What are some problems facing veterinary medicine today?

[rosemma]

Pretty straight forward - What are some problems facing veterinary medicine today?

The obvious ones I can recall off hand are:
1. Bio-terrorism
2. Vaccine Protocol
3. Liability / Increase in lawsuits in private practice

Any thoughts on those that I listed or additional areas would be great. I want to know what others think! I know I can look stuff up on AVMA but different things matter to different people.. especially those in different fields. Any input would be great! Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lailanni]

Pretty straight forward - What are some problems facing veterinary medicine today?

The obvious ones I can recall off hand are:
1. Bio-terrorism
2. Vaccine Protocol
3. Liability / Increase in lawsuits in private practice

Any thoughts on those that I listed or additional areas would be great. I want to know what others think! I know I can look stuff up on AVMA but different things matter to different people.. especially those in different fields. Any input would be great! Thanks.

One thing I can think of: the increasing cost of vet service, and an increasing disparity between people who can afford it and people who can't.

Veterinary care isn't financially possible for many people -as a result many animals are suffering, put to sleep though they could be healed, and too many are not spayed/neutered and are contributing to the huge numbers of humane society animals that are euthanized because there isn't a home for them.

 

[zpinkpanther]

I've been working on my answers to this question, too. Here's what I've come up with:

1) Overpopulation of animals and, as a result, increased numbers of homeless pets.
2) People abandoning/dumping their animals at the vet's because they can't afford to keep them or to treat an illness (this could also possibly be related back to #1).
3) Zoonoses- diseases that can spread from animals to humans, such as Rabies (from wild animals, mostly), Leptospirosis, and Giardia.
4) Conservation of endangered species of wildlife.

That's what I've got for now. I'll post again if I add any more.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Two words.

Bacterial. Resistance.

We need to stop throwing around antibiotics like they are candy, for the sake of not only companions animals, but the food animal industry nationwide, as well as wildlife and the increasing number of zoonotic diseases. It is a huge, devastating problem

 

[Electrophile]

Two words.

Bacterial. Resistance.

We need to stop throwing around antibiotics like they are candy, for the sake of not only companions animals, but the food animal industry nationwide, as well as wildlife and the increasing number of zoonotic diseases. It is a huge, devastating problem

AMEN. As an aside, I got soooooo sick of the shelter vet prescribing a bunch of antibiotics for my foster dogs for kennel cough when simple ester C would do the trick within a few days. Unless the dog looked like it had pneumonia, I just stopped mentioning it. And what do you know? Just like a human cold, take some vitamin C and start to feel better sooner (along with being in a less stressful environment).

 

[critterfixer]

1. The severe shortage of veterinarians choosing to go into large animal or rural practice is an issue I've seen in the news a lot lately. Especially in light of the bioterrorism issue, a lack of food and fiber animal veterinarians is going to become very serious very quickly.

2. More and more clients are looking to alternative medicine such as homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and the like. Do we, as veterinarians, embrace integrative medicine or do we risk turning clients from traditional medicine when we reject these interests?

3. Pain management, especially with regards large animal medicine.

4. Shock fluid therapy and the use of steroids in shock therapy.Lots of controversy about the correct type and rate of fluid administration and whether or when to use them.

5. The role of the veterinarian as a public health practitioner. How can we integrate veterinary medicine, human medicine, and conservation medicine for the benefit of pubic health?

Those are just a few that come to mind.

 

[banditalfi]

2. More and more clients are looking to alternative medicine such as homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and the like. Do we, as veterinarians, embrace integrative medicine or do we risk turning clients from traditional medicine when we reject these interests?

Yesterday I was on the phone with Antech because we have a client whose cat had cancer and the owner elected to follow up surgery with his own little homeopathic stuff rather than with chemo. As long as you understand the risks, fine. But I was calling up Antech because he wanted to know the iron levels in the blood. So I had a nice conversation with a vet at Antech who explained that iron levels tell us nothing, they're mostly used to diagnose women with anemia, but vets don't use them. The vet continued saying that he was interested to know what the client wanted to glean from iron levels and if he was trying to treat the cat like a human then he'd have to go to an MD, but if the MD was treating a cat then he's unlawfully practicing veterinary medicine, etc etc etc. Anyway, the DVM I work with was on the same page as the vet from Antech and really the bottom line is, after we tell clients what's best for their animals, if they elect to go a different route that's fine - and we don't even mind running a few tests for them - but they better understand that they might not have the best grasp of the situation.

 

[alliecat44]

I agree with everything the other posters have mentioned.

One HUGE problem in veterinary medicine today is the ability to attract and retain faculty at veterinary schools. The cost of veterinary education is skyrocketing, much more quickly than veterinary salaries are rising. As a result, graduates have more debt to pay off. Private practice pays much more than a veterinary school can possibly offer its faculty members, and as a result, more and more specialists are choosing to go into private practice. Also, the old school way of thinking--"I'll work 60-80 hour weeks and have no life outside of my research, teaching, and time in clinics"--is quickly becoming outmoded. Americans (especially) in general are placing an increased value on "having it all"--working a reasonable amount of time and having a LIFE outside of their job, while making a decent living. Veterinary schools are limited in what they can offer to fulfill this need.

There is a TREMENDOUS--so big I'll say it again--TREMENDOUS crisis looming in veterinary education. How to fill university positions in order to best educate the veterinarians of tomorrow? How do we make it attractive compared to the much larger salary and much better quality of life private practice offers? Vet schools are losing faculty members practically every day and these positions are not getting filled. In ten years, what's going to be the reality?

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Also, the old school way of thinking--"I'll work 60-80 hour weeks and have no life outside of my research, teaching, and time in clinics"--is quickly becoming outmoded. Americans (especially) in general are placing an increased value on "having it all"--working a reasonable amount of time and having a LIFE outside of their job, while making a decent living. Veterinary schools are limited in what they can offer to fulfill this need.

Very true. And to be honest I think a lot of is has to do with the undeservedly low salaries of many veterinarians, especially in academia unless you've been there for a millions years and churned out papers. It is almost as if, if you don't goit alone, get boarded and land a top-notch job, you're stuck with a mediocre salary considering your education and the work you put into it.

 

[fargeese]

The rapidly rising debt load of new graduates versus the not-so-rapidly rising entry salaries.

Zoonotic outbreaks in our food animal supply because of a lack of vets to monitor the herds.

I liked Critterfixer's ones, I am so stealing those for my interviews

 

[laurafinn]

The evolving relationship between GP's and specialists. Will veterinary medicine follow the human model and will GP's become mere gatekeepers? Will increasing liability concerns force GP's to refer more and more cases to specialists? Is it responsible for a GP to do a procedure that a specialist can do with a much higher rate of success? This relates to there being a lack, in practical terms, of a single standard of care in veterinary medicine. How does a client's relationship with his/her pet, expectations, financial status, geographical region, etc, affect the standard of care? How does a vet's level of experience, date of vet school graduation, timeliness of CE, etc, affect the standard of care? Is there even a need for a single standard of care, or should the standard of care be determined on a case-by-case basis?

 

[jdavis590]

1) Over saturation of small animal doctors. Too much supply, not enough demand.

2) Doctor loyalty is decreasing (due mostly to cost). People will go to the cheapest doctor rather than the one they have an established relationship with.

 

[tingtangjahe]

Two words.

Bacterial. Resistance.

We need to stop throwing around antibiotics like they are candy, for the sake of not only companions animals, but the food animal industry nationwide, as well as wildlife and the increasing number of zoonotic diseases. It is a huge, devastating problem

Well said. I agree completely. This was one main reason I was not sure I wanted to go into traditional vet med. The overuse of antibiotics; this is a philosophy used in human medicine as well. We need to slow down, get deeper and approach things using different techniques.

 

[pressmom]

1) Over saturation of small animal doctors. Too much supply, not enough demand.

I would disagree with this in certain areas. In rapidly growing states or states without a vet school, this can be the opposite.

 

[theunraveler]

this might not be relevant in America but here in australia there are gonna be 3 more vet school opening soon. this is not good becoz i think it will drive down the wages and create an influx of vets that will make it harder for us to find jobs later

 

[Bullettime]

That's not entirely true. Yes there ater more vet schools opening in Oz, and a couple in QLD for that matter, but they are still very new. And charles strutt for example is still not accredited with the australian veterinary council (something critical to work in any state in oz). they need to have a graduating class in order for that to be complete. other schools will also take time to get this. besides their class size i small and is no where as reputable as the other schools.

 

[aretoo]

How does a client's relationship with his/her pet, expectations, financial status, geographical region, etc, affect the standard of care?

This is HUGE in small animal medicine. And something I myself am really struggling with...it is largely the reason that I do not want to go into small animal practice. Although many horses are seen/treated as pets, I want to work with performance animals, who generally exist to make money for their owners/trainers/riders.

I don't mean to step on any toes here, but what does the owner of the diabetic dog who is euthanizing it because he/she can't afford treatment say to his/her kids? I guess without treatment the dog would die anyway...but does this make the vet the "bad guy"? I'm kind of stuck in this "vicious circle" of thinking, because no, I don't think that the vet should treat the animal for free. And I don't think that the owner should pay to treat the dog if that means that he/she will not be able to feed their kids. So...I'm stuck. At least the owner is euthanizing it, not dumping it at the side of the road. Sorry for the tangent..