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Academic Food-Supply Veterinarians: Future Demand and Likely Shortages

Correspondence: Address correspondence to Dr. Bruce Prince, College of Business Administration at Kansas State University, Calvin 101, Manhattan, KS 66506 USA. E-mail: jbprince{at}ksu.edu.

The future demand for and potential shortages of food-supply veterinarians have been the subject of much concern. Using the Delphi forecasting method in a three-phase Web-based survey process, a panel of experts identified the trends and issues shaping the demand for and supply of academic food-animal veterinarians, then forecasted the likely future demand and shortages of food-supply veterinarians employed in academic institutions in the United States and Canada through 2016. The results indicate that there will be increasing future demand and persistent shortages of academic food-supply veterinarians unless current trends are countered with targeted, strategic action. The Delphi panel also evaluated the effectiveness of several strategies for reversing current trends and increasing the number of food-supply veterinarians entering into academic careers. Academic food-supply veterinarians are a key link in the system that produces food-supply veterinarians for all sectors (private practice, government service, etc.); shortages in the academic sector will amplify shortages wherever food-supply veterinarians are needed. Even fairly small shortages have significant public-health, food-safety, animal-welfare, and bio-security implications. Recent events demonstrate that in an increasingly interconnected global economic food supply system, national economies and public health are at risk unless an adequate supply of appropriately trained food-supply veterinarians is available to counter a wide variety of threats ranging from animal and zoonotic diseases to bioterrorism.

Key Words: food-supply veterinarians • demand for services • veterinarian shortages • Delphi forecasting

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. B. Prince, K. Gwinner, and D. M. Andrus Applicant Expectations and Decision Factors for Jobs and Careers in Food-Supply Veterinary Medicine J Vet Med Educ, January 1, 2008; 35(1): 14 - 19. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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