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In This Issue
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ISVMA Conference
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Veterinary Profession - Statistics
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ISVMA Website to be Developed
Full Report of
the U.S. Department of Labor on Veterinary Profession
ISVMA Current Website
peter@isvma.org
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ISVMA
123rd Annual Convention Approaches
The
ISVMA Annual Convention will be held February 14-16, 2004 at the Sheraton
Chicago Northwest Hotel in Arlington Heights.
An outstanding program has been planned. New for this year is a seminar by
Karyn Gavzer – “TEAMWORK PAYS! Winning
Ways For Successful Practice Teams.” Bring your
key staff members for the best interactive seminar you will ever attend.
Practice what you learn and immediately increase your bottom line by
functioning more efficiently as a finely tuned team!
Another
reason to attend this year’s conference is to express your personal gratitude
and the appreciation of the veterinary profession in Illinois to Eve Larocca who has retired as
the executive director of IMHA after 21 years. A special recognition ceremony
is planned and it would be a wonderful gesture to have an unprecedented
turnout to give Eve the sendoff she deserves.
U.S.
Department of Labor Report
The
U.S.
Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a report that
contains information on the nature of the work, working conditions, training
and other qualifications, job outlook, and average earnings.
Veterinarians
held about 59,000 jobs in 2000. About 28 percent were self-employed in solo
or group practices. Most others were employees of another veterinary
practice. The Federal Government employed about 800 civilian veterinarians,
chiefly in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.
Other employers of veterinarians are State and local governments, colleges of
veterinary medicine, medical schools, research laboratories, animal food
companies, and pharmaceutical companies. A few veterinarians work for zoos;
but most veterinarians caring for zoo animals are private practitioners who
contract with zoos to provide services, usually on a part-time basis.
Employment
of veterinarians is expected to grow
faster than the average for all occupations through the
year 2010. Job openings stemming from the need to replace veterinarians who
retire or otherwise leave the labor force will be almost as numerous as new jobs
resulting from employment growth over the 2000-10 period.
Most
veterinarians practice in animal hospitals or clinics and care primarily for
companion animals. The number of dogs as pets is expected to increase more
slowly during the projection period than in the previous decade. However,
faster growth of the cat population is expected to increase the demand for  feline medicine and veterinary
services, offsetting any reduced demand for veterinary care for dogs. Also,
as non-necessity income generally increases with age, those who own pets may
be more inclined to seek veterinary services. Small increases in the total
number of household pets, coupled with the movement of baby boomers into the
34 to 59 year age group, means that the willingness by pet owners to pay for
veterinary services should continue. In addition, pet owners are becoming
more aware of the availability of advanced care and may increasingly take
advantage of nontraditional veterinary services, such as preventive dental
care, and may more willingly pay for intensive care than in the past.
Finally, new technologies and medical advancements should permit
veterinarians to offer better care to animals.
New
graduates continue to be attracted to small animal medicine because they prefer
to deal with pets and to live and work near highly populated areas. This
situation will not necessarily limit the ability of veterinarians to find
employment or to set up and maintain a practice in a particular area. Rather,
beginning veterinarians may take positions requiring evening or weekend work
to accommodate the extended hours of operation that many practices are
offering. Some veterinarians take salaried positions in retail stores
offering veterinary services. Self-employed veterinarians usually have to
work hard and long to build a sufficient client base.
 The number of jobs for large
animal veterinarians is expected to grow slowly, because productivity gains
in the agricultural production industry mean demand for fewer veterinarians
than before to treat food animals. Nevertheless, job prospects may be better
for veterinarians who specialize in farm animals than for small animal
practitioners, because most veterinary medical college graduates do not have
the desire to work in rural or isolated areas.
Continued
support for public health and food safety, international and national disease
control programs, and biomedical research on human health problems will
contribute to the demand for veterinarians, although such positions are few
in number. However, anticipated budget tightening in the Federal Government
may lead to low funding levels for some programs, limiting job growth.
Veterinarians with training in public health and epidemiology should have the
best opportunities for a career in the Federal Government.
Median
annual earnings of veterinarians were $60,910 in 2000. The middle 50 percent
earned between $47,020 and $84,220. The lowest 10 percent earned less than
$36,670, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $128,720.
According to a survey by the American
Veterinary Medical Association, average starting salaries of 2000 veterinary
medical college graduates varied by type of practice as follows:
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Small animal,
predominant
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$42,918
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Small animal,
exclusive
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42,640
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Large animal,
exclusive
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41,629
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Large animal,
predominant
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41,439
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Mixed animal
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40,358
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Equine
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28,526
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New
veterinary medical college graduates who enter the Federal Government usually
start at $35,808. Beginning salaries were slightly higher in selected areas
where the prevailing local pay level was higher. The average annual salary
for veterinarians in the Federal Government in nonsupervisory, supervisory,
and managerial positions was $ 67,482 in 2001.
ISVMA
Has Designs on New Website
The
newest veterinary graduates have grown up in front of computers. The clients
they hope to attract are likely to have at least one computer in their home –
and chances are, they are wired into the Internet. ISVMA can provide a
valuable resource to this generation of technologically inclined. Staff is
currently working on the draft of an outline for a dynamic, interactive
website design. Clients would be able to search for veterinarians by county
and link directly to the veterinarian’s practice website, if desired. Members
could have access to bill text of important legislation and be able to print
proposed rules changes from the regulatory agencies. Non-members could sign
up on-line to be part of the new ISVMA. Articles on the veterinary profession
and practice updates could be posted. The ISVMA website would become the most
wanted start page for all Illinois
veterinarians!
The
launch of the new website will only happen with directed contributions from the
veterinary profession and from vendors. If you are interested in contributing
to the development of the development of ISVMA.ORG then contact Peter Weber
at (217) 523-VETS (8387).
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