Let’s Talk New Mexico, 5/2 8a: Have you had trouble finding medical care for your family pet lately? You are not alone. There is a nationwide shortage of veterinary doctors and technicians, leading to long waiting times for appointments and trouble getting emergency care quickly at some clinics.
There are many factors at play here, including the rise in pet ownership over the last three decades, a lack of increase in veterinary schools and seats in those schools to match growing pet ownership, and the high cost of entry and burden of student loans after school. The mental stress of the job is also a factor and a turnover among vet technicians.
On this episode of Let’s Talk New Mexico we will discuss the veterinarian shortage and possible solutions and we want to hear from you. Have you had trouble getting your companion animal the care it needs? Is finding routine care or emergency care for your pets a greater challenge? Are you working in a veterinary practice and overwhelmed by the caseload? Email letstalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message by clicking the link below, or call in live at 505-277-5866 Thursday morning from 8 to 9 a.m.
Guests:
- Jared Lyons, Turquoise Trail Veterinary Urgent Care
- Sohaila Jafarian DVM, MPH, Relief Veterinarian, Board member of Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association
- Christina Tran DVM, founding Dean of the proposed Hanover College School of Veterinary Medicine, formerly a professor at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine
Related reading:
"Straight talk about veterinary workforce issues," American Veterinary Medical Association
"‘A soul killer’: what’s behind the US’s critical veterinarian shortage?," The Guardian
