Is today's approach to veterinary education outdated?
By Michael Dicks & Melissa Maddux
This week the 4th in the series of posts by economist Michael Dicks, discussing why he believes the veterinary profession isn't performing to the expectations of those involved and suggesting strategies for improvement.
You can click here to read:
Part 1: Fixing the veterinary profession before it's too late.
Part 2: Inertia in the veterinary profession
Part 3: The market for veterinary services - cracks in the foundation: Upside-down pricing, inadequate benchmarks hinder practice performance
In the fourth post, Dicks discusses increasing student debt. Although based on USA student costs there are still valid questions:
Faced with declining funding, should universities increase the amount charged per student or should it accept more students to share the burden?
Neither option is appealing and coming up with better solutions needs all involved to work together.
"Before we can reimagine the veterinary education system, we must clearly understand what's expected of veterinarians now & in the future."
After removing current restrictions, rules and established norms, we need to focus on the clearly defined primary objective: "creating a veterinarian who is qualified to take on the responsibilities valued by society. Consider the skillsets needed to empower that veterinarian to thrive in his or her new role."
"Two factors are important in developing guidelines for veterinary patient care: household income and the strength of the human-animal bond. A veterinarian in a community with lower incomes or that is less bonded to its animals may need to deliver a spectrum of care that reflects the range of available resources, or lack of resources. More specialized — and higher cost — veterinary services might be expected in a community with higher incomes or a high bond with animals."
Another essential read...