Though many aspects of the world have slowly returned to normalcy post-COVID-19, the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on the workforce remains an urgent concern. This fact is especially true of healthcare — and even more so within specialty and niche healthcare sectors, where long-standing infrastructural and methodological barriers have become exacerbated by pandemic-related upheaval.

Veterinary care is one of many industries exemplifying this issue, with growing patient backlogs, operational discrepancies, and subsequent personnel shortages fueling an ongoing flux. To increase the bandwidth of supply needed for rising demand in this sector, veterinary professionals and policymakers must identify and overhaul deficiencies in several crucial fields; these include, but are not limited to:

Licensing and Education Accessibility

Perhaps COVID-19’s only silver lining has been its highlighting of underlying systemic flaws, which, for many industries, helped create the vulnerabilities ultimately aggravated by the pandemic. The veterinary field is no different, and for veterinary technicians and other specialty industry professionals, its underscored issues begin with a stringent, often expensive path to education and licensing. Such barriers can dissuade suitable young talent from entering the field, compounding ongoing shortages solely on the basis of inequity and needless formality.

Fortunately, in the wake of the pandemic, industry leaders have initiated discussions on possibly consolidating and reforming some of these critical processes, bolstering accessibility for a wider range of candidates. These conversations will remain instrumental as the field works to address its enduring challenges at their root.

Compensation and Well-being Consistency

Similar inconsistencies exist for those actively employed — particularly within pay continuity and general staff well-being. For instance, in addition to the inherent stressors presently impacting all industry professionals, peripheral anxieties exist for support staff and veterinary technicians, who often receive lower wages despite their critical role within clinics. Such discrepancies can quickly stoke dissatisfaction and burnout, leading to the departure of niche personnel — which, in turn, harms the integrity of key internal operations and jeopardizes both care quality and facility viability.

To curb these issues, industry leadership must work with overarching federal bodies and better equip veterinary facilities to enact a consistent, equitable, and empathy-driven internal framework. This process extends to sensible compensation for all departments, ongoing emphasis on staff health, and clear opportunities for career advancement.

Public Awareness and Advocacy

Fundamentally, the field must also strive to boost public awareness of prevailing challenges faced by not only veterinarians — but also veterinary technicians, assistants, and support staff. Increased understanding, in this sense, creates a chance for the sector to demonstrate its timeless value for an often overlooked medical facet; it also creates a more informed and supportive culture, paints a more accurate image of the present veterinary landscape, and increases the likelihood of institutional advocacy and refinement.

The need for such action has been present for some time, as illustrated in a late-2020 assessment of COVID-era veterinary infrastructure:

“The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for the US veterinary [field] to shine. The profession must nurture creativity and leadership to expand its benefit to society … If veterinary leadership does not seize this moment to demonstrate its value, an entire generation of talented and service-minded professionals could turn its back to the profession.”

By committing to progressive reform in the above spaces, the veterinary field can ensure it is upholding this pursuit, breaking a perpetual cycle of inefficiency and unease for practitioners and patients alike.