Powerful forces are influencing change in the veterinary landscape. Pet and livestock owners are demanding more from veterinarians; there’s growing interest in making the profession more diverse, equitable, and inclusive; and technology continues to evolve, affecting medicine, goods, and services alike.
Veterinarian scanning a horse in a veterinary clinic
E-commerce, telemedicine, and other innovations are making their way into veterinary clinics because of consumer demand and a strong demand for veterinary practitioners continues.
© 2008 by Louis New window.
Matthew J. Salois, PhD, chief economist at the AVMA, pointed to e-commerce, automation, and telemedicine as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion as particularly important trends in the profession. He and other leaders in the veterinary industry spoke on these topics during the annual AVMA Economic Summit.
To be successful, veterinarians need to adapt with agility and adopt innovation and technology to thrive. Increased collaboration among the entire ecosystem of the veterinary industry will be necessary to successfully navigate the tides of change.
These thoughts were shared during a roundtable discussion among veterinary leaders representing companies and organizations dedicated to animal nutrition, diagnostics and analytics, pharmaceuticals, and the distribution of animal health products.
Internally, the profession has evolved from being nearly all white male to now more than half female and will continue to trend that way. Race- and ethnicitywise, it still has a ways to go, which means making more concerted efforts to reach and connect with different populations.
Practitioners and veterinary staff members remain so busy running veterinary clinics, particularly during the pandemic, that the idea of huge new undertakings such as creating an online store for the clinic or implementing telemedicine may seem overwhelming.
Brooks said, “One thing we need to be cognizant of is, with less staff on hand, veterinary technicians are being asked to do more. Everyone in the veterinary hospital is attuned to burnout. In mid-COVID times, we need to be even more attuned to stress levels of the doctors and support staff. It has definitely increased, especially as the (patient) volume has gone up.”
The U.S. market for veterinary labor remains robust despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the national unemployment rate reached nearly 15% this April and May, the veterinary profession actually saw a slight drop in its unemployment numbers, from 0.8% in 2019 to 0.7% in 2020.
“The veterinary profession was somewhat untouched by the pandemic,” observed Charlotte Hansen, assistant director of statistical analysis for the AVMA, during her presentation at the annual AVMA Economic Summit, held virtually Oct. 26-28.
“We hear anecdotes of employers being busier than ever, and they can’t find employees to hire, and the AVMA Veterinary Career Center also backs that up,” Hansen said. “In the most recent months, we have had a higher number of jobs posted than in 2019, and the unemployment rate from our census of veterinarians is no different.”
Press release by AVMA