Prepare Displaced Workers for In-Demand Veterinary Assistant Roles

Posted by Des Sinkevich on September 9, 2020

Despite the pandemic, the veterinary healthcare industry has been overwhelmed with patients and appointments. While other sectors, from healthcare to manufacturing, have been forced to furlough workers veterinary practices have had to hire more team members to meet their clients’ needs. With a deficit of trained, skilled veterinary assistants, practices are feeling the strain of increased appointments and teams are stretched thin attempting to keep up.

A dearth of talented workers, however, is nothing new for the industry - the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 16% increase in the need for veterinary assistants over the next ten years. Addressing the gap between the need for workers in the field and the lack of those qualified to fill these roles is crucial to supporting the growth of private and corporate veterinary practices, as well as bolstering a slowly stagnating economy.

Often, the role a veterinary assistant plays on a veterinary healthcare team is overlooked in favor of focusing on certified veterinary technicians and practice managers. But each member of the veterinary healthcare team plays a pivotal role in maintaining a well-run office that emphasizes quality care. The veterinary assistant is a jack of all trades, often the first face pet owners see in the office and are responsible for a variety of tasks that ensure the veterinarian and veterinary technicians can focus on patient care.

As curbside and telemedicine appointments become the norm for both human and animal healthcare, efficient and talented veterinary assistants will be in higher demand than ever before. From the beginning of July through the last week of August, daily average practice revenue increased 14% versus revenue in 2019. More Americans have adopted new pets during quarantine, while veteran pet owners are spending more time at home, noticing more minute behaviors of their animals.

While veterinary medicine has seen an influx of revenue and patients, other sectors have continued to lose money, forcing them to furlough employees to avert financial disaster. According to the recently released jobs report, the United States added 1.4 million jobs in August, down from 1.7 million in July. Further, unemployment hovered at 8.4% - better than previous months, but still higher than the peak joblessness in past recessions. It makes sense, then, to pair displaced workers with much-needed open roles in veterinary clinics. But what happens when unemployed workers don’t meet the minimum education requirement of a high school diploma or its equivalent?