BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR PRACTICE
profession because we want to—we leave because we have no other choice!” Equine veterinarians often work very hard to con-
tinue to work in the traditional cultural mores even as they become pregnant and have a young family depending on them. They often feel diminished by their inability to be perfect in all their roles simul- taneously. This is stressful and may lead to de- pression. The exhaustion of early motherhood is undoubtedly an additional factor in these veterinar- ians’ struggle. One young equine veterinarian described that
“Being a horse doctor was always my dream since I was 7 years old.” After her internship, which she described as an amazing experience, she began equine practice at a 6-doctor firm. Although the practice seemed progressive in its medicine, the cul- ture was not family friendly. Neither the staff nor other associates had children, and there was little teamwork. “Every doctor was a silo, never sharing cases or treatments, or helping each other.” When this veterinarian became pregnant, she felt she needed to prove that she could do the work without accommodations because of the culture. She worked until the day she delivered, including emer- gencies. As her first child grew, she felt torn by the demands of her job, saying, “I felt I had to choose between the two and couldn’t have both. I felt like I wasn’t doing a good job in either role.” She re- cently began a full-time job at a companion animal practice working 36 hours a week with no emer- gency on-call hours. Her compensation is 50% more than her previous equine position for two thirds as many hours. This talented veterinarian stated, “I feel guilty, embarrassed, and like I don’t belong in the equine vet tribe anymore. I took a spot at a prestigious practice for my internship, and now I’m not using that training. I used to judge people for leaving because they couldn’t hack it. And now that’s me.” Dr. Brittany Breidenbach describes the loss of veterinarians from the equine side as “a huge crisis.” After her internship, she felt exceptionally qualified to start as an associate at a busy equine practice. She was 5 months’ pregnant when she was hired for her first position post internship and found the practice owners to be very supportive and accommo- dating. As so many amazing women do, Dr. Bre- idenbach worked until her delivery, doing a full schedule of dentals the day before she gave birth to her son. The birth was physically traumatic, and she suffered femoral nerve paralysis which affected her ability to walk and balance for nearly 6 months. Overwhelmed by stress and anxiety, the doctor felt enormous pressure “to be exactly the same and not let everyone down.” When she returned to work after 8 weeks, still not entirely healed, she went right back into the on-call schedule despite her ex- haustion and physical deficits, as she felt the need to prove her worth. In time, life normalized and she
180 2020 Vol. 66 AAEP PROCEEDINGS
began talking with the owners about partnership in the practice. But when she and her husband de- cided to have a second child, the physicality of the profession began to weigh on her when she was injured tubing a choked horse while pregnant. Several weeks ago, Dr. Breidenbach started work at a companion animal hospital where she earns the same compensation for half the hours, with no emer- gency duty, and a regular schedule of hours. She laments, “I must accept being the stereotype, but I’m dying inside from the loss of my identity. I dreamed of being a horse vet since I was four years old, and I have to tell myself that I’m still me even though I’m not an equine practitioner. It is heartbreaking.”
4. Conclusion
These stories highlight the fact that even the “best in class” are affected by our industry’s longstanding workplace traditions and outdated cultural more
´s.
In 2018, theAVMAreports that there were 3,142 US veterinary school graduates and that 42 (1.3%) took an equine job at graduation. Another 146 entered equine internships.4 Many AAEP members are over the age of 50 years, and many are approaching retirement. Recent numbers of jobs on the AAEP Career Center have well exceeded 200. Our profes- sion cannot continue to stay strong into the coming decades with the loss of exceptional talent that we are now experiencing. New paradigms must evolve that allow our changing workforce to have the flex- ibility and support that they need while still keeping practices financially healthy. We must all contrib- ute to bringing about the changes that will keep the equine veterinary industry viable for the future.
Acknowledgments
Declaration of Ethics The Author has adhered to the Principles of Veteri- nary Medical Ethics of the AVMA.
Conflict of Interest The Author has no conflicts of interest.
References and Footnote
1. American Association of Equine Practitioners. 2016 AVMA AAEP Equine Economic Survey. Available from: https://
aaep.org/sites/default/files/Documents/2019%20FINAL_AMVA_ AAEP_Equine_Report.pdf. Accessed March 7, 2020.
2. Hansen C. The market for veterinarians. AVMA Economic Summit, Rosemont, IL, October 22, 2019.
3. Larkin M. Salaries, debt for new graduates continue to in- crease. November 28, 2018. Available from: https://
www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/181215f.aspx. Accessed March 11, 2020.
4. Bain B, Salois M. Employment, starting salaries, and educa- tional indebtedness of year 2018 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2019;254:1061–1066.
Nick Altwies, AAEP Director of Membership, personal com- munication, November 1, 2019.
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