Keywords
Rural Veterinary Practice, Veterinary Workforce, Rural Lifestyle, Veterinary Mentorship
Abstract
Concerns about lack of available jobs in rural veterinary practice (RVP) and ironically difficulties attracting new veterinarians are commonly expressed within the veterinary community. Reports on supply and demand for rural veterinarians have produced conflicting results. A 1990's economic study forecasted a 3.0% increase in available veterinarians in large animal private practice and a 1.7% decrease in demand from 1997 to 2015. However, a later study forecasted a shortage of food supply veterinary medicine (FSVM) veterinarians from 2004 to 2016 ranging from 0.1% (poultry veterinarians) to 6.9% (federal animal health), with mixed food animal practice at 6.6%.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Villarroel, Aurora; McDonald, Stephen R.; Walker, William L.; Kaiser, Lana; Dewell, Renee D.; and Dewell, Grant A.
(2010)
"Shortage of Rural Veterinarians: Real or Perceived?,"
Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy:
Vol. 5:
Iss.
7.
https://doi.org/10.4148/ojrrp.v5i7.269
References
1. Brown JP, Silverman JD. The current and future market for veterinarians and veterinary medical services in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1999; 215(2):161-183.
2. Prince JB, Andrus DM, Gwinner KP. Future demand, probable shortages, and strategies for creating a better future in food supply veterinary medicine. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2006; 229(1):57-69.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.229.1.57
PMid:16817715
3. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):849-857.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.849
PMid:20392180
4. Sprecher DJ. Insights into the future generation of veterinarians: perspectives gained from the 13- and 14-year-olds who attended Michigan State University's veterinary camp, and conclusions about our obligations. J Vet Med Educ 2004; 31(3):199-202.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jvme.31.3.199
PMid:15510331
5. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):849-857.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.849
PMid:20392180
6. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):849-857.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.849
PMid:20392180
7. Jelinski MD, Campbell JR, Naylor JM, et al. Factors affecting the career path choices of graduates at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Can Vet J 2008; 49(2):161-166.
8. 4-H. Web site. Programs overview. Available at: http://4-h.org/programs_mission_mandates.html. Accessed Jul 6,2010.
9. National FFA Organization. Web site. What is FFA? Available at: http://www.ffa.org/index.cfm?method=c_about.about . Accessed Jul 6,2010.
10. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians leave rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):859-867.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.859
PMid:20392181
11. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians leave rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):859-867.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.859
PMid:20392181
12. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):849-857.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.849
PMid:20392180
13. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians leave rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):859-867.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.859
PMid:20392181
14. Prince JB, Andrus DM, Gwinner KP. Future demand, probable shortages, and strategies for creating a better future in food supply veterinary medicine. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2006; 229(1):57-69.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.229.1.57
PMid:16817715
15. Villarroel A, McDonald SR, Walker WL, et al. A survey of reasons why veterinarians enter rural veterinary practice in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2010; 236(8):849-857.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.236.8.849
PMid:20392180
16. Jelinski MD, Campbell JR, Naylor JM, et al. Factors affecting the career path choices of graduates at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Can Vet J 2008; 49(2):161-166.
17. Yao X, Lee TW, Mitchell TR, Burton JP, Sablynski CJ. Job embeddedness: current research and future directions. In: Griffeth R, Hom P, eds. Understanding employee retention and turnover. Greenwich, CT: Information Age, 2004; 153-187.
18. Lee TW, Mitchell TR, Sablynski CJ, et al. The effects of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship, job performance, volitional absences, and voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal 2004; 47:711-722.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20159613
19. Mitchell TR, Holtom BC, Lee TW, et al. Why people stay: using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal 2001; 44:1102-1121.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3069391
20. Mitchell TR, Lee TW. The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and embeddedness: foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment. Research in Organizational Behavior 2001; 23:189-246.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0191-3085(01)23006-8
21. McDonald, S. R., Villarroel, A., Kaiser, L., and Dewell, R. D. Congratulations you have a job…and now WHAT? New Graduate Survival Manual or "preparing to negotiate manure of all kinds with a smile on your face". Available at: www.vin.com/Members/CMS/Misc/Default.aspx. Accessed Jun 26, 2010.