Published on November 13, 2024

Three articles from the AVMA arrived in my inbox this week:

• Gap shrinks between new graduate, overall veterinary salaries
• Midlevel practitioner proposal secures enough votes in Colorado
• Federal appeals court reverses Texas VCPR ruling

These articles drove me to make this podcast, the third in a series, about horse veterinary care. It emphasizes the need to prevent illness and injuries.

In summary, new vet graduates’ mean starting salary (adjusted for inflation) has steadily risen since 2000, while the income of established veterinarians (adjusted for inflation) has not. The educational debt to become a veterinarian has also risen, but the ratio between debt and income on average has fallen due to increasing salaries. However, after removing the 17% with no debt, the debt-to-income ratio is higher and less sustainable.

All veterinarians are young, with 8% older than 65. Thus, the pool of experienced veterinarians to mentor graduates is shrinking.

Colorado approved the development of a midlevel practitioner to “fill the gap” between technician and veterinarian. Almost all veterinary organizations opposed this; however, the voters accepted this idea. Is this different from non-veterinarians already diagnosing and prescribing (dentists, farriers, bodyworkers)? Will this become available in other states? How will this affect the safety and cost of care for our horses?

Texas accused a retired veterinarian of offering advice to a patient via email without first establishing a VCPR (veterinary-client-patient relationship) in person. The federal court overturned the lower court’s guilty decision, saying that offering advice by email without a VCPR is a right under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. How will veterinarians and state boards use this decision?

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