I love the world of veterinary medicine. I have likely spent more of my awake adult hours in veterinary clinics than any other place. These are My People. My quirky, hardworking, willing to get their hands dirty and joke about it people. I’ve loved this crazy career for almost 3 decades and am thankfully somehow still in love with it today.
That’s not the case for everyone, sadly, and the changes in the veterinary landscape have been… stunning, unforeseen to me, and at times, make me glad I am on the far side of my career.
I left small animal practice and started my mobile veterinary ultrasound business in 2019, the year before Covid. When Covid hit, I recall a conversation with another seasoned vet where we worried that there would be another economic recession, and times in vet clinics were going to get HARD. We never would have guessed the hard times would be for completely different reasons.
“Curbside” appointments. Challenging communication due to masks and phone conversations vs heartfelt face-to-face conversations. Workforce shortages. Parking lots full of worried pet owners and sick pets. Short tempers and angry people. A lack of needed veterinary care for so many.
I think I have had a unique vantage point for these crazy times. My business brings me into the midst of a variety of working veterinary hospitals. I collaborate closely with veterinarians and staff. In the dark and calm quiet of an exam room during ultrasounds, I would see and hear the exhaustion. The frustration. The disbelief in the current state of things. The equivalent of being “in the trenches”. And me, traveling from one trench to the next. I offer an empathetic ear and support however I am able.
In the years since COVID first hit, the landscape of my beloved profession has been changing rapidly. Corporate buyouts, a shortage of veterinarians and trained staff and massive school loan debt creating “buyers regret” for many vets. Shifting demographics in the veterinary population leading to an increased number of female vets balancing their career with family responsibilities. The conundrum of attempting to pay vets and staff a respectable salary while trying to keep veterinary care accessible for all income levels, not just the upper class.
This is a whole new landscape. Even the experts in the field are not entirely sure what the future will be like in veterinary medicine. There is speculation and prediction, but most admit they don’t have a crystal ball to know for certain.
On one hand, I’m relieved to be at the far side of my career with all these uncomfortable, unknown changes. On the other hand, veterinary medicine is being re-created right in front of me. I can either bemoan the times gone by or jump into this new trench. And get my hands dirty trying to muddle through the uncomfortable. To embrace the changes.
I will mourn the veterinary medicine landscape I have loved. I will grieve it’s passing. Then I will do my very best to let go of the past… and help to create this new landscape to be the best that it can be.
These are My People. I believe that veterinary medicine DOES have a future. It won’t look like the past, that’s for sure. But these quirky, hardworking, willing to get their hands dirty and joke about it people? I believe in them. And I am one of them. We can re-create veterinary medicine together.
