You’ve been hearing a lot about labor shortages impacting the ag industry. One major area of concern is the shortage of veterinarians.
“Some studies have suggested that by 2030, we’ll be short in this country about 15,000 veterinarians, so it’s not just a shortage of vets in rural America, but veterinarians everywhere,” according to Dr. Willie Reed, the Dean of Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
He says one of Purdue’s plans to increase the number of qualified veterinarians is to increase the number of students accepted into their veterinary college. Currently, the university seats 84 new students into the program each year—out of 1,800 who apply.
“Our plan is to grow it to 120 students. That’s an ambitious goal, but we think we can do it,” he said. “In fact, we are using some facilities that were designed for 50 students when the college first opened in 1959. We’ve inched that number up to 84 and we cannot inch that number up anymore.”
Reed says Purdue would need to make additional modifications to their facilities before they can increase the number of students into their veterinary medicine program.
He says that the David and Bonnie Brunner Veterinary Medical Hospital Complex that opened on Purdue’s campus in April 2022 has already helped to expand the program. The $108 million facility covers 165,000 square feet on 13 acres on campus and is one of the top veterinary hospitals in the U.S.
“It’s just a wonderful facility,” said Reed. “Our students love it, and our clients love it because it allows us to deliver veterinary services in a way that we’ve never been able to. It’s a great resource for the state of Indiana as we produce more Indiana vets. We have a wide range of capabilities that you won’t find in any other veterinary facility in the state.”
Reed says the university is also working to train more students to become veterinary technicians to assist with the busy workload that veterinarians are seeing.
“If veterinary practices can increase their efficiencies, then they can see more patients and more clients. With Purdue, we are very fortunate that we have embedded in our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program, a veterinary technician program. We pride ourselves on training the veterinary team—the veterinarian and the veterinary technician—to work together to solve animal health problems,” said Reed.
In recognition of Reed’s role in growing Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, he was the recipient of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. The honor was bestowed Thursday, February 1 during the IVMA membership meeting that was held as part of the association’s annual Crossroads Veterinary Conference in Noblesville.
Just two days later, Reed was recognized once again. This time, he was given the Distinguished Service Award from Dr. Bernie Engel, Dean of Purdue’s College of Agriculture, during the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fairgrounds in Lafayette on Feb. 3.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s full conversation with Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed, as he also offers his advice to aspiring junior-high and high school students who are seeking a career in veterinary medicine.
