVID-19 associated reduction in elective spay-neuter surgeries for dogs and cats. Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

“In total, 190,818 fewer surgeries were performed by the 212 studied clinics in the 24 months from January 2020 through December 2021 than would be expected has 2019 levels been maintained. If a similar pattern was experienced by other spay/neuter providers in the US, it would suggest there is a deficit of more than 2.7 million spay/neuter surgeries that animal welfare organizations have yet to address.”

(Jan 17, 2022). AVMA is Urged to Address Veterinary Shortage: The profession is in dire need of more practitioners, a group letter states. Today’s Veterinary Business. 

“Twenty-four industry leaders have called on the American Veterinary Medical Association to support an increase in veterinary college class sizes and back other initiatives to alleviate what they called an ‘acute and growing’ workforce crisis.”

Doll, J. & Steele, A. (Dec 15, 2021). Letters to the Editor: Workforce crisis & The struggle is real: The crisis in veterinary medicine and a solution. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, (259)12. 

“For many, it feels like veterinary medicine is on the edge of a systemic crisis. Veterinarians are struggling with mental health challenges, pets are suffering due to limited veterinary care, emergency veterinary hospitals are closing, and pet owners are distressed because they cannot access the care their pets desperately need. Any of these issues would be reason for concern; together, they demonstrate the crucial need to act now.”

Salois, M. & Golab, G. (Aug 25, 2021). Are we in a veterinary workforce crisis? Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 259(12). 

“Our practices aren’t running in quite the same way as before the pandemic. New workflows, operating procedures, and safety protocols have been implemented. Many hospitals are operating with fewer team members and dealing with higher turnover. Emergency clinics appear to be having an especially difficult time remaining fully staffed as they are inundated with a continuous stream of patients—both urgent and nonurgent cases. Pet owners, too, are feeling the crunch. They’re having to wait longer to get appointments and to be seen for emergencies”

Insights and ideas for how we might address the ongoing crisis.

(Sept 12, 2024). Federal bill expands eligibility to include veterinary care expenses. Veterinary Practice News. 

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the cost of urban veterinary services has surged by nearly 60 percent over the past decade and increased by 7.9 percent between February 2023 and February 2024. The PAW Act seeks to ease the financial strain on families and veterans by allowing pet owners to use up to $1,000 from their HSA or FSA accounts for veterinary care or pet health insurance, making care more affordable.”

Cushing, M. (Apr 8, 2024). Update on New Veterinary Schools and Other Tools to Solve Our Shortages. Animal Health.

“How many ways can America address the acute shortage of Veterinary professionals? I count five (5), and while we list these, let’s explore what it takes to make this happen.

#1—Increase class sizes of current accredited Veterinary schools.

We have 33 accredited Veterinary programs in the United States, plus two large accredited Caribbean schools with over 90% American students: Ross and St. George’s. These two programs produce more American DVMs than any of the current roster of U.S. schools. A smaller third Caribbean program, St. Mathews, is pursuing accreditation by the U.S. accrediting body, the Council on Education (COE).”

Cushing, M. (Feb 3, 2022). 7 Ways To Alleviate The Veterinarian Shortage. Today’s Veterinary Business, (6)1. 

“In brief, here are seven measures we could implement separately or together:

• Convince accreditors of the need to expand veterinary school class sizes

• Open additional veterinary schools at a fraction of the cost of older programs by deploying proven innovations in curricula

• Emulate human health care’s 60 years of success with mid-level practitioners

• Amend practice acts and state regulations to expand the scope of practice of credentialed veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants

• Educate veterinarians about the efficient use of telemedicine

• Encourage and fund technological advances to reduce labor pressures and provide valuable patient care
• Expand from 16 the number of states that recognize reciprocity in allowing licensed veterinarians to move to a new state”

Cima, G. (Feb 3, 2022). Veterinary leaders see potential to knock down licensing barriers. AVMA News, Feb. 3, 2022.

“If a private practitioner from Illinois, for example, wants to help federal authorities control a disease outbreak in California, that veterinarian has to become a federal employee, which is more time consuming than if that emergency responder had license portability and could be paid as a contractor, Dr. Annelli said.

“Dr. Bradley said she would prefer a national licensing system for veterinarians who meet national education and examination standards—not only for emergencies but also for veterinarians who move. Those who apply for a new license can wait months for a decision and pay substantial fees. Plus, many need to consider whether to maintain their previous state licenses in case they move back.”

(Jul 19, 2021). Solving the veterinary shortage: 3 Ideas for long-term impact. The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement. 

“Take a look at the numbers—the veterinary shortage is real. There are presently about 7,000 openings for veterinarians across the country, with the number of openings for veterinary technicians even higher—and not enough veterinary professionals to fill these positions. Some studies estimate that there are 3 jobs for every one person in veterinary medicine. It makes sense when you consider there are only about 3,200 new veterinarians graduating each year, from just 32 veterinary schools.”

Veterinarians and clinics are struggling to hire adequate staff. Retiring vets are often unable to sell their practice, putting rural and low-income communities at particular risk for a lack of services. Demand for veterinary care is soaring, and the profession is struggling to keep up. These articles highlight the impact of the shortage on veterinary care providers and the profession at-large.

May, S. (Aug 29, 2023). Coalition for the Veterinary Professional Associate Announces Initiatives for Mid-Tier Veterinary Professional Associate. EIN Presswire.

Cushing, M. (Aug 1, 2023). The New College Try. Today’s Veterinary Business.

Huppert, B. (Jan 19, 2022). Rural county’s only veterinarian offers to give away his practice, clinic & pickup to attract a new vet before he retires. KARE 11. 

Segall, B. (Nov 23, 2021). Wait times soar, patients turned away at Indiana veterinary hospitals. WTHR-TV. 

“The activity is non-stop. The mood is somber. ‘It is an absolute nightmare. I’ve been in this business 45 years. There’s never, ever been even close to this type of situation. Ever. And everybody has the same problem,’ [Dr. James] Speiser said.” 

(Nov 9, 2021). The Great Veterinary Resignation. [Audio podcast episode]. In Hire the Smile. Oculus Insights. 

(May 17, 2021). For veterinary medicine, a jobseekers’ market. American Veterinary Medical Association. 

Connatser, G. (May 12, 2021). Many Midwestern communities suffer from veterinary clinic shortages. Wisconsin State Farmer. 

Connatser, G. (May 12, 2021). Rural vet practices challenged with investing in staff retention. Wisconsin State Farmer. 

Rafferty, S. (May 9, 2021). Shortage of vets nationally in ‘demanding and exhausting’ job. ABC News, Australia. 

Bushby, P. (2020). Deconstructing the spay/neuter debate. HumanePro.

Cushing, M. (Feb 8, 2019). Let’s Get to Work: What does the pet health care industry want to do about acute shortages of veterinarians and nurses? Today’s Veterinary Business. 

Articles highlighting how the veterinary shortage impacts pet owners and the public response. 

The Veterinary Care Accessibility Project.  Throughout the country, millions of people and their pets do not have adequate access to veterinary care. The Veterinary Care Accessibility Project (VCAP) is an effort to better understand and inform the complexities that underlie the access to veterinary care challenge, and to build tools to help drive real action toward improving access for people and their pets.

Hoppough, T. (Jan 10, 2022). Veterinarian shortages causing backup at animal hospitals, Denver7. 

“Across the country, there is a growing problem of a shortage of veterinarians. Now, with the pandemic, vets across the country are trying to change this problem…‘We’ve had a growing shortage of veterinarians just to the simple fact that we don’t have enough vet schools, and schools are too small,’ said Mark Cushing, with the Animal Policy Group.”

Cornwell, P. (Oct 23, 2021). Seattle-area pet owners face long waits, and vet staff are burned out. The Seattle Times.  

“Which of the 20 animals are most at risk? Today, staffers at the clinic can only see Priority 1 pets, those that could die without immediate intervention, and some animals likely to survive if care is given within hours.” 

(Oct 11, 2021). Veterinary staffing shortage creates problems for both pet owners and offices. WKBW.

(Mar 28, 2021). Pets Are dying because Maine doesn’t have enough veterinarians. Bangor Daily News. 

(Sep 16, 2020). Staffing shortage threatens health of 75 million pets by 2030: Banfield addressed the industry-wide veterinary shortage at its annual summit. Veterinary Practice News. 

“A new study from Banfield Pet Hospital estimates 75 million pets in the US could be without the veterinary care they need by 2030, thanks, in part, to insufficient numbers of trained professionals to handle the workload.”

Articles identifying how this crisis impacts public health as a whole.

Crapo, M. (Jan 8, 2022). US Senator Mike Crapo: Addressing veterinarian shortages in Idaho. MagicValley.com.  

Sullivan Kutil, K.L. (Jan 17, 2020). A multifaceted solution to the shortage of food animal veterinarians. Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine – Perspectives Magazine.

Olson, N.C. (Jun 5, 2019). America’s veterinarian shortage is bad for animals and humans alike. Fortune. 

Claytor, S. (Feb 9, 2019). There’s a large animal veterinarian shortage nationwide. Spectrum News 9. 

Articles identifying how the crisis is impacting municipalities, communities, and local animal shelters.

(2023) Access to Veterinary Care in California Animal Shelters. The Program for Pet Health Equity, University of Tennessee. 

(Feb 1, 2023) Study confirms Statewide Veterinary Shortage: Suffering, euthanasia increase as animal shelters struggle to cope with statewide veterinary shortage. UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program. 

Carey, Sarah. (Sep 13, 2022). Decrease in spay-neuter surgeries during pandemic may undermine pet welfare. UF College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dennis, R.C. Jr. (Dec 25, 2021). SC animal shelters say pets are suffering from veterinarian shortage, shelter overcrowding. The Post and Courier. 

Steineck, L. (Dec 23, 2021). Local shelter rains cats, dogs as vets help despite facing industry-wide shortages. The Repository. 

Morris, J. (Nov 28, 2021). Bay Area rescue groups running into problems trying to stop cat over-population. The Mercury News. 

Johnson, D. (Jun 17, 2021). Veterinarian shortages pose challenges for South Carolina animal health services. WLTX.com.  

Solomon, L.K. (Feb 8, 2019). Animal shelters face shortage of veterinarians. South Florida Sun Sentinel. 

Scherer, J. (Sep 4, 2018). City boosts spay-neuter efforts amid rising costs, vet shortage. Chron.com.

Barboza, T. (Jan 8, 2007). Vet shortage puts bite on city animal shelters. Los Angeles Times.