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Technicians are tops: The changing role of this critical team memberOctober 12, 2020It’s National Veterinary Technician Week, a time when we honor these tireless professionals who have never been more critical to animal health than over the last eight months or so.
The tuition-debt crisis: Who is willing to change?July 22, 2019At the end of my career, it is perplexing to look back 60 years—with what passes for the wisdom of old age—to make comparisons with the contemporary scene. To be sure, during my lifetime the veterinary profession achieved major scientific and technological progress, and survived several episodes of political and economic uncertainty. Yet, who can say there may not be worse to come? In my view, the most serious threat to the long-term prosperity of the veterinary profession is the damage now being caused by out-of-control educational costs and student debt. We seem to have lost our moral compass. By the numbers Incurring a moderate amount of educational debt to achieve a professional degree is a worthy investment; however, veterinary education has become prohibitively expensive. According to the 2018-2019 Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' (AAVMC's) annual report,1 the national median tuition for in-state veterinary students is $31,900 and for out-of-state students it is $52,600. The mean veterinary educational debt is $174,000. With starting salaries averaging in the low $70s, the debt-to-income ratio is approximately 2.4:1 (double the 1.2:1 figure of just a decade ago). One hesitates to invoke the hyperbole of "crisis;" however, student debt is an enormous drag, …
Why heartworm prevention begins in your practiceApril 24, 2019According to the American Heartworm Society (AMS), it is estimated more than one million dogs have heartworm disease. Spread by mosquitoes, heartworms live in the heart and pulmonary arteries of infected dogs and cats. Left untreated, the disease can lead to heart failure, as well as damage to other organs. To mark Heartworm Awareness Month, we asked Claire Walther, DVM, veterinary specialty operations at Zoetis Petcare, for her take on what veterinarians can do to better convey the need for heartworm prevention to pet owners. 1) What is the single biggest misconception among veterinarians regarding heartworm disease? Biologically, it is how missing one dose of a preventative medication can lead to the development of heartworm disease. We say it to our clients daily, but many of us couldn't explain why if a client asked. In my own practice, I struggled with the answer. Here is a 30-second sound bite I've used with my clients to help simplify what is a complex discussion. "Young heartworms are carried by infected mosquitoes, and it only takes one bite to transmit them to your dog.1 Once in your dog, the young heartworms live just underneath the skin for about a month—this …
How veterinary practices can improve client retentionNovember 8, 2018With pet ownership reaching record-highs in the U.S, there’s plenty of opportunity for small veterinary practices to increase revenue. But many practice owners are finding it difficult to compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
How bioinformatics research could affect veterinary practices, companion animal healthAugust 30, 2017Let’s face it; we can’t even keep up with all the email, client communications, and news flashing on our smartphones while maintaining a busy clinical load. Once-a-year continuing education barely keeps us afloat in the ocean of veterinary information, and now that information is coming at us more and more rapidly and in more forms.
Canine Influenza Virus 2017: Beyond two show dogsJune 7, 2017Since the canine influenza virus (CIV) H3N2 strain first emerged in Chicago in 2015, it has spread somewhat sporadically throughout the U.S. However, in late May, it turned up once again; the epicenter might have been two dog shows.
You Asked For It: More Crazy X-RaysSeptember 5, 2014 The 2014 annual "They Ate WHAT?!", sponsored by Trupanion, was a huge success, and one of the entries even took the Internet by storm. We received a lot of entries and couldn't fit them all into the magazine. Check out some of the other entries we received. A Cat Ate What?! Matthew Schroeder DVM Crossroads Veterinary Hospital Painesville, Ohio Veterinarypracticenews.com The contents of Allie's stomach. A 2-year-old female spayed feline presented with vomiting and inappetance of 1 week duration. Abdominal palpation revealed an indistinct soft tissue mass in the cranial abdomen which required radiography. Radiographs revealed a stomach full of mineral opacity linear foreign material. Small intestines look moderately twisted and potentially plicated. Rest of abdomen within normal limits. Abdominal exploratory resulted in the removal of many large black hair-tie type rubber bands coated w/ fabric from the stomach. The owner recalled that the family was missing a large number of elastic headbands. Further examination revealed five to 10 large-sized black elastics that had been consumed by the feline patient. She made a …
2014 X-Ray Contest WinnersAugust 27, 2014The 2015 "They Ate What?!" Radiograph Contest Now Accepting Entries! Animal hospitals in Texas, Florida and Oregon won Veterinary Practice News’ ninth annual radiograph contest, “They Ate WHAT?” Pet insurer Trupanion of Seattle, Wash., sponsored the contest and will provide cash awards to support the uncompensated care these hospitals provide pets. The first-place winner, Paws & Claws Animal Hospital of Plano, Texas, received $1,500, Gulf Breeze Animal Hospital in Gulf Breeze, Fla., won the $1,000 second prize, and DoveLewis Animal Hospital in Portland, Ore., will receive the $500 third prize. The Veterinary Practice News editorial team and several advisory board members judged the entries. The Winners First Place: Kermit the Frog Shawn Messonnier, DVM Paws & Claws Animal Hospital Plano, Texas Kermit had the munchies. His owner noticed the exotic frog eating the rock substrate in his cage, and radiographs confirmed the owner’s observation. More than 30 small ornamental rocks were removed in surgery and the frog recovered without complications. The owner wisely decided to remove the remaining rocks from the frog’s habitat. Second Place: A Shish Kabob Skewer Goes Missing Tim Gossman, DVM Gulf Breeze Animal Hospital Gulf Breeze, Fla. Marley, a neutered male
Too Many Veterinarians, or a Bubble Market?August 26, 2014 Is our profession heading into a bubble market? The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics hosted a panel discussion titled “Oversupply: Issues and Ethics” during the annual convention of the American Association of Veterinary Medicine in July in Denver. Panelists were Dennis McCurnin, DVM, Dipl. ACVS; James F. Wilson, DVM, J.D., of Priority Veterinary Management Consultants; Mark Cushing, J.D., a founding member of Animal Policy Group; Dennis Lawler, DVM; and Paul Pion, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, president and co-founder of Veterinary Information Network. I was the organizer and facilitator during the morning forum, which needed an overflow room to handle interested attendees. Drs. McCurnin and Wilson described how we got into this situation and presented information and statistics that show the potential bubble. The AVMA Workforce Study, released April 22, 2013, reported a 12.5 percent excess capacity in the profession that could continue through 2025. We have been told for the past 25 years that we need to have veterinarians go into non-traditional employment fields. We now have veterinarians in many new and expanding areas (i.e. public health, epidemiology, shelter medicine, food safety, etc.) but still have the issue of low salaries, as …
