For real…What is it? The field is experiencing labor shortages and there are more pets than vets can handle these days. Do longer wait times, no appointment availability, emergency care referrals due to no capacity, vet clinics cutting down hours and even vet clinics shutting down for good sound familiar? Yes, the crisis is real.
What pet parents do not see is the behind scenes our veterinary professionals are dealing with such as physical and emotional burnout, covering longer shifts, stressful work environment, low compensation, student debt and not to mention the emotional fatigue that comes with the amount of euthanasians they perform. By the way, did you know suicidal rates in veterinary medicine are among the highest compared to any other field? Yes, the love and enthusiasm to care and heal animals is no longer the same as to when these young professionals joined the field. Many have opted to leave the field and prioritize their mental health instead.
COVID has truly put our veterinary experts on the edge just as it did with our human health care professionals. Pet parents at home noticing health and behavioral concerns in their pets and influx of new patients after a rise in adoptions are to corelate. According to Mars Veterinary Health, “nearly 41,000 additional veterinarians will be needed to meet the needs of companion animal healthcare by 2030”. At this point, the veterinary program needs to be reconsidered to make it more accessible for others to join the practice without much of the application hurdle perhaps mirroring human medicine and adding equivalents to physician assistants, nurse practitioners and so on.
What is the interim solution?
By all means, be proactive and don’t allow disease to manifest. We can’t control genetics but we can control what we put into our pets bodies such as food, vaccines and tick and flea preventatives. We can also limit environmental exposure by properly using detoxing protocols. Here is how and why stores like Miss Kibbles exists because thier purpose is to make pet parents aware of nasty pet food ingredients, why supplements are so important, informing you about titer testing and sharing with pet parents ways you can detox your pet naturally when exposed to unavoidable daily toxins. Want to learn more? Visit our resources page and take control of your pets health today. There are unbelievable integrative veterinarians and pet industry leaders sharing a wealth of information in different social media platforms. Last, partner with your local independent pet retail store for more information and support a small local business.
Last thoughts
As we approach these holiday season, please…I beg you please appreciate your local veterinary staff including the front desk receptionist who is trying his/her best to accommodate urgent and/or emergency care in their day. It’s unfortunate your wellness/routine appointment got pushed back but an animal in pain or in immediate need of care – in my humble opinion – should be prioritized. We all have lives I get it, taking time off from work, kids riding along to the appointment, commitments, etc but put yourselves in the staff or pet parents shoes for a brief moment. Knowing what you know now about the crisis in veterinary medicine, will you reconsider the ways you are raising your pet?