Drama between the AVMA and AAVMC

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Oh, the drama

Correction May 17, 2024: The following is based on reporting by Ross Kelly of VIN News Service. Read the original piece.

Perhaps to no ones surprise, the drama is surrounding veterinary shortages. The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges commissioned a report that concluded that U.S. labour market will fall 24% short of the new veterinarians needed through 2032. According to the report, the U.S. will need 70,092 new veterinarians in that period, but just 52,986 graduates will earns their DVM.

We’ve told you before how the American Veterinary Medical Association disputes that there even is a veterinarian shortage in the first place, so it’s no surprise that AVMA leadership moved quickly to criticize the report in a letter that said the study substantially underestimated the number of new graduates, while overestimating future demand for veterinary care.

The AAVMC and AVMA have clashed on the topic of workforce needs before and it’s no surprise - the AAVMC looks after veterinary schools so they have motivation to spur action that will create new schools or seats at existing schools. Meanwhile, the AVMA is tasked with protecting veterinarian’s interests and too many vets means less demand on services, possible employment issues, and more.

But the drama doesn’t end there…

A new player has joined into the midst of the disagreement - the Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative (WVLDI) who also took issue with the report. In order to build the case that the profession is undersupplied, the AAVMC report said the one of the demographic shifts leading to reduced average number of hours worked by veterinarians was an increasing number of women in the profession because, “female veterinarians average 4.6% fewer hours than men, partly because a greater share of women work part-time.”

The report goes on to conclude that the percentage of women veterinarian will continue to increase because of the “lack of the residency requirement compared to human medicine, meaning an easier path to employment than physicians, and more moderate, controllable working hours.” Those more moderate hours "make veterinary medicine an attractive career for women who continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of household chores.”

Ummm… what?

The WVLDI rightly fought back against these superficial and sexist claims, to which the AAVMC responded by removing the report from its website.

"While this was an independent assessment, AAVMC takes full responsibility for the lack of inclusivity represented in the report," it said in a statement . "We have removed the report from our website pending further review by the authors."

Oh, the drama.

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The Dog premieres next month

A new short film starring Kate Walsh, best known for her role on the long-running series Grey’s Anatomy, takes aim at the mental health struggles in veterinary medicine.

The fictional story follows an overworked veterinarian having an especially difficult night through a power outage, personal demons, and an ethical dilemma while caring for a sick dog that arrives in the 24-hour clinic.

The 12-minute film will premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival next month, and aims to provide a look at the practice demands and mental health challenges faced by many veterinary professionals. It will also be made available to veterinary organizations for private screenings, including a guide to help facilitate conversations. These screenings are intended to generate awareness and conversation about mental health in the veterinary profession.

We’re excited to see it, and will let you know where you can do the same in the coming weeks.

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Veterinary Connections #8

Have fun! Remember… it’s Mother’s Day.

Connections is a game popularized by The New York Times. Veterinary Connections uses a similar format solely for the purposes of education. Play todays New York Times Connections here.

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Quick Hits

Here are some of the other stories that caught our eye and we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom: