Professor Janice Telfer, Ph.D, UMass Pre-Veterinary Advisor was recently interviewed by WWLP News regarding the shortage of veterinarians. WWLP also interviewed several area veterinarians.
Access the interview.(link is external)
Professor Janice Telfer at UMass Amherst said costs prevent many from entering the field when the student debt to salary ratio is 2 to 1. However, mental health is why many leave. A 2019 study from the AVMA reveals female veterinarians are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide.
Professor Telfer said veterinarians have to guide people through difficult decisions, made harder when many don’t have pet insurance, “How much would you spend to save your animal’s life for instance? If they have cancer, would you pay $20,000? Most people won’t.”
Professor Telfer said utilizing more vet techs can also make the industry more accessible. The equivalent of a nurse, vet techs need fewer years of school, but can perform a number of important tasks. “We still have a lot of students who want to become vet techs, want to become veterinarians and so I’m very hopeful that things will improve,” Professor Telfer said.