Incoming AVMA president on NPR

[runnerDC]

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I thought some of you might be interested in hearing the incoming AVMA president's remarks on NPR about the veterinary profession's shortage of large-animal practitioners:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12045073

 

[sofficat]

The problem is NOT that there is a shortage of students, it is that there is a shortage of schools! It really made it sound like there aren't as many students applying to vet school, which is wrong.
I understand that the want of being a large animal vet has decreased, but there are still enough students that want to be LA vets that don't get in. Maybe b/c LA students applications aren't as good as SM students applications?? I don't know, but the way they made it sound was that there is a lack of students. (my mom heard this when it first aired and called me to ask b/c she took it that way too and knew that wasn't true- i was one of 14 of 600 applicants that got into AU from out of state. again not a lack of students)

 

[StealthDog]

Yeah- they are claiming that the ratio of applicants to available seats has dropped to 3 to 1... I know at the U of MN it was closer to 10 to 1. Anyone have any idea which schools are bringing down the average that much, or did someone just make up that stat?

 

[UpstateNY27]

I think the incoming president misspoke when he said that there are less applicants for veterinary school now than in the past. Here are the statistics published by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

Total number of applicants per year:

2004- 4453*
2005- 4581*
2006- 5194*
2007- 5740*

*http://www.aavmc.org/students_admissions/statistics.htm

I am not really sure why there is such a disparity between what is published and the remarks he made to NPR. It would be interesting to know if his remarks were made as an oversight, or if there is a political strategy behind such statements. For example, would it create more panic in the general population to know that there is a shortage of veterinarians now, and there is going to be even less in the future because no one is applying? I mean he was also talking politics during this interview.

Can anyone else comment?

 

[StealthDog]

The U of MN just sent out this note to our class:

"I am forwarding a call for action from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). The AAVMC and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) have been lobbying all the state senators and representatives about the attached bill for the past two years. Members of college leadership met with congressional staffers last week in Washington, DC to inform members of the critical need for the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Enhancement Act as well as other issues related to the college.

We have slowly been gaining cosponsors for the bill as it works its way through the political process, but a unique opportunity has arisen.

Senator Allard (DVM from CO) has the opportunity to add this bill as an amendment to the higher education reauthorization bill and gain immediate passage. This bill would create a pool of funds which would allow Veterinary Colleges to expand the current number of graduates by 20-25%. This increase in graduate veterinarians is greatly needed to meet the expanding needs of the nation. There has been no new federal dollars directed to the Veterinary Colleges since the late 1960s and this new pool of money will be granted on a competitive basis to increase faculty numbers and add new facilities...."


If the new AVMA president makes it sound like we have fewer graduates due to fewer people applying, he sure shot himself in the foot if he wants to get a bill passed to send more money towards vet school to increase the number of graduates... right?

 

[runnerDC]

I think the incoming president misspoke when he said that there are less applicants for veterinary school now than in the past. Here are the statistics published by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

Total number of applicants per year:

2004- 4453*
2005- 4581*
2006- 5194*
2007- 5740*

*http://www.aavmc.org/students_admissions/statistics.htm

Can anyone else comment?

I think we have to go back a few more years to see where he was coming from. I have an old copy of VMSAR (2002 edition), with data tables showing number of applicants from 1980-1999. The number of applicants was high in the early-1980's (in the 6K and 7K range), declined throughout the 1980's (bottoming out at just below 4K by the late 1980's), then started to pop back up again throughout the 1990's. Here are 1990-1999 data for number of applicants:

1990 - 3955
1991 - 4296
1992 - 4709
1993 - 4957
1994 - 5428
1995 - 6634
1996 - 6424
1997 - 6630
1998 - 6783
1999 - 6695

So, comparing current numbers to the mid- to late-1990's, yes, the number of applicants has declined. Interestingly, the number of applications per applicant rose dramatically with the birth of VMCAS in 1996, so the number of applications and, thus, the number of applications per slot (given that the number of slots has been fairly stagnant since 1980) increased accordingly starting in the mid-1990's.

I'd have to listen to his statement again to see how his message reconciles with the numbers, but I hope this gives us a fuller picture of historical applicant numbers.

 

[UpstateNY27]

I think we have to go back a few more years to see where he was coming from. I have an old copy of VMSAR (2002 edition), with data tables showing number of applicants from 1980-1999. The number of applicants was high in the early-1980's (in the 6K and 7K range), declined throughout the 1980's (bottoming out at just below 4K by the late 1980's), then started to pop back up again throughout the 1990's. Here are 1990-1999 data for number of applicants:

1990 - 3955
1991 - 4296
1992 - 4709
1993 - 4957
1994 - 5428
1995 - 6634
1996 - 6424
1997 - 6630
1998 - 6783
1999 - 6695

I'd have to listen to his statement again to see how his message reconciles with the numbers, but I hope this gives us a fuller picture of historical applicant numbers.

Thanks runnerDC. That data from the 80s definitely sheds more light on his comments. It would be interesting to determine what are the factors that influence such large shifts in the veterinary school applicant pool.

 

[KittenKiller]

So, comparing current numbers to the mid- to late-1990's, yes, the number of applicants has declined.

Thanks for the clarification, even if he's a bit behind the times. But anyway, he opens his interview citing a flat applicant pool, giving the impression that this was going to be his main point. I don't think it was - he spends the rest of the talk citing the demographics of the applicant pool, not the size, as the cause for a shortage in farm vets. I can't say I really disagree with anything in particular he said, I think just the way he laid his points out - emphasizing overall decrease in applicants - is a sore spot for a lot of vet school applicants! 😉

Nevertheless, I'm not sure if I agree that applicant demographics is the main cause of a large animal veterinarian shortage. It seems to me talking to you guys and to other vets and vet students I've met that a pretty big percentage of applicants wants to do large animal. Then at some point in vet school, they change their minds. This might be because those city slicker girls who thought they were gonna get down with cows wussed out and went back to their familiar world of guinea pigs and puppies. It could also be because the financial opportunities and lifestyle possibilities in small animal medicine are far more appealing to a lot of people. In any case, I definitely think the veterinary profession needs to stop whining about shortage of rural vets and open some more vet schools, especially with large animal emphasis.

Oh yeah, and if they want more people from rural areas to apply, they should consider lowering tuition or subsidizing tuition for more students. The high cost of vet school, and even of applying to vet school, is likely to turn off poor people before it turns off rich people, and people from rural areas are generally poorer than people from urban areas.

 

[hirdDVM]

KittenKiller, you couldn't have said it better.

Besides the city slickers not getting down and dirty on the farm, I think a huge part of it is that being a large animal vet isn't exactly family friendly (as far as raising kids) only because you have long days and nights sometimes. Many small animal vets have the luxury of having a nicer schedule (all the vets I worked for got in at 8-9, and got out by 5-6, which is a pretty typical work day, but keep in mind this was your run-of-the-mill routine veterinary clinic, no emergencies) than a LA vet. Plus if your a woman, being preggo and trying to fix a DA may not be ideal . It's a huge consideration that I have thought about over and over, but I'll make it work.

What's even more sad is the amount of applicants that "pose" to be interested in large animal to get into vet school. I know there is no way for them to screen this, but I know a handful of people that got in by "working the system". Throughout their ugrad career they were involved in LA knowing 1) that they truly wanted to a small animal veterinarian, and 2) they knew plenty of LA work would increase their chances. It sucks for those who are truly passionate about LA work but may not have the grades or GREs as the "posers", and therefore do not get into vet school.