Rethinking the Paradigm: Innovative Ways to Attract Specialists to Academia

Presentation Description / Summary: Veterinary academic hospital dynamics have changed dramatically over the past two decades. To be sustainable, the veterinary academic model must be reimagined on many levels with a key emphasis on successful recruiting and retention of specialist clinician educators. Several factors have impacted the ability to successfully recruit and retain specialists in academic medicine: increasing salaries in the private/corporate practice setting, eroding state funding for universities, declining interest in the typical three-in-one role of most faculty positions, corporatization of veterinary specialty medicine, etc. Meanwhile, the vast majority of newly formed veterinary schools are adopting a distributive model which does not include a teaching hospital component. This session will provide background to the course of veterinary academic practice over the past 15-20 years, take a deep dive into the key factors impacting academia currently, and outline potential solutions to keep the veterinary academic practice model sustainable for the future with a focus on bringing more specialist clinicians to academia.

Learner Outcomes: 1. Acquire a better understanding of the history and trajectory of veterinary specialist staffing in academic practice. 2. Understand the very real financial and staffing challenges facing veterinary academia. 3. Discuss potential solutions to keep the veterinary teaching hospital model sustainable for the future.