Letter to dvm360: Latest veterinary surveys missing key factors

There's a saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough conduct another survey” (“Good news, bad news for profession's economics,” December 2014). Some of the current surveys appear to be cobbled together by a panel of economists and statisticians with little knowledge of the facts on the ground. The conclusions of these experts are as convoluted and esoteric as to cause the average reader to wonder how pertinent they could possibly be to the problems being addressed. Oversupply of veterinarians and existing practices' reluctance to hire, apparently, were not even considered in the latest survey I read.

I suggest the following three-question quiz be given to every veterinarian who has graduated in the past four years:

(1) Are you currently employed full-time with benefits and regularly scheduled hours?

(2) If yes, what is your yearly salary?

(3) What is the total amount of your student loan debt?

This simple test should go a long way in ascertaining the true economic state of the profession.

Richard H. McCormick, DVM

Miami, Florida