Veterinary Faculty Shortage

For years we’ve been reporting about the ongoing shortage of veterinary doctors across the nation. You may not realize, though, that there is also a growing shortage of veterinary faculty.

According to an article published by the National Institute for Health, attrition of veterinary clinical faculty has been an issue for several years and is causing significant problems in veterinary schools.

In a survey conducted of more than 1,200 faculty members, many respondents reported reasons other than compensation for leaving, including: departmental culture, work-life balance, lack of recognition, and lack of support of clinical medicine by the administration.

Also, 44 percent of the appointed faculty left for a variety of reasons, including failure to achieve tenure, elimination of their position, or retirement. The respondents reported these were both voluntary and involuntary departures.

How does this translate into recruiting and retaining clinical practitioners? Whether in academia or animal clinics, providing your staff with a positive workplace culture that offers a supportive leadership team goes a long way to improving morale and the desire to be productive. In short, keeping your staff happy is best for your bottom line.

Do you need help with finding associates to join your practice? Give me a call and I’ll explain how my team has earned an 88 percent success rate in presenting quality candidates to our clients in the first 90 days of the recruitment process. I look forward to our conversation.