The province’s decision to fund a major expansion of the U of Calgary’s vet school is a major step forward, but not a quick fix for the shortage of large-animal vets, says the outgoing president of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association.
Addressing the shortage was a key goal for Pat Burrage, who spent most of his three-decade-plus career in small rural practices. But it’s not solely a matter of boosting the number of graduates from the vet school, he wrote in a message to association members.
“The solutions to the current professional workforce shortage are very complex,” he wrote before adding, “it wasn’t easy getting to this point nor will it be easy in the months and years ahead, but there is a plan.”
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The new funding is a “positive step forward for our profession, for all animal owners and for Alberta,” he added.
