A veterinarian recently made a comment to a friend of mine that he didn’t think the business articles and topics covered in EquiManagement should be going to horse owners. My friend was confused until he remembered that EquiManagement comes in the mail along with EQUUS magazine.
Please rest assured that only AAEP members, AAEP student members and members of the AAEVT receive EquiManagement. It does not go to all subscribers of EQUUS.
This publication was created to serve equine veterinarians of today and tomorrow, and the people who help them run their businesses.
As the veterinary and horse industries are changing and evolving, we at EquiManagement will be keeping a finger on the pulse and an eye on the horizon. We will continue to bring you helpful advice from your peers and tips from experts in the areas of business finances, budgeting, recordkeeping, marketing, digital outreach, legal topics, life/career balance and industry news that can affect how you run your business.
For example, in the Of Note news section in this issue, you will see information about Arizona studying the feasibility of starting a veterinary school in Tucson. The Arizona model borrows from veterinary schools in many foreign countries and would offer an accelerated program of undergraduate study and veterinary classes. The proposed plan would allow students to complete their undergraduate requirements (without receiving a degree) in two years. Students admitted to veterinary school then could complete the professional degree program in three years, with year-around classes. There will be no teaching hospital; instead, students would work at private practices to gain clinical experience.
This is supposed to be a solution to the increasing debt load of graduating veterinary students, but there are those who worry that the fast-track program might add to the current over-supply of veterinarians in the industry today (according to statistics from AVMA).
The study released by AVMA earlier this year noted that the U.S. supply of veterinarians in 2012 was 90,200, and that this supply exceeded the demand for veterinary services by about 11,250 full-time equivalent veterinarians. The AVMA explained that this didn’t mean there were more than 11,000 vets who were out of work, but that 12.5% of veterinarians’ capacity to supply services were going unused. This doesn’t seem to be a problem that will be solved in the near future, and with more Americans graduating from foreign vet schools, the problem will be compounded.
In the Winter issue of EquiManagement, which comes out just before the AAEP Convention, we will have coverage of the AAEP Business Education Workshop, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in early August.
I invite you to connect with me at KBrown@aimmedia.com and let me know your ideas for topics you would like to see covered in 2014.
