VETS ADVICE

VETS ADVICE... SHORTAGE OF VETS AND WHAT THEY AND YOU AS CATTLE PRODUCERS CAN DO

Huge talk about the shortage of veterinarians especially large animal but also small animal emergency etc out there in society. Recent announcement of the Calgary Veterinary School will expand from the current 50 students as of two years ago to 100 students within a few years. So in two years 50 students will be graduating but that is because of the elimination of Alberta seats in Calgary. Bottom line this current increase we wont see any difference for seven years when 100 start graduating so what do we need to do in the meantime. I would suggest as producers raising commercial or purebred cattle or other production animals what are some current strategies we need to employ to help the situation.

The biggest apparent shortage appears at calving season as emergencies when veterinarians are busy doing herd work in many cases. Have a good relationship with your veterinarian and I would suggest in many cases it is really good if he/ she is affiliated with a haul in facility for the emergencies such as calling’s, c-sections or routine things such as calf examinations, post mortems in many cases, prolepses and even the few semen evaluations scenario. If you have the need for these veterinary emergencies and elective procedures find a clinic that performs the service and be prepared to bring individual problems in. This keeps the veterinarian efficient and can serve a big area for emergencies. I am more familiar in Alberta but slowly over time regional clinics that are bigger having more veterinarians employed and thus more back up lab facilities etc will be more the norm. I know it is tough in some areas that over time have had clinics shut down. Usually herd health work if organized is booked in and veterinarians are starting to do a certain area on a certain day in some cases.

I have only just recently started to hear of clinics not accepting new clients and I thought that was only reserved for the medical profession. Encourage and work with female veterinarians. They are the dominant gender in the profession now and I have met many that can definitely do anything that I did and more in practice. I have seen many a time what they may lack in brute strength they make up for in technique and ingenuity and on a rare occasion asking for help.

Keep in mind for herd work that your facilities may play a big role. Quicker processing, semen testing, pregnancy checking may mean a lower price but also more time and easier for you. I can’t say more how a good handling tub system leading to a hydraulic chute and palpation cage makes things go smoother and quicker for everyone. You also do not loose patience and both yourself and the veterinarian are not exhausted at the end of the day. Try and group schedule in an area and clinics should do the same to clump calls together. As long as good biosecurity is practiced. Some vets and semi retired ones may be able to provide telemedicine if they know your herd and you provide a short video or series of pictures. There should be a charge for this or worked into your herd agreement but still saves you time and money. The scope of experienced technicians is expanding whereby things like BSE testing or post mortems with pictures taken so the vet can make the diagnosis are creating efficiencies in large animal practice. The veterinary technician is a very valuable part of the veterinary team so in the future perhaps regulatory work sampling and specific herd visits even pregnancy testing may be carried out with veterinary technicians. There is even a course now where veterinary technicians under the supervision of a veterinarian can do pregnancy testing and that could be expanded to palpation of heifers. The team approach at clinics is what is going to win the day. Even today even though IV hook ups to calves are pretty rare it is often technicians that do them.

If you are a specific geographic area that is short of veterinarians this may take time but perhaps a community clinic or have a scholarship to defray tuition for a specific vet student to apply for and come back into a specific area could work. Bigger clinics have in some cases got satellite clinics that may work and feed into the main clinic. Some partially retired vets can be coaxed back into practice even if just to do the tale-medicine or offer consultation over the phone. The bottom-line is working towards a service that is sustainable and fulfilling for the young veterinarian going into the future and for the young producer getting access to veterinary services. It may pay to ask your herd veterinarian what you are supposed to do in an emergency. In Alberta at least the veterinary by-laws say you need to provide emergency service or have arrangements for veterinary services for your clients. Those veterinary services could very well be hauling into an emergency clinic.

The more we all work on prevention of disease, accidents, injuries and animal welfare the less will be the need for the emergencies. The reality is there will always be some emergencies. Encourage those that have an aptitude for cattle health to pursue large animal veterinary medicine. I have found it an extremely rewarding career and really enjoy working on cattle both at the herd and individual level. Purebred breeders generally may have exposure to several vets’ specialists often do embryo transfer, semen collection and even export testing. Some specialists may even do routine work as well. Here’s to a long-standing symbiotic relationship between the veterinary community in general and purebred/commercial cattle producers. If having trouble gaining veterinary service talk to fellow producers and whom they use and for routine work don’t be afraid to book in with the veterinarian you have the best rapport and faith in.