BUSINESS (Trends in Vet Profession)

Question 1

Trends in Vet Med

Answer 1

1. Increasing companion animal (particularly small animal)
2. Corporatization of vet med
3. Pets becoming people
4. Increase in females
5. Shift from baby boomers to millennials
6. Student debt
7. Consolidation in agricultural (joining forces)

Question 2

new medicaiton

Answer 2

-less in food production as there are more hoops
-maybe some new vaccines (easier registration)
*limitations on what people are willing to spend (animals have an economic value)
*emotional side of companion animals

Question 3

venture capitalists

Answer 3

-have tons of money
-want unique investment strategies
-not engaged in running the clinics
*pure financial play

Question 4

women in practice

Answer 4

-maternity leave (contributes to shortage)
-part time vs. full time (males typically work more full time)
-many drop out after 5 years
-practice ownership: own boss, money (higher risk=greater the reward

Question 5

“crisis”

Answer 5

-not necessarily
-becoming more difficult
-see crisis in the newspaper everyday about different professions

Question 6

debt load

Answer 6

-leading to burnout?
-we aren’t using our resources really well

Question 7

inrease enrollment

Answer 7

-2+2 model: do first years somewhere else and then finsih final years at WCVM
*education isn’t the only supply: foregin vets also come to Canada (multi-part exam)

Question 8

shortage?

Answer 8

-not that bad right now
-some clinics saying they are looking for someone but there is a difference between active and non-active looking
-wages have changed now (they are alot better than they used to be)

Question 9

regulation of vet med

Answer 9

-is a dinosaur (still lack national leadership)
-regulatory goes to the provincial VMAs (presidents only usually for 1 year)
*we need a national regulatory body
*lots of RVTs graduate and leave the profession (underpaid or under utilized)

Question 10

How can we use RVTs more?

Answer 10

-need to change Vet acts/bylaws: big issue, if open act then everyone wants to change other things
-grey area for them
* need a collective movement of all associations to make a change

Question 11

Professional

Answer 11

-we follow a code
*self-regulating ->judged by our own peers

Question 12

population of canadian beef cow-calf producers

Answer 12

-no young producers, a ton of old ones
-demographics of Canada: baby boomers
-inverted pyramid (‘usually young is at the bottom(lots), and old is at the top’)
*driven by demographics and economics

Question 13

beef cows

Answer 13

-was increasing
-2003 BSE happened, couldn’t get rid of them (slight increase)
-then declined

Question 14

beef farms

Answer 14

-number of farms is decreasing
-*CONSOLIDATION: mergin of farms into a fewer much larger ones (economy of scale/volume)
-supply and emand: contact time with each animal decreases (so don’t need as many vets)
*even though there is a shortage of food-producing vets, the demand is also decreasing

Question 15

age distribution of Canadian dairy producers

Answer 15

-baby boomers (old) increasing throughout the years
-also some consolidation (not as fast as beef though)
>due to quota (supply management), limit on how much can be produced each year (set price)
-limited production=can charge more
*guarantee a paycheck

Question 16

economy of scale

Answer 16

-not as important in dairy becuase of quota
-beef and pork: depends on the market

Question 17

Quebec dairy farm size

Answer 17

-skew the idea of getting bigger
-about 40% of Canada’s dairy industry
-vs. West=keep increasing