A Glimpse at Today’s Education for the Future of Veterinary Medicine

PVMA Staff interviewed Dr. Christina “Tina” Dougherty (TD) to offer a perspective of current trends in veterinary education, how education has changed over the last 30 years, and provide a glimpse of the current graduating veterinarian’s mindset.

PVMA: With the explosion of virtual communication, has there been a change in what you teach or is it just a different format?

TD: It’s a little bit of both. Telehealth has certainly become more popular, particularly during the pandemic. The first visit with an animal and its owner is ideally in person, because in truth, pretty much every medical professional would rather be hands-on with patients. But there are benefits to virtual platforms, like being able to offer triage, to determine if a patient can wait or must be seen now, or whether it may even need to be referred to an emergency hospital. It could also be useful as a tool to conduct a follow-up examination, because you don’t necessarily need to have an animal come into your facility that is otherwise ok, and where the owner is simply able to report on the animal’s status (e.g., routine post-operative rechecks). This can be a tool to better the compliance rate of follow-up appointments.

Recent graduates were forced to learn in the virtual world, so they are naturally more comfortable using telemedicine. Education courses on legal issues, wellness, communications, and fiduciary responsibility are effectively taught virtually. One area we have focused on both at Lincoln Memorial and Penn is offering communication skills on a virtual platform. Unfortunately, reading body language on a 3" x 5" screen where you only see the client’s head, and then making a true connection with a new client and/or getting to know a new pet, is extremely difficult, but certainly better than nothing. In general, though, I feel that telemedicine is not the primary way veterinarians want to see patients, but it has its place.

PVMA: Has the information taught over the years changed or is it generally the same, just with different applications?

TD: Science is Science. Of course, there will always be advancements in what needs to be taught, whether in pharmacology, surgery, or medicine, but the basic principles are the same as in years past. However, as more information is discovered and as more innovations are implemented, there is more to be educated on in the three years these students are in their pre-clinical period, as they are getting exposed to the principles of veterinary medicine – and some things are no longer emphasized as much.

Here’s an interesting example of something relatively new. With the evolution of federal directives about antibiotic availability over the past few years, more recent graduates also are more likely to get involved in apiary care, since beekeepers are only able to obtain certain medications from veterinarians. Overall, there are a lot more discussions about the growing scope of feed directives for other species, too, especially for meat and milk withdrawal in the beef and dairy cattle industries, thus securing the safety of our food supply – the vets oversee all that. One final area that has come to the forefront with new graduates in recent years is awareness of the One Health concept, especially since COVID, and the concern of how our profession must work with human medical professionals and others to take care of the health of all life and resources on this planet.

Today there is more emphasis being placed on the development of professional skills, being able to communicate better, perhaps presenting themselves more professionally (which seemed to kind of fall by the wayside for a while, but which is definitely making a comeback).

Additionally, animal owners have evolved over time. In the past 20 years, the idea of “pet parenting” has grown much stronger. So how do veterinarians then relate to the animal owners better? Many schools didn’t have communications programs until the last decade. The AVMA only made it mandatory in the last 6 years or so to have some kind of communications training built into the curriculum to help with the relationships vets must build with clients. It definitely nurtures better relationships with the owners.

PVMA: What advice do you have for a veterinarian who has been in the profession for 30 years, who may be looking for an associate or someone to take over the practice? How can they appreciate the mindset of the new graduate coming out of school who may be looking for those employment opportunities?

TD: Students seem to have a much keener interest in newer trends with practice and treatment options, such as fear-free techniques, integrative medical modalities like acupuncture and laser therapy, rehabilitation, and of course better pain management protocols. Another area of high interest to many new graduates is the opportunity to work with exotics, wildlife, and aquaculture – in other words, they often like the idea of being able to treat species other than traditional companion animals. Introducing some of these initiatives in a practice (if they are not already in progress) can help make a site more appealing to a prospective associate.

There is a great need overall for veterinarians. The equine specialty has been particularly hit hard with veterinary shortages. Many practitioners retiring from equine practice can’t sell their practices because not as many young people are interested in equine work. We have known for years about an overall shortage of vets focusing on livestock, swine, and both beef and dairy, especially with a lot of more seasoned veterinarians in those fields going into retirement.

PVMA: Salaries and debt are significantly different for a 2022 graduate than someone who completed their degree 30 years ago. And there may be a lack of understanding on the part of an experienced professional who doesn’t want to pay the high salary per year that a new associate is asking for, which may be too similar to what the experienced veterinary associate is making after years in the profession.

TD: Absolutely! Tuition 30 years ago was probably less than $10,000 a year, even at a private school, and cheaper still at a state school where there was more subsidizing by the state government. In today’s environment, tuition is in the realm of $50,000 - $70,000 a year at a private school – maybe even more. From a ratio point of view, the cost of tuition has gone up way higher than the compensation which a new graduate coming out of vet school is offered, even though it appears a new vet is being paid tons of money. BUT, relative to their vet school costs AND their debt levels, they are in way worse shape than “we” were 30-ish years ago. And there is a philosophical difference in this generation – these grads don’t want to work nights and weekends, and there is an increase in corporate veterinary practices that can fulfill that desire. They are often so desperate for a practitioner that they will hire new associates with big bonuses and a variety of different perks on top.

PVMA: What are students looking for upon graduation?

TD: (A) From a small animal practice perspective, more bells and whistles in a practice, including digital dental radiography and ultrasonography. Students don’t get enough experience in school with these tools but they know enough about them that