Dr . Willem-Jan van Deijck , DVM capabilities now , and pet owners are more willing to do what they can for the health of their pet .” Also , veterinarians today are able to perform more blood lab tests in house , allowing them to rapidly address illnesses .
Costs of the new technology factor in for the veterinary care centers . “ Our goal is to add something new every year ,” comments Dr . van Deijck , “ either a device or new service — to expand our business .” But he adds that “ inflation is huge ,” and costs in the past two years have gone up dramatically , prompting a larger need to balance the benefits with the investment .
Meghan Armstrong , DVM
Concerns and Challenges
Nationally , pet adoptions have increased significantly in recent years , especially during the COVID pandemic when people were forced to work from home . “ With this increased demand for pet healthcare , there has been an increased pressure on staff to see as many patients as possible while maintaining a high standard of care ,” comments Dr . Wolfersteig , whose Driftwood Animal Hospital has been in Daytona Beach for more than 60 years . “ In veterinary medicine , we are currently seeing significant demand for veterinary care , but we also are experiencing a tight labor market for veterinarians and experienced technical staff ,” he notes . “ This has made it difficult to keep up with the demand we are experiencing for pet healthcare . Many times , our appointments have been booked out 3-4 weeks at a time .”
Dr . van Deijck at Pet Street also stresses the value of technicians in today ’ s healthcare profession . “ I tell all my clients that I couldn ’ t do this without my technicians . I push them ( the technicians ) to do as much as possible .”
Workload , stress and burnout have become major issues of concern in the pet healthcare business . Across the nation , there is a significant shortage of veterinarians , estimated to reach 15,000 by 2030 according to a recent report from Animal Health Economics . “ It ’ s not that there are not enough veterinarians graduating ; it ’ s because of burnout ,” says Dr . van Deijck .
And COVID has made things worse . Dr . van Deijck finds that “ since COVID , clients have become more aggressive , not just to veterinarians , but to technicians as well ,” figuring that at least part of this stems from a strong emotional bond that owners have with their pets . He also believes that “ social media is a big factor ,” explaining that a client will readily post negative comments about one unfortunate experience but neglect to mention many positive ones .
“ Compassion fatigue is another factor in veterinarian burnout ,” explains Dr . Wolfersteig , such as having to “ comfort
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