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Vets harder to find in rural S.D.
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By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter
| 11/28/2008 |
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As baby boomers retire from the workforce, most people who observe the South Dakota economy realize that profound changes will occur in the state, including a tighter supply supply of workers in some professions.
Veterinarians fall into the shortfall category for professionals, especially in more rural areas of the state, according to the S.D. Department of Labor.
State officials report that veterinarians -- especially large-animal vets who treat livestock -- are becoming more and more difficult to find in communities away from the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas.
Dr. Anna Ouverson, a Madison veterinarian, said that it's harder to find a recent graduate of veterinarian who prefers setting up a large-animal practice in rural South Dakota. The best recruits are often South Dakota natives who study veterinary science and earn their degree.
The tight supply of new vets means that some older veterinarians are having trouble finding the professionals who can take over their practices. Ouverson said some vet clinics in rural South Dakota towns have simply closed their doors, including the clinic in Arlington. She added that large-animal vets are in "critical short supply."
"You have to understand that generally, the population of South Dakota vets is aging," Ouverson said. "As the older veterinarians retire, they're having a harder time finding the young people who will take over for them."
The state Labor Department reports that South Dakota had 141 veterinarian offices operating in early 2008, according to a quarterly census of employment and wages. Those offices employed 845 individuals, but a large percentage of the vet clinics were located in either Sioux Falls or Rapid City. The two cities provide bases of operation for 39 percent of South Dakota veterinary clinics which are a group of businesses that employ 42 percent of the state's veterinary science-related workers.
The national demand for veterinarians complicates the situation because the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that the demand for vets across the United States could increase up to 14 percent by 2016. In South Dakota, labor projections indicate that the employment of veterinarians in the state will need to increase by 32 percent from 2006 to 2016, growing from 235 individuals to 310.
Twenty-eight veterinary schools across the nation graduate about 2,500 vets annually, a number that has remained constant for several decades, according to the S.D. Labor Department. Labor officials report that the graduate numbers have not increased due to the fact that U.S. veterinary colleges have not increased their student space during the same time period.
Another factor in the shrinking supply of large-animal vets centers on the physical demands of the occupation because more and more young veterinarians are female. Large-animal veterinarians in South Dakota face long work hours, difficult physical labor and long periods of travel between work sites. Those demands are challenging to anyone interested in balancing work and family.
Many veterinary students also need to pay off large amounts of college-related debt after graduation. In general, small-animal veterinary practices are more economically lucrative than large-animal clinics.
Ouverson said the state has a program in place with Iowa State University in which groups of about 10 vet students can receive financial assistance for their education. According to Ouverson, the state will pay part of the graduate's college tuition for each year he or she practices in rural South Dakota after earning a degree. Iowa State is currently the sole educational institution that has such a vet program and agreement with South Dakota. South Dakota State University operates a pre-veterinary medicine program in Brookings.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2010
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