Beyond Hiring:
Creating Environments Where Veterinary Talent Thrives— A Connector’s Perspective By Ingrid Pyka, DVM, CVMI, BS
It's well known that the veterinary industry has experienced rapid and significant changes and continues to evolve in both positive and negative ways. Clinically, we have access to facilities, equipment, medications, and procedures comparable to those in human medicine—some might even argue we offer a higher standard of care. However, while our medical capabilities keep advancing, our workforce is increasingly burdened by extraordinary demands and pressures. It is this latter devastating effect on our veterinary professionals that has become the essence of the future of veterinary medicine. A disconnect has grown between those hiring and the candidates looking for work. Far too often, we see the “warm-body hires” or professionals accepting roles that do not align with their skillsets, values, or goals. The result? Short-term employment and practice teams are having more difficulty caring for the patient and job/career satisfaction is at risk. Who exactly is impacted by this crisis, and why do we continue to struggle? Furthermore, what can—or better yet, what will—we do to reduce these pressures so that every veterinary professional not only thrives in the veterinary career they have chosen, but can also maintain the balanced life they deserve? Viable solutions that support our community come from functional, cohesive teams and effective leadership. Without them, we will continue to frustrate the hiring process, leading to further attrition of our professional pools. Leadership is a broad topic by itself; here we will focus on developing a healthy, long-term team.
A brief look back In the latter decades of the century, we saw a primarily employer-driven job market. Graduates were clamoring to find work, often settling for poor conditions just to be hired. Associates generally assumed it would be their only and last job before retiring—often with the anticipation (and gratification) of buying into the practice. The 1990s introduced more advanced diagnostic and medical options, driving elevated patient care as the norm. As client compliance increased, veterinary care boomed, in turn, producing an unprecedented need for more veterinarians to fill the demand. Hiring trends were shifting. In densely populated areas, it seemed that no hospital could fail. The end of the millennium also found a noticeable decline in mixed/food animal medicine among new graduates. Experienced rural veterinarians were becoming overwhelmed by the extreme physical demands, financial strains, and other large animal industry requirements. By 2013, companion animal medicine providers comprised over 70% of the profession, increasing to above 85% over the next decade.1 The shift was so critical that in 2003, the USDA authorized the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program as an incentive for more veterinarians to enter the food animal industry, the first payouts not coming for nearly another ten years.2 Meanwhile, the demand for companion animals continued to rise nationwide, far outpacing the personnel shift into this industry segment. Practices faced fierce competition just for continued on next page > Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association | 27