Addressing the shortage of veterinarians

There is a shortage of food animal veterinarians in the United States. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), only 8.3 percent of its members work with food animals.

Of  the 80,825 members of the AVMA, only 1,103 identify themselves as food animal exclusive; 3,937 as food animal predominant veterinarians.  For the first time in history, there are more female than male veterinarians.

On March 12, the AVMA announced a new initiative to reverse the downward trend:  an educational debt relief program for veterinarians whose job it is to keep food animals healthy and the food supply safe.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a similar federal program, the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program.

Source:  Feedstuffs, March 22, 2010