Veterinary School Proposal

Honorable Mention, Forum
Randy Bond, Ohio State University

In the past 3 years, class size in veterinary schools has exploded.  The Ohio State University increased from 142 to 162 (a 13% increase and the title for largest veterinary class), Auburn increased from 95 to 120 (a 21% increase), North Carolina increased from 80 to 100 (a 20% increase), Cornell from 102 to 120 (a 15% increase), Purdue from 70 to 84 (a 20% increase), and the list goes on. Literally, almost every veterinary school in the United States has taken on the stance, "expand or die." One can assume that there are only two main reasons for these expansions and proposals:  an abundant demand in the current market (or soon will be), or a desire to make the university more profitable. I will explain why new veterinary school proposals are emerging due to the latter rather than the former.

I have always been interested in food animal medicine. I studied Animal Science as an undergraduate at The Ohio State University with the hope of one day going to veterinary school and graduating to practice bovine medicine. I was drawn to this notion even more as an undergraduate student when my ears were filled with the humming of a shortage of large animal veterinarians. Scholarships, underserved area stipends, and early admission were being instated by universities and the government in order to push students interested in food animal medicine, like myself, into veterinary school faster. When I went into my veterinary school interviews, I beamed with pride as I stated my life goals and reiterated my desire to fill a need, to lessen the "shortage." It seemed like I was fortunate to be in the perfect place, at the perfect time. It seemed as if the veterinary community and the universities were reacting to a serious demand in the current market, and I was poised to take full advantage of that demand.

Once I began veterinary school, the veil was quickly lifted. The need I thought I was filling was no longer referred to as a "shortage" of food animal veterinarians but rather, a "shortage of rural practitioners." We were told there were, and always have been, plenty of veterinarians practicing food animal medicine, there are just places within the United States that cannot support a veterinarian. This fact was later backed by an AABP ad hoc committee on Rural Veterinary Practice who went so far as to comment on this exact phenomenon: "The committee is extremely concerned that the perception by veterinary school and the public that there continues to be a shortage of rural practitioners is leading to increased class sizes at veterinary schools and the creation of new veterinary schools. Continuing to increase the number of veterinarians interested in serving rural areas will not solve this problem. In fact, creating an 'over supply' of food supply veterinarians will lead to widespread unemployment and underemployment of food supply private practitioners and will have a significant detrimental effect on salaries for all veterinarians."[1] Essentially then, increasing class size is going to saturate the market with unemployable graduates who have committed eight years to their training and preparation, only to find that the need they thought they were filling was never really there. As a veterinary student that is currently looking for a job in mixed/bovine medicine, I can assure you the search is not easy. As of September 10th, 2012, there are 19 jobs listed on the AABP "Job Openings" page and 28 "mixed" animal job postings on www.avma.org. Granted, not all jobs are posted on these listings, but compared to the 500 canine and 507 feline job postings on avma.org based on numbers alone, competition is going to be much more difficult for a large animal veterinarian.

So if there isn't a shortage, why are Universities planning for new schools and pushing so many more students through to their DVM degree? Universities are simply expanding their class size because of the bottom line. State funding has been greatly decreased in all states, and in order to make their bottom line consistent, university officials needed to do something drastic. Increasing class size is the result of this decreased funding. This decision was not and is not made for any other reason. The proposals in Utah, Arizona, and New York are simply because these states see the same opportunity that other states have already taken advantage of—a large population of students with the willingness to take out exorbitant amounts of debt who want a product. They do not care about the job market, shortage or excess of veterinarians, or the education that students will receive. These decisions are about the potential market.

Unfortunately, there is no going back at this point. We will never be able to shrink the class sizes back down, nor will we be able to stop these new programs from coming to fruition. I can only hope that the incoming classes are not fed the same hook, line, and sinker that so many of us bit into.

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[1] Summary Opinion of the American Association of Bovine Practitioner’s Ad Hoc Committee on Rural Veterinary Practice." www.aabp.org. N.p., 20 May 2011. Web. 9 Sept. 2012. <http://www.aabp.org/resources/pdfs/Summary_Opinion_of_the_AABP-Rural_Vet_Practice-5.19.11.pdf>.