New vet schools

[dyachei]

All valid points, but now wth federal loan repayment and forgiveness for rural veterinarians, there's great opportunity just not advertised enough.

Not to mention, the veterinarians I work with in the federal government all make at least 6 figures (no joke) as they are in their 2nd or 3rd year of work (at GS 13-15) and then tack on the loan forgiveness, its a great gig.

Unfortunately, these avenues of forgiveness and repayment arent second language to students or current practitioners. That ultimately goes back to the agencies (state and fed) for marketing better, and schools sharing that information.

So at the end of the day all this combined with the surplus of vets going into small animal, just screams to me "welcome to the real world its competitive and demonstrates the ebs and flows of economy".

That's pretty misleading.

There are rural jobs that can't support a vet. So people complain that there is a deficiency when there isn't. There's no shortage of vets. There just isn't.

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[twelvetigers]

There's no shortage of vets. If anything, it's starting to skew the other way.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I have no doubt in my mind that, in certain areas of the country (especially more rural ones), there is a lack of practitioners willing to fill these jobs.

Are there jobs waiting to be filled - that is, paying jobs - or is there a lack of practitioners because there isn't enough business there to keep a veterinary business afloat?

 

[deleted676737]

Are there jobs waiting to be filled - that is, paying jobs - or is there a lack of practitioners because there isn't enough business there to keep a veterinary business afloat?

Almost certainly this. I thought I clarified that in my post? Maybe not... I have anatomy brain. Haha. My point was that this supposed "shortage" of large animal, mixed, and equine vets in rural areas is kinda misleading and is most likely due to there simply not being enough money to support a vet (or multiple vets) who need to service their debts as well as make a living. And it should most definitely NOT be used as a justification for opening up new vet schools. We do not need any more schools. Period.

 

[SummerTheLynx]

Almost certainly this. I thought I clarified that in my post? Maybe not... I have anatomy brain. Haha. My point was that this supposed "shortage" of large animal, mixed, and equine vets in rural areas is kinda misleading and is most likely due to there simply not being enough money to support a vet (or multiple vets) who need to service their debts as well as make a living. And it should most definitely NOT be used as a justification for opening up new vet schools. We do not need any more schools. Period.

But think of all of the jobs it will create for veterinarians who want to go into academia!

 

[LetItSnow]

Loan forgiveness programs are not always what they seem, and there's no guarantee they'll still be around for people not yet in the workforce. It is also possible to qualify for rural loan forgiveness programs, but not be able to take advantage of them. For instance, see here: http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=18992 It's from 2011, but if you do some googling you'll see similar stories that are more recent.

In addition to the issues noted in that article, I know of at least one state that passed a bill establishing a rural vet program to repay up to a certain amount per year in loans ...

... and then didn't fund the program.

Sure would suck to be relying on that particular loan forgiveness (really, loan repayment) program.

 

[cowgirla]

In addition to the issues noted in that article, I know of at least one state that passed a bill establishing a rural vet program to repay up to a certain amount per year in loans ...

... and then didn't fund the program.

Sure would suck to be relying on that particular loan forgiveness (really, loan repayment) program.

This. Since my first year in vet school, I had been in contact with a state vet about a loan forgiveness program in that state, thinking I would go back there after I graduated.
They started the program - but wouldn't accept any vets into it until there was 100K in the bank account. As of last year they were still waiting on funding/donations. Luckily I decided to settle down somewhere less wintry.

 

[Pre-Vetstudent1]

We do not need any more vet schools, period. At least not until the current job market and saturation problem improves (if it does at all). And especially not in California, which already has both UC Davis AND Western.

Oh I was surprised every time I look at local jobs in my area I always see a ton of jobs for Veterinarians and Vet Techs. Not sure about surrounding areas or the overall outlook for Veterinarians in the present/future.

 

[Lupin21]

Oh I was surprised every time I look at local jobs in my area I always see a ton of jobs for Veterinarians and Vet Techs. Not sure about surrounding areas or the overall outlook for Veterinarians in the present/future.

Keep in mind there are likely many posting for open positions because of turnover problems.

 

[Pre-Vetstudent1]

Keep in mind there are likely many posting for open positions because of turnover problems.

Yeah, your probably right.

 

[rodeomarie]

That's pretty misleading.

There are rural jobs that can't support a vet. So people complain that there is a deficiency when there isn't. There's no shortage of vets. There just isn't.

You are right, there are rural practices that cant support a vet, but thats just a piece of the puzzle, not the entirety. If there wasn't a shortage of rural veterinarians there wouldn't be state veterinary associations reaching out to Federal government and state government to develop these recruit and retention programs, right?

I work in the FDA, and work with USDA every day, we have on average of 202 Veterinary Medical Officer positions vacant all across the US. Im more than happy to have a conversation and provide you with more proof.

 

[DVMDream]

You are right, there are rural practices that cant support a vet, but thats just a piece of the puzzle, not the entirety. If there wasn't a shortage of rural veterinarians there wouldn't be state veterinary associations reaching out to Federal government and state government to develop these recruit and retention programs, right?

I work in the FDA, and work with USDA every day, we have on average of 202 Veterinary Medical Officer positions vacant all across the US. Im more than happy to have a conversation and provide you with more proof.

The vacant positions aren't due to a lack of vets or graduating vets. You could graduate thousands of more vets and those positions would still remain vacant. As has been evident in the past 5-6 years with increased class sizes at schools and the opening of a number of new programs (western, Nebraska, Utah, etc). That has allowed a few hundred more vets to graduate in the last few years, yet still, those positions remain vacant. The vacancy has nothing to do with a lack of vets.

 

[rodeomarie]

The vacant positions aren't due to a lack of vets or graduating vets. You could graduate thousands of more vets and those positions would still remain vacant. As has been evident in the past 5-6 years with increased class sizes at schools and the opening of a number of new programs (western, Nebraska, Utah, etc). That has allowed a few hundred more vets to graduate in the last few years, yet still, those positions remain vacant. The vacancy has nothing to do with a lack of vets.

Do you work in the federal government?

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you- that's such an ambiguous statement to make, especially if you don't work in the federal government.
The USDA Chief Veterinary Officer made a public statement that the government has a shortage of veterinarians (we saw direct repercussions and proof of this with the High Path AI outbreak), and we see it everyday in our workplace.

Unless one works in the environment to which we are discussing, I dont think one should have make a statement as fact since there's no direct experience.

 

[DVMDream]

Do you work in the federal government?

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you- that's such an ambiguous statement to make, especially if you don't work in the federal government.
The USDA Chief Veterinary Officer made a public statement that the government has a shortage of veterinarians (we saw direct repercussions and proof of this with the High Path AI outbreak), and we see it everyday in our workplace.

Unless one works in the environment to which we are discussing, I dont think one should have make a statement as fact since there's no direct experience.

I'm not disagreeing there is shortage, but it isn't from a lack of vets. I don't need to work for the government to know this. There are 1,000s of vets graduating every year with that number having increased over the past 5-6 years and it hasn't changed anything. You could graduate an additional 2,000 vets and those vacancies would still exist. There is definitely a lack of vets in government and food animal but graduating more vets and opening more schools isn't going to solve the issue, the last 5+ years is proof that method isn't going to work and is only further saturating the rest of the profession while leaving vets drowning in unsurmontable student debt. We need to solve our student debt issues, not graduate more people into this unsustainable crap.

 

[Gwenevre]

Do you work in the federal government?

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you- that's such an ambiguous statement to make, especially if you don't work in the federal government.
The USDA Chief Veterinary Officer made a public statement that the government has a shortage of veterinarians (we saw direct repercussions and proof of this with the High Path AI outbreak), and we see it everyday in our workplace.

Unless one works in the environment to which we are discussing, I dont think one should have make a statement as fact since there's no direct experience.

Both your points are valid. These jobs are available. No one wants them because the area can't support new vets.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

The one Fed/State vet I worked with said he was very well paid. He also said he hated his job. It was easy and not near as glamorous as he the job he expected to be in. Too much bureaucracy and dealing with people who did not really want to talk to him.

He also said he barely heard about the job, so was not surprised that few people thought of State Vet or regulatory vet work as an option. But part of his job was to change that because the positions were so often vacant.

He recommended it as a job to pay off loans. But his plan was to return to hog production medicine as soon as his debt was paid off / forgiven.

(So not a great salesman, other than I had really debated it as an option to pay off loans...)

 

[LetItSnow]

Oh I was surprised every time I look at local jobs in my area I always see a ton of jobs for Veterinarians and Vet Techs. Not sure about surrounding areas or the overall outlook for Veterinarians in the present/future.

There are plenty of openings. But at least one big reason is intra-industry shuffling.

A more important mark of demand for vets is salaries. And those are stagnant, suggesting decreased demand.

If there was really a big need for more vets, salaries would be going up.

 

[rodeomarie]

Exactly

 

[dyachei]

You are right, there are rural practices that cant support a vet, but thats just a piece of the puzzle, not the entirety. If there wasn't a shortage of rural veterinarians there wouldn't be state veterinary associations reaching out to Federal government and state government to develop these recruit and retention programs, right?

I work in the FDA, and work with USDA every day, we have on average of 202 Veterinary Medical Officer positions vacant all across the US. Im more than happy to have a conversation and provide you with more proof.

these things aren't related.

It has nothing to do with the number of vets graduating. I know a lot of people that know about the jobs and want nothing to do with them. Despite being jobless.

So graduating more vets does nothing but make pre-vets happier and vet schools more money

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Also

Being a rural ambulatory vet and being a fed VMO are not equivalent at all. Very different types of jobs.

Lots of open VMO positons does not equal lots of job options for ambulatory GPs. The former are salaried by the government. The latter have to produce to sustain themselves.

There is definitely a SHORTAGE of and a NEED for rural vets. However we are talking shortage in terms of not enough rural vets period, NOT a shortage in terms of available rural jobs that pay a decent wage and vets to fill them, and NOT a shortage of vets in general (quite the opposite...)

The problem is that supporting yourself as a vet in a rural area is become less and less feasible. It's become a vicious cycle with producers having to provide their own veterinary care due to shortage, and then rural vets realizing they can't make enough money to support their business *because* the producers do so much on their own (in addition to the ****ty economic conditions of most rural areas combined with vet school debt), which only increases the shortage and makes (often untrained and stingy) producers take *more* veterinary duties on themselves....etc etc.

 

[rockatiel]

I'm surprised no one has brought up Texas Tech (unless I missed it).

 

[rodeomarie]

Also

Being a rural ambulatory vet and being a fed VMO are not equivalent at all. Very different types of jobs.

Lots of open VMO positons does not equal lots of job options for ambulatory GPs. The former are salaried by the government. The latter have to produce to sustain themselves.

There is definitely a SHORTAGE of and a NEED for rural vets. However we are talking shortage in terms of not enough rural vets period, NOT a shortage in terms of available rural jobs that pay a decent wage and vets to fill them.

The problem is that supporting yourself as a vet in a rural area is become less and less feasible. It's become a vicious cycle with producers having to provide their own veterinary care due to shortage, and then rural vets realizing they can't make enough money to support their business *because* the producers do so much on their own (in addition to the ****ty economic conditions of most rural areas combined with vet school debt), which only increases the shortage and makes (often untrained and stingy) producers take *more* veterinary duties on themselves....etc etc.

You nailed it!

 

[rodeomarie]

I'm surprised no one has brought up Texas Tech (unless I missed it).

If I understand the chatter, its not even something close on the radar.

 

[Gwenevre]

Also

Being a rural ambulatory vet and being a fed VMO are not equivalent at all. Very different types of jobs.

Lots of open VMO positons does not equal lots of job options for ambulatory GPs. The former are salaried by the government. The latter have to produce to sustain themselves.

There is definitely a SHORTAGE of and a NEED for rural vets. However we are talking shortage in terms of not enough rural vets period, NOT a shortage in terms of available rural jobs that pay a decent wage and vets to fill them, and NOT a shortage of vets in general (quite the opposite...)

The problem is that supporting yourself as a vet in a rural area is become less and less feasible. It's become a vicious cycle with producers having to provide their own veterinary care due to shortage, and then rural vets realizing they can't make enough money to support their business *because* the producers do so much on their own (in addition to the ****ty economic conditions of most rural areas combined with vet school debt), which only increases the shortage and makes (often untrained and stingy) producers take *more* veterinary duties on themselves....etc etc.

I agree! Which this situation does not mean that more schools need to be opened, but this would suggest a need to change the economics of the veterinary field.

 

[epivetlove]

We're very aware of it. Most of us regard it as a very bad move. There was a report finished back in July by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that recommended no new schools be opened in Texas, especially given the drive to recruit students from rural areas and to push students into these same underserved areas. I've yet to hear anything about any incentive from our CVM to go into the rural areas, but who knows what's up their sleeves. I have a high percentage of people in my class who are interested in tracking Alternate-Food Animal or Mixed-Food Animal Focus, but many have concerns about how they'll be able to find job that can support a relatively comfortable level of living while still affording loan payments. They know the jobs are there, but that doesn't mean they'll be applying for them.

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/8077.PDF?CFID=44727512&CFTOKEN=44590269

Edit to add: I kind of find it interesting that the THECB ruled that no new CVM was needed, yet the City of Amarillo just donated a nice $15 mil to Texas Tech for a future vet school...

 

[hazelmoo]

We're very aware of it. Most of us regard it as a very bad move. There was a report finished back in July by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that recommended no new schools be opened in Texas, especially given the drive to recruit students from rural areas and to push students into these same underserved areas. I've yet to hear anything about any incentive from our CVM to go into the rural areas, but who knows what's up their sleeves. I have a high percentage of people in my class who are interested in tracking Alternate-Food Animal or Mixed-Food Animal Focus, but many have concerns about how they'll be able to find job that can support a relatively comfortable level of living while still affording loan payments. They know the jobs are there, but that doesn't mean they'll be applying for them.

http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/8077.PDF?CFID=44727512&CFTOKEN=44590269

Edit to add: I kind of find it interesting that the THECB ruled that no new CVM was needed, yet the City of Amarillo just donated a nice $15 mil to Texas Tech for a future vet school...

TTU has been planning a new vet school for a couple years now. Last year they set up an actual committee to start planning. The ball is pretty much rolling with them already.

Isn't TAMU worried about another vet school opening in TX because they will have to share government funding?

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

TX has enough oil money

A&M has an ICU just for horses. Yeah. A horse ICU. Their large animal building has cathedral ceilings. Me coming from a (formerly) bumfeck vet school, I had no idea such things existed. Felt like quite the mountain hillbilly.

 

[Adogloveralways]

Omg a second vet school in TX? Why would they do that!? That's not as bad as Arizona opening up a 2nd vet school though..

 

[deleted676737]

Omg a second vet school in TX? Why would they do that!? That's not as bad as Arizona opening up a 2nd vet school though...

 

[deleted676737]

And, yes, I am very glad that the University of Arizona's program was denied its Letter of Reasonable Assurance; the proposed curriculum looked horrendous, and it's nice to see the COE finally somewhat put its foot down. Though last I read, it seemed like the school was going to attempt an appeal...

I thought the Texas Tech plans had fallen through, but I guess not? Urgh.

 

[NStarz]

TX has enough oil money

A&M has an ICU just for horses. Yeah. A horse ICU. Their large animal building has cathedral ceilings. Me coming from a (formerly) bumfeck vet school, I had no idea such things existed. Felt like quite the mountain hillbilly.

Ohio has an equine ICU as well...

 

[Abnerrs]

Ohio has an equine ICU as well...

WSU as well lol

 

[katashark]

Omg a second vet school in TX? Why would they do that!? That's not as bad as Arizona opening up a 2nd vet school though..

The thing that I notice is that it would be nice to have an instate vet school in AZ instead of Midwestern which is private. But I agree, we don't need 2 vet schools there. We just need 1 with instate tuition. lol.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Ohio has an equine ICU as well...

WSU as well lol

You fancy whippersnappers.

 

[Devastating]

Growing up, I was always a bit envious that Texas (a state huge in size, population, AND agriculture) only had one vet school, while places like Alabama had 2 and many western states had none...until all the newer schools like Western came about. Of course, this is unfortunately not a wise time to create a new school here (or anywhere) no matter how much I would've liked there to be another option--hell, I feel like there probably wouldn't have been a "good" time to do this within the past couple of decades, even. How long have these economic problems been an issue in the field? It stings that nearly everything I was told growing up about the future prospects of vet med was a lie (and I'm sure that goes for many other professions as well, in the current economic climate). "Oh, vets are in growing demand, especially if you go into large animal or government work, you'll make tons of money!"

I find it kinda funny when relatives tell me "did you know Texas Tech is gonna open a vet school? That's such good news for you!" I know they mean well, but...uhh yeah, disregarding the economic implications and assuming it even goes through, maybe that would be of any use to me if I were about 10 years younger.

 

[DVMDream]

The thing that I notice is that it would be nice to have an instate vet school in AZ instead of Midwestern which is private. But I agree, we don't need 2 vet schools there. We just need 1 with instate tuition. lol.

Nah. AZ just needs to get its ish together and produce a better program than WICHE for AZ residents. Don't need a vet school to get AZ residents in state tuition just some intelligence and creating a better contract with other vet schools.

 

[Abnerrs]

Nah. AZ just needs to get its ish together and produce a better program than WICHE for AZ residents. Don't need a vet school to get AZ residents in state tuition just some intelligence and creating a better contract with other vet schools.

NV too

 

[epivetlove]

TTU has been planning a new vet school for a couple years now. Last year they set up an actual committee to start planning. The ball is pretty much rolling with them already.

Isn't TAMU worried about another vet school opening in TX because they will have to share government funding?

Texas Tech has been attempting to open a vet school for many decades. There's a lot of speculation as to why (something that comes up a lot is the story of prominent people with kids/grandkids/nieces/etc. not getting into A&M and those people complaining, but that's all heresay), but they've not been successful yet. And I know this is not special to Texas, but I've found that there is a noticeable amount of negativity (even by some of my own classmates) about a school at A&M just because students were initially UT or Baylor or Texas Tech grads. Undergrad loyalty is strong with this crowd!

As for funding, no idea. But with the new school here that will allow for a larger class size (up to 200 students) and a big push to recruit from rural areas and to get graduates out to these areas, I feel like Texas Tech is going to have less of a leg to stand on when it comes to opening a whole new school.

 

[Ashgirl]

Texas Tech has been attempting to open a vet school for many decades. There's a lot of speculation as to why (something that comes up a lot is the story of prominent people with kids/grandkids/nieces/etc. not getting into A&M and those people complaining, but that's all heresay), but they've not been successful yet. And I know this is not special to Texas, but I've found that there is a noticeable amount of negativity (even by some of my own classmates) about a school at A&M just because students were initially UT or Baylor or Texas Tech grads. Undergrad loyalty is strong with this crowd!

As for funding, no idea. But with the new school here that will allow for a larger class size (up to 200 students) and a big push to recruit from rural areas and to get graduates out to these areas, I feel like Texas Tech is going to have less of a leg to stand on when it comes to opening a whole new school.

I was reading somewhere that they want a 240 class size... holy cow.

Apparently according to this article: http://amarillo.com/news/latest-new...-vet-school-steering-committee-meets-lubbock# , they are leaning towards a distributive model for clinics instead of a teaching hospital. Very interesting... I also love in that article they respond to Texas A &M saying another vet school is not at all needed at this time by basically saying "Yeah but large animal vets!!!!1!!1!"

 

[LetItSnow]

TX has enough oil money

A&M has an ICU just for horses. Yeah. A horse ICU. Their large animal building has cathedral ceilings. Me coming from a (formerly) bumfeck vet school, I had no idea such things existed. Felt like quite the mountain hillbilly.

Eh. UMN has a separate equine hospital that includes an ICU (kinda .... a separate smaller area of stalls closer to the medical equipment). I don't think it's all that unusual.

 

[deleted676737]

I was reading somewhere that they want a 240 class size... holy cow.

Apparently according to this article: http://amarillo.com/news/latest-new...-vet-school-steering-committee-meets-lubbock# , they are leaning towards a distributive model for clinics instead of a teaching hospital. Very interesting... I also love in that article they respond to Texas A &M saying another vet school is not at all needed at this time by basically saying "Yeah but large animal vets!!!!1!!1!"

Geez, and I thought the ~130 here (excluding UNL students) was a lot. I couldn't imagine being in a class that large, let alone what that many more grads will do to the job market when we're already pretty solidly at saturation point...

And, yeah, not surprised by their response to A&M. Filling the "shortage" of large animal vets is pretty much the only justification all these new schools seem to have for existing.

 

[epivetlove]

We were told a max of 200 since that's all the new lecture rooms/labs can accommodate. It'll be a somewhat gradual increase, but I'm just suuuuper thankful I'm getting out of here before all those shenanigans happen. There's already complaints about case load:student ratio now...I can't imagine how it'd be when there's 30-50+ more people. Ick.

And yeah, the whole large/food animal thing is being heavily addressed. They're implementing a Food Animal track and there are 5 locations throughout the state that will focus on (I believe) beef, dairy, cow-calf, feedlot, and swine. There will be partnerships and externships with other agriculturally-based schools and large scale producers. I mean, this was straight from the State's report:

"The high cost of establishing a new veterinary school would outweigh the potential benefits to the state, given the small to moderate workforce demand and the issue that building a new school would not guarantee that any of the graduates would practice on livestock, which is the state’s principal area of need, but there are more cost-effective ways of addressing the need for medical care for food animals in Texas."

Ummm...

 

[Ashgirl]

We were told a max of 200 since that's all the new lecture rooms/labs can accommodate. It'll be a somewhat gradual increase, but I'm just suuuuper thankful I'm getting out of here before all those shenanigans happen. There's already complaints about case load:student ratio now...I can't imagine how it'd be when there's 30-50+ more people. Ick.

And yeah, the whole large/food animal thing is being heavily addressed. They're implementing a Food Animal track and there are 5 locations throughout the state that will focus on (I believe) beef, dairy, cow-calf, feedlot, and swine. There will be partnerships and externships with other agriculturally-based schools and large scale producers. I mean, this was straight from the State's report:

"The high cost of establishing a new veterinary school would outweigh the potential benefits to the state, given the small to moderate workforce demand and the issue that building a new school would not guarantee that any of the graduates would practice on livestock, which is the state’s principal area of need, but there are more cost-effective ways of addressing the need for medical care for food animals in Texas."

Ummm...

Oops, I meant that the new school wants 240 people per class! Texas A&M wants 200 per class eventually as well?

 

[WildZoo]

NV too

And UTK!
Doesn't sound like it's as huge as what WTF was describing though.

 

[LetItSnow]

Oops, I meant that the new school wants 240 people per class! Texas A&M wants 200 per class eventually as well?

240 people PER CLASS??

Sigh. That is just plain stupid. There are what .... 3000 vets graduted every year in the U.S.? 2000?

They want to increase it by 6-10%?

I mean, at some point you have to legitimately ask what their TRUE motives are, because it obviously isn't the industry or those indebted vets they wouod be graduating.

 

[epivetlove]

Oops, I meant that the new school wants 240 people per class! Texas A&M wants 200 per class eventually as well?

Ooh, I see. I had not heard that about Tech! Holy cheeseballs, that'd be a lot of vets entering the workforce! And A&M said they could accommodate up to 200, but hopefully it won't get that high. I think the current aim is for 160 in the next year or two.

 

[deleted498041]

I was reading somewhere that they want a 240 class size... holy cow.

Apparently according to this article: http://amarillo.com/news/latest-new...-vet-school-steering-committee-meets-lubbock# , they are leaning towards a distributive model for clinics instead of a teaching hospital. Very interesting... I also love in that article they respond to Texas A &M saying another vet school is not at all needed at this time by basically saying "Yeah but large animal vets!!!!1!!1!"

Distributive model lessens costs for the school... which is weird because my tuition is just as high as any OOSer... I miss in undergrad where we got a breakdown of where our tuition went. I have no idea where my tuition dollars get except for an assurance from the Dean that it's not going towards our new shelter med certificate program -- which I'd actually be fine with it going to.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

And UTK!
Doesn't sound like it's as huge as what WTF was describing though.

It's insanely huge. It was more the size of it that shocked me. Their necropsy floor was also huge and shiny and just completely blew me away. They had TWO walk-in coolers! I felt like such a rube.
Maybe it's more common that I initially though, but again, I went to a relatively small school. Our equine and food animal barns are shared space (just different aisles) and we don't have a specific ICU facility except for small animals (we do have a large animal isolation building, though). All non-surgical treatment and management is done in the barnspace.

 

[WildZoo]

It's insanely huge. It was more the size of it that shocked me. Their necropsy floor was also huge and shiny and just completely blew me away. They had TWO walk-in coolers! I felt like such a rube.
Maybe it's more common that I initially though, but again, I went to a relatively small school. Our equine and food animal barns are shared space (just different aisles) and we don't have a specific ICU facility except for small animals (we do have a large animal isolation building, though). All non-surgical treatment and management is done in the barnspace.

I don't know much about how all that works here, just that there is an equine ICU. It has...4 stalls I think? Maybe 5? I was just down there today and I can't remember.

 

[Ashgirl]

240 people PER CLASS??

Sigh. That is just plain stupid. There are what .... 3000 vets graduted every year in the U.S.? 2000?

They want to increase it by 6-10%?

I mean, at some point you have to legitimately ask what their TRUE motives are, because it obviously isn't the industry or those indebted vets they wouod be graduating.

Yeah... here's one of the articles I was looking at said that they want 240 per class... but don't you know that all 240 will all be large animal vets in underprivileged areas????