Dealing with veterinarian shortage takes patience
Every story has two sides, and empathy will carry the day. Those are the themes for the week. One side is the experience many pet guardians have: Getting veterinary care is difficult, and some veterinarians are not accepting new patients. This can be frustrating and even scary because we care so much for our pets.
Understanding the problem is important, which means appreciating the other side of the story.
Our veterinarian, Amanda Mouradian (Chamisa Veterinary Services), said the Santa Fe situation “is so bad.”
With back-of-the-envelope math, she noted since 2019 we’ve seen (in her estimation) almost a 22% drop in small-animal veterinarians, down to 38, and an increase of nearly 40% in pet ownership, mainly because of pets adopted during the pandemic.
On top of that, where in the past animal guardians would usually see a veterinarian once a year (not counting sickness or injury calls), now guardians want to make appointments to be seen as many as four times a year.
Part of that is a significant shift in how we view our animals. We are closer to them and want them to be healthy.
It’s like first-time parents: Every sniffle meant a call to the pediatrician.
The result, and I use Mouradian as an example, is that she was comfortable seeing eight to 10 animals daily; she now schedules up to 20 a day, and that does not include emergency visits.
Michelle Acceves, director of the Santa Fe Human Society’s Spay/ Neuter & Wellness Clinic, echoed many of the same concerns. The shelter has been lucky with general practitioner veterinarians, but it has had trouble staffing the spay/ neuter clinic.
The group coaxed a retired veterinarian back into service.
As for the rest of our area, she said the Algodones animal clinic (one of the go-to clinics for emergency care) is still looking for help, and because of the shortage, a guardian, even in an emergency, can wait hours for their pet to be seen.
Because one of her roles is recruiting veterinarians, Acceves also said the shortage is a national issue.
During and after the pandemic, veterinarians retired and many others changed careers. Adding to the shortage, it is difficult to get into veterinary schools.
It’s a four-year after-college commitment, there are a limited number of school spots, it’s hard work, it is expensive and students can be saddled with debt after graduation.
An added twist to the problem is, in the past, most veterinarians were, in Mouradian’s words, “Male, old and married.”
They could work 60-80 hours a week because they had a spouse managing the kids and the home.
Currently, 80% to 90% of the veterinary school graduates are women.
Because they will also have families to care for, they will probably not put up with 80-hour work weeks.
The upshot of all this is, our city has a veterinary care crisis.
Its causes are systemic; they are no doubt longterm and thus will take time to be solved.
It’s a supply-and-demand problem, a competition with other cities’ problem and a workforce problem.
This is cold comfort if you have a sick dog and can’t get seen for days or even weeks. But what is important to remember is that it’s not the fault of the person who answers the phone at the veterinarian’s office or caused by the veterinarian tech or the veterinarian.
They are overwhelmed with dogs, cats (and other creatures) and doing their best. They are in a helping profession, and they feel guilty when they can’t help.
So what can we do as pet guardians?
First, come from the position that everyone you deal with has positive intent (unless proven otherwise, which is rare)
Second, be patient. They aren’t ignoring your call intentionally; it’s not about you; they are just swamped.
Third, plan. Schedule wellness checks months in advance.
Finally, have an emergency veterinarian number on your phone and know where they are located, in case you have a medical emergency — and know the difference between a threat to life and something that can be seen tomorrow.
The best thing we can do right now is to be thoughtful consumers of medical care — and hope that we get a new emergency veterinary office in Santa Fe.
Be optimistic.
We will get through this.