ATHENS, Ala. — In a recent Facebook post by the Rocket City Veterinary Emergency Clinic they stated, "Veterinarian and support staff shortages continue to be an all- around issue in our field. We have found ourselves in an unforeseen situation and are losing another veterinarian. This will require us to temporarily close Rocket City Veterinary Emergency starting September 6, 2024..."
Village Veterinary Clinic Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Glennie Ferniany believes it's all apart of the ongoing staffing shortage many veterinary emergency clinics are facing nationwide. "They couldn't stay open 'til midnight to cover that urgent care because not everyone wants to stay up until midnight or work overnight. So those do tend to be situations where you have high staff turnover and you're dealing with some of the more challenging cases in emergency medicine."
Unfortunately, sometimes the heightened emotions also play a factor in why some vets and veterinarian support staff aren't sticking around. "Whether that is dealing with clients who are unhappy and sometimes behaving badly." Dr. Ferniany said for the most part they've been fortunate enough to be on the opposite end of the shortage. "Some of that is luck, I think. Now relief veterinarians, they are very hard to find. so if we need to take off for whatever reason, it can be hard to fill sometimes."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment of veterinarians is projected to grow 19 percent from 2023 to 2033, much faster than the average for all occupations.