In a recent episode of The dvm360 Five we highlighted a story about government efforts to shore up shortages in veterinary service. And we got this thoughtful "think again" response from Dr. Larry Fischer:
Someone needs to visit the less populated areas of the U.S. In Topeka, when I came to establish a practice in 1976 there were 16 DVMs. The population of Topeka was 120,000. We were busy and doing well. Now we have 46 DVMs and the population of Topeka is 120,000. Yes, there is some growth in the suburbs but not enough to demand the influx of DVMs. There is NO SHORTAGE.
Increasingly I find that many veterinary communications should be in two parts: those for large metropolitan areas and those practices in the United States within 50 miles of an ocean, and those in smaller communities.
The dichotomy is this: There may be DVM shortages in the former; I question from my experience if that is true in the latter. The only way to know is to do a poll.
In closing, one has to remember that 50 percent of the population of the United States lives within 50 miles of an ocean. The rest of us are in the "flyover zone." The economies and life styles of each are night and day.
Edited by DVM360, 3 weeks ago
