In recent months, the topic at the forefront of everyone’s minds is the skills shortage facing the Australian and New Zealand veterinary profession. The shortage of veterinarians has been exacerbated in the past year by reported increases in pet-ownership. With the recent creation of the Sustainable Practice Committee, AVBC is well placed to help tackle may of the contributing issues.
As part of our contribution to the discussion, AVBC’s Executive Director, Dr Julie Strous will be on the expert panel for AVA’s upcoming Workforce Shortage Forum on Thursday 6 May at 7-9pm (AEST). This forum will workshop potential short- and long-term solutions to veterinary workforce contraction and attrition. Please forward your questions ahead of the forum to members@ava.com.au, with the subject: “Questions for Workforce Shortage Forum.” Please submit questions by COB Wednesday 5 May. To find out more and register, click here.
The International Veterinary Regulators Network is also hosting a session on 7 June on how to leverage veterinary teams in a time of workforce shortage. The session will focus on the better utilisation of veterinary nurses and paraprofessionals. Registrations open in May and details will be provided soon.
Information gathering is essential to help us understand the issues at hand, and so we would also like to invite you to participate in two surveys that are currently active:
- The Lincoln Institute’s Veterinary Sustainability Global Survey 2021
- The AVA’s Workforce Survey 2021
If you have any resources about this topic that you would like to share with AVBC stakeholders, please email comms@avbc.asn.au