LETTERS TO THE EDITOR EXPANSION OF VETERINARY EDUCATION IN CANADA

In arriving at such a decision obviously some homework must be done and data collected. Questions such as: are there enough In these times of restraint, the veterinary potential students and potential teachers? is profession is undergoing and further proposing there sufficient teaching material? and does unparalleled expansion. Can it be that the ani- society need the graduates? must all be anmal industry and the public are at present swered. To answer the first question is elepoorly served or is it because we anticipate mentary but the last one is a real teaser. To a rosy future? According to D. G. Howell, solve it, we are forced to rely on statistics genpresently both Dean of the Ontario Veterinary erated in foreign countries and assume they College at Guelph and the one man commis- apply here. Thus a committee under the aegis sion appointed to decide where to locate a of the U.S. National Research Council (4) fourth veterinary college in Atlantic Canada, consisting almost exclusively of veterinarians, the former is true. Thus, recently during a recently probed the future of veterinary mediseminar at Saskatoon, statistics were presented cine in the U.S.A. Maybe it would be naive indicating that currently we have a net short- to expect anything but an optimistic picture age of around 800 veterinarians and that by from such a partisan body, but their's was a 1980 the shortage will be more than one euphoric report with predictions of increasing thousand (1). All this is welcome news for our manpower needs and expanding horizons. Apbudding vets especially at a time when present parently, the U.S.A. needs 17.5 veterinarians expansion has caused some to fear for the per 100,000 people and this figure may infuture. With such figures, as well as the pub- crease by 0.6 veterinarians per decade (4). At licity the profession received last year on CBC the present rate of graduation from veterinary TV (2) that veterinarians may earn $70,000, college, they will be well below the estimated no wonder our admission committees are inun- 42,000 or so needed to serve a population of dated by hoards of potential students. But, are 240 x 106 in year 1980. One wonders, howwe experiencing a pipe dream? - apparently ever, how good were their data, after all it yes and apparently no. In the industrial heart- wasn't collected by the only proven method land of our country, last year's graduates were scientific experimentation. Did they consider, treated to the customary choice of jobs. In for example, the change in attitudes towards western Canada, where agriculture is the pets that some cities and most landlords are mainstay economy, the story was different. generating? Did they consider the ever increasSaskatoon graduates almost had Hobson's ing "do it yourself' psychology that must only choice. Not ignoring the Atlantic provinces, increase as the AVMA lobby weakens? Finally where the next school is to be built, the pic- did they consider the inevitable future energy ture is cloudy. But with an 11.6% rate of un- crisis (5) that could completely change the employment, a massive reduction in farm nature of North American agriculture? Perhaps numbers, traditionally an area of sparse live- they did but the points were too trivial to stock population, and an economy heavily make the report. At least we cannot criticize subsidized by the Federal government, their's our American cousins for trying to predict the is not a happy situation (3). Perhaps, then we future. Their report may be fallacious but should ask ourselves - have we made the right hopefully it is not. What about us? Canadians often identify decision? That's what most professors call a good question - they can't answer it and it themselves by pointing out they are not Amerhas two opposing answers! Let's then look at icans. Certainly apart from the Montrealthe answer our leaders elected to give - Windsor strip, our conditions differ strikingly namely, yes we have made the right decision, from the U.S. Can we then rely blindly on we need expansion in existing schools and we possibly misleading U.S. statistics? Surely the answer must be no, especially at a time when need a fourth veterinary college. 30 CAN. VET. JOUR., vol. 17, no. 1, January, 1976 DEAR SIR:

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

many of us doubt that there are really the be saving the taxpayer almost enough money 800 unfilled positions in Canada for veterinar- to launch another Montreal extravaganza! ians that the U.S. statistics lead us to believe. BARRY T. ROUSE What should we do then? Although almost too Associate Professor late, we could persuade our leaders to swallow Department of Veterinary Microbiology their pride, calm their impatience, and reconUniversity of Saskatchewan sider their decision. Let's cool it for a couple Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N OWO of years and try to gather Canadian statistics and opinion from a broader base. Let's poll References 1. Seminar by D. G. Howell at University of the "grass roots" of the profession as well as Saskatchewan October 23, 1975. Figures the leadership. Let's appoint a body chaired based on requirements of 17.5 per 100,000 by a nonveterinarian and consisting of a minus present number of veterinarians. healthy balance of veterinary and nonveter- 2. CBC filmed interview telecast on CBKS, inary opinion to gather the needed statistics. Spring 1975. Committees of one to investigate our's and 3. The total number of cattle and pigs in all of the Atlantic provinces is 367,000 and society's future needs must surely be open to 202,000 respectively. Comparable figures for the charge of nepotism. Let the Committee Saskatchewan alone are 3,156,000 and 798,000 probe the future in terms of the new areasrespectively, and for the total area in Westof employment available, the possible changes ern Canada served by the W.C.V.M. 9,773,000 in the agricultural scene especially the implicattle and 2,973,000 pigs. Between 1966 and cations of fossil fuel depletion, the needs of 1971 the total number of farms in the Atlantic pet owners, the philosophy of encouraging or provinces decreased from 26,393 to 17,072 (35.3%). In Canada as a whole the decrease disparaging "do it yourself," the role of parawas from 430,522 to 366,128 (15%). Figures veterinary personnel and several other matters. obtained from Statistics Canada. The report should also include suggestions for New Horizons for Veterinary Medicine. Naa mechanism to measure retrospectively the 4. tional Academy of Sciences, Washington, overall success of any changes in the size or D.C. 1972. scope of the Canadian veterinary profession. 5. STEINHART, J. S. and C. E. STEINHART. After the report is in let us then decide. You Energy use in the U.S. food system. Science never know, by awaiting its outcome we could 184: 307. 1974.

EDMONTON VETERINARIANS' EMERGENCY CLINIC Dear Sir: Long hours, lack of leisure time and interrupted sleep are among the chief complaints of practising veterinarians and a strong inducement for the formation of a central emergency clinic in any city. The lack of emergency service is one of the strongest criticisms which the public renders against the veterinarian, according to recent surveys done among pet owners. The establishment of an emergency veterinary hospital in its simplest terms is an exercise in co-operation among small animal practitioners in order to provide adequate emergency services for pets during hours of closure of clinics and hospitals, and to provide more leisure time for veterinarians. How can a group of veterinarians form a central emergency veterinary hospital? Any city of sufficient size to generate ten emergency calls per 24 hours when clinics and hospitals are closed, can start such an emergency service and expect it to be viable financially. The fol-

lowing history of the formation of the Edmonton Veterinarians' Emergency Clinic Ltd.I may be of some help to other centres contemplating such a venture. In October 1973 at a regular meeting of the association of small animal practitioners, the concept of a central emergency clinic, completely separate from all existing facilities, was first presented. The idea was not original, but rather the result of conversations with a veterinarian, a member of an existing emergency hospital in the Bay area of San Francisco. Immediate interest was shown, no doubt encouraged by the fact that existing funds accumulated from public rabies clinics might be used to acquire facilities. However, all veterinarians agreed to lend the venture additional funds as required. An ad hoc committee was formed to run a 1Board of Directors: Drs. K. R. Abbey, B. Carpenter, R. Hertling, G. B. Nimmons, J. M. Person, M. E. Rasberry, J. Schiebel and W. E. Skaskow. 31

CAN. VET. JOUR.,

voL. 17, no. 1, January, 1976