By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Shortage of gas, shortage of oil. What next – a shortage of veterinarians?

There is already a shortage of large animal veterinarians across the nation, and those living in rural areas are beginning to feel its effects. Last year 106 vets graduated from The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Of those, only six went into large animal exclusive or predominant practice, and 12 into a mixed practice. By comparison, 51 went into small animal exclusive or predominant practice.

Ohio is not alone in this dilemma. Of the 26 veterinary schools nationwide, there were 1,405 graduates last year and only 197 went into large animal or mixed practice, according to the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. (AVMA).

“Ohio State University is doing things to address the issue and the state of Ohio is doing things to remedy the shortage,” said Jack Advent, executive director of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Assoc. (OVMA).

“There is no easy answer to this problem. With small animals you’ll have a lot more clients in terms of sheer volume. There are more positions available in terms of small animals.”

Experts claim the problem is one of manpower and economy. There are simply too few students entering the veterinary sciences and those who do prefer to study smaller animals because it is more lucrative. Those studying small animals will command a higher salary than those concentrating on large (or food) animals.

“This is a problem that has been coming on probably over the last 10 to 15 years,” said Dr. Dave Glauer, longtime member of the OVMA.

According to Glauer, there are several reasons for the decline in large animal veterinarians, including fewer students from a rural background and that being a large animal vet may require a longer work week and more time on-call and on the road.

Having a shortage of large animal veterinarians would be “catastrophic for the industry and for society,” said Dr. Lyle Vogel, director of AMVA’s Animal Welfare Division.

In a study from the AMVA, the demand for food supply vets is projected to increase a modest 12-13 percent between now and 2016. The research forecasts a shortfall of 4-5 percent per year. That means for every 100 food supply veterinarian jobs available, only 96 veterinarians will be available to fill them.

Congress is aware of the veterinarian shortage and is considering legislation that would provide capitalization funds for veterinary schools so they could build more teaching facilities and research laboratories. Ohio State University is trying to attract more students to large animal practices by offering its students a guaranteed spot in the veterinary school.

This year, the school attracted 1,000 qualified candidates for 140 spots available. The average OSU graduate received 2.5 job offers last year.

According to a study conducted by the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, many students feel that food animals mean more work, more travel and less pay than working with smaller animals. But statistics prove that the salary was about the same, hovering around the annual mark of $84,000.

Melissa Weber, spokesperson for the College of Veterinary Medicine at OSU, says it is doing much to resolve the shortage problem.

“Students who are interested in farm animal medicine can apply early to vet school, get in and continue with their coursework so they can specialize in large animal issues,” she said.

“This way, they can learn more about things like husbandry, waste management and other things critical to large animal veterinarians.”

Preventing students from a concentration on large animals is two issues, Weber said. First, many students are afraid that taking such upper level classes pertaining to large animals may hurt their grade point averages.

Second, the students know they can make more money with a concentration on domestic animals such as dogs or cats.
“We’re also trying to encourage the state of Ohio to institute a vet forgiveness program, whereby students who go into large animal medicine and practice for a minimum of five years get a percentage of their school debt forgiven,” she explained. “Most graduate from college, then find themselves faced with a $100,000 loan to pay back.”

To this end, 13 states have adopted a loan forgiveness program.