Purdue prof: Demand for vets still outweighs supply

The assistant dean for clinical education in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine says burnout and compassion fatigue are two key contributors to the veterinarian shortage throughout the country. And the shortage isn’t just in doctors of veterinary medicine, but veterinary nurses as well, according to Dr. Jim Weisman, who says demand continues to grow.

“We know that about two thirds of graduates today leave veterinary school and enter private practices,” Weisman said. “So we are turning out veterinarians, but the demand is still greater than the supply.”

Weisman, who is also a clinical associate professor at Purdue, discussed the shortage in an interview with the Associated Press.

“In veterinary practices today, we are concerned about burnout [and] compassion fatigue,” he said. “A lot of this comes from just the high demand of caseload and the increasing work hours that veterinarians and their staff are having to be at practices to meet the demands and the needs of our patients that we serve.”

And the shortage, Weisman said, is not only affecting those within the profession; clients are also feeling the effects with longer scheduling delays, leading to greater concern for being able to have their pets be seen in a quick manner.

“Also, when they can’t get into their primary care veterinarian, we see a shift to seeing emergency room visits going up because they’re open, and that puts a greater drain and strain on those practices as well,” said Weisman.

While there is no exact idea on how long the vet shortage will last, Weisman said colleges of veterinary medicine and those currently working in the profession are looking at models to improve efficiency among the veterinary team to improve the current experience.

“But we do know the next 10 to 15 years, there is documented the demand for veterinary needs, and the demand for graduate veterinarians will continue to increase over the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

A March 2022 study conducted by Mars Veterinary Health says nearly 41,000 additional veterinarians will be needed to meet the needs of companion animal healthcare by 2030.

Additionally, a shortage of nearly 15,000 veterinarians will likely still exist by 2030 even with the new veterinary graduates expected over the next 10 years.

Weisman said Purdue is working to help combat the shortage by graduating both doctors of veterinary medicine and veterinary nurses.

In Indiana, starting vets make an average of $99,210 a year. In a November interview with our partners at the IBJ, Weisman said that number is higher for Purdue grads. The class of 2022 starting salary averaged $114,900, while the national average starting salary is $114,200.