The entire country is in the middle of a veterinarian shortage, but solutions here in Minnesota might be even harder to come by thanks to some legal problems. If they’re not addressed soon, things will only get worse.
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Minnesota’s Veterinary Shortage:
- 🐈 Sit - The roots of this problem began in, you guessed it, the pandemic. A jaw-dropping 23 million animals were adopted during lockdown. At the same time, many veterinarians across the country took this as their cue to retire. (why?!?!?!)
- 🐕 Stay - It’s not just vets. We’re also seeing a shortage of veterinary technicians. There aren’t enough (and enough new techs entering the workforce) to accommodate the demand. For example, in 2021, there were six job openings for every single vet technician.
- 🐇 Roll Over - Experts point to the cost of a vet school education. The average student graduates with over $150,000 in debt and an average starting salary of $90,000. It’s worse for Vet Techs, who start with an average salary of $18 an hour.
- 🦎 Fetch - There’s also a lack of schools. Currently, the US has 32 accredited schools of veterinary medicine with 3,200 graduates every year. Clearly that’s not enough. There are new programs in the works, but will they be completed in time?
- 🐾 Shake - For us, the worst part is a state statute that says any clinic must be owned by a licensed, active veterinarian. Worse, anyone who sits on the board of a clinic or is a shareholder also has to be a licensed, active veterinarian. State representatives are currently working to fix that statute, but it won’t see any activity until 2024.
🔥Bottom line: Industry after industry is still seeing the effects of COVID-19 and oddly enough, they’re all in the goods and services Americans need most: health and education. With vets, the key thing to remember is that a vet clinic telling you they’re all booked up isn’t their fault. It’s a symptom of a problem. Please, be kind and be patient. They’ll take care of your best friend as soon as they can.
What should be done to fix the veterinarian crisis in Minnesota?
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