5 Questions With … Meghan Wells, DVM, MPH

By Therese M. Castillo

The veterinary industry today faces a perfect storm of challenges—from widespread staffing shortages to burnout to the specialty care gap. These pressures are reshaping the day-to-day operations of clinics across the country, prompting urgent conversations about sustainable solutions.

With a dual background in veterinary medicine and public health, Meghan Wells, DVM, MPH, brings a unique perspective to these issues. As an instructor in Penn Foster's veterinary technology program, she helps shape the next generation of veterinary professionals while remaining deeply attuned to the evolving needs of the field. Dr. Wells is passionate about mentorship, expanded training opportunities, and systemic reforms that would elevate the role of veterinary technicians through better recognition and utilization.

In this edition of "5 Questions With…," Wells shares her insights into how the profession is adapting and what it will take to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for veterinary teams.

1) What are the most pressing workforce challenges in veterinary medicine, and how do you think they have affected practices?

"Some of the most pressing challenges to the veterinary workforce are relatively similar regardless of a person's position within the profession. Staffing shortages of veterinary professionals, along with compassion fatigue and burnout, are some of the most widely discussed topics now within veterinary medicine. For veterinarians, education costs (and the associated debt) related to income have been a challenge for many, although the recent pandemic demand for veterinary services showed positive movement to close the gap. For veterinary technicians, specifically, a National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) study has shown low income and title protections rank high on the list of challenges.

Throughout these challenges, veterinary practices have shown resilience in rolling with the punches in continuing to care for the nation's animals. For example, some practices have modified hours of operation or implemented available technologies to ease staffing shortages and ease overload (like online appointment scheduling or medical scribes). Many employers are offering formal career training to their current employees to keep them engaged and expanding their skill set through programs, such as Penn Foster's veterinary technician, veterinary technologist, and veterinary assistant programs. Wage growth is moving in the right direction to account for the time, information, and skills required from our veterinary teams.

Compassion fatigue and burnout have become a daily topic of conversation for many teams, along with prevention and management strategies. Our brains are organs in the body, and sometimes they need help too. It's wonderful the topic is no longer taboo! There is still quite a bit of work to be done regarding the challenges in veterinary medicine, but I'm optimistic we are headed in the right direction.

2) How does the shortage of specific members of veterinary teams (credentialed veterinary technicians/nurses/rural vets) influence daily operations and case management in practices?

Many of us can attest to the extra stress put on practice employees when there is a shortage of team members (regardless of the role). The roles within the clinic become less defined with staffing shortages. For example, veterinarians may be scheduling appointments, or credentialed veterinary technicians take on more kennel duties. Depending on the extent of the shortage, it can lead to chaos and burnout for staff, even to the point of job abandonment.

In a practice where each role is properly utilized to the fullest extent of licensing, the roles are well-defined: the doctors are diagnosing, prescribing, performing surgeries, and prognosing. The credentialed technicians are preparing or analyzing patient samples, monitoring anesthesia, providing nursing care, and instructing pet owners (and much more). These defined boundaries make veterinary practice more efficient and profitable, allow staff to feel more fulfilled at work due to proper utilization (decreasing turnover), and can provide a higher level of care to each patient.

Overall, more order and harmony in the day allows staff to complete their duties during work hours and leave on time to be with their families and friends. Job satisfaction can become incredibly important in rural areas because attracting and retaining staff to a veterinary practice can be tough.

Keeping staff happy goes a long way toward work/life balance for everyone in the clinic. Efficient and effective practice management can make all the difference to our patients, which is why Penn Foster offers a certificate program in Veterinary Practice Management that also satisfies the requirements for the certified veterinary practice manager (CVPM) designation.

3) What types of enhanced training programs do you think would be most beneficial in filling gaps in clinical or soft skills among new veterinary graduates?

Newly credentialed veterinary graduates have just proven themselves by completing an educational program to learn and show mastery of skills, taking a national exam, plus possibly a state exam, that must be passed to get their credentials and become licensed. That's hard work! Even though all the education has prepared them to be a "day one" vet professional (veterinarian or veterinary technician), meaning they have mastered the skills to hit the ground running in their career after graduation, graduates can still lack confidence in their learned skills. Most employers expect the graduate to be able to do these "day one" skills proficiently–and they absolutely can! However, it takes the graduate to believe in themselves, and their confidence can be built through continued practice and growth in skill sets. This is why I love the idea of mentorship to guide new veterinary graduates and build their confidence.

Veterinarian graduates often have mentorship pathways available to them (through employment pathways or internships) that are set up to guide them to becoming great doctors. However, mentorship pathways for veterinary technicians are not as readily available. Veterinary technician graduates frequently obtain employment while working with a veterinary practice during their program's required externship(s). It's a wonderful way for the vet practice and the vet tech to get to know each other for employment, but practices may not be able to offer the type of continued mentorship needed (with staffing shortages, for instance). The NAVTA and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recognize this gap and do offer scholarships for mentorship to recently graduated credentialed veterinary technicians through MentorVet. It would be wonderful to see additional mentoring programs developed to support recent veterinary technician graduates.

4) Do you feel new graduates are adequately prepared to manage the emotional and communication demands of the profession? Why or why not?

Veterinary medicine can be an extremely emotionally demanding career and requires communication skills that may not come naturally for everyone. The good news is that communication is a skill that can be learned and applied to daily life in any human (or animal) interaction.

Through the veterinary programs at Penn Foster, we integrate professional communication instruction into the curriculum because it is such an important part of building client relationships for veterinary practices. Students also get a chance to practice and demonstrate their communication skills during their program externships. We also see student growth in these areas, since soft skills, such as effective communication, can be cultivated throughout a person's lifetime, especially for those of us who were not born with the "gift of gab."

Academy instructors at Penn Foster are experienced and credentialed veterinary professionals who have firsthand experience with the demanding nature of veterinary medicine. Burnout is not a secret to be silently suffered anymore. To make our students aware compassion fatigue and burnout can happen, we actively counsel them about the topics and try to offer resources for information on prevention and coping strategies, including offering ideas to alternate career pathways in veterinary medicine to reduce emotional strain. Alternate career paths, like research or diagnostic laboratory employment, can offer veterinary technician graduates a way to remain in the veterinary profession but offer a break from the emotional aspects of it. We do our best to make sure our graduates are well prepared for this career, warts and all!

5) What systemic changes would you recommend to create more accessible and appealing pathways for aspiring veterinary technicians?

Systemic changes can be tough to generate because they require a comprehensive effort by all participants in the "system" to effect the change—tough but not impossible. Based on data collected in the 2024 NAVTA survey, the three biggest concerns of veterinary technicians are "low income, burnout, and lack of professional recognition."

Aspiring veterinary technicians thinking about starting their veterinary education are just a quick internet search away from becoming discouraged due to concerns over being able to support themselves financially and career longevity within the profession, not to mention the cost to acquire the education. Penn Foster has addressed the latter by offering an affordable education through an online, AVMA-accredited veterinary technician program.

To make the pathway more appealing for aspiring veterinary technicians, there are definitely things we can do as a profession. Advocating for title protections for veterinary technicians within each state is a place to start. This means the use of the title "veterinary technician" to describe a veterinary professional should only be used for those who completed the formal education/credentialing to go with the title. In other words, we should advocate for states to legislate that the term "veterinary technician" only belongs to those who have completed AVMA-accredited veterinary technician programs, passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE), and have obtained licensure within their state. Then the duties assigned to the title are outlined within each state's Veterinary Practice Act, much like they are for a veterinarian. This would define the roles within a veterinary practice, paving the way for income increases to match skill sets.

Research has shown veterinary practices that fully utilize credentialed veterinary technicians to the full extent of their license are more profitable since the most "expensive" person employed in the clinic – the veterinarian – has time freed up to generate income. Credentialed veterinary technicians also report more job satisfaction with increased utilization. The overall results of satisfied employees are less employee turnover, longer careers, and less burnout as more people are attracted to join the profession due to positive work/life balance, lessening the staffing shortage. It's a win-win for the aspiring veterinary technician.

Other systemic changes that could be beneficial for the aspiring technician are acknowledging the increase in neurodivergence in our population and creating employment opportunities for vet tech students with little clinical experience. Acknowledging neurodivergence doesn't require huge shifts in veterinary culture, but recognizing how communication styles may vary is a great first step toward understanding.

Additional education in communication during a student's veterinary education or as continuing education opportunities can be helpful, since communication is a learned skill that can be polished with use.

Opening additional doorways for employment, such as kennel technicians, veterinary assistants, or front desk personnel, can also help an aspiring veterinary technician get their foot in the door of the veterinary profession and remove barriers due to experience level that may not be visible to those of us already in the profession.