Perceptions of veterinarians regarding privatization of veterinary services delivery in Ghana and Jamaica

There are on-going reforms in the delivery of veterinary services in many developing countries, with privatization of certain veterinary activities as one of the approaches. In Jamaica, with the support of veterinarians, clinical aspects of veterinary services were privatized in 1992. In contrast, Ghanaian veterinarians are generally wary of the government's on-going privatization process. The objective of this study was to find out if perceptions of the veterinarians from these two countries on certain issues of privatization were sufficiently different to explain the willingness or reluctance to go into private practice.

The response proportions for predominantly self-administered questionnaires were 83% (121/145) and 92% (35/38) for Ghana and Jamaica, respectively. There was a very good (92%) agreement in the perceptions of veterinarians in Ghana and Jamaica on a battery of 24 responses pertaining to privatization of veterinary services. Generally, the perceptions of the veterinarians in Ghana and Jamaica were similar even though the predominant delivery systems for animal health services were different. Therefore, reasons other than those examined in this study may explain the differences in willingness to go into private practice. The need to account for these other reasons is discussed.     

Promotion of Private Veterinary Practice in Ghana: Perceptions of Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians

A study was designed to identify factors perceived by veterinarians and veterinary technicians as likely to promote private veterinary practice in Ghana. The participatory appraisal approach was used. The response rates were 88% (n = 90), 100% (n = 9) and 86% (n = 200) for government field veterinarians, private veterinarians and government veterinary technicians, respectively. Significant proportions of government field veterinarians (67%, n = 79), and veterinary technicians (64%, n = 167) were willing to go into private practice if the necessary push was given. Factors perceived as likely to motivate them to go into private practice included availability of capital to cover start-up costs; provision of a vehicle; prospect of higher income; availability of loans with low interest rates; availability of credit facilities from suppliers; stable macroeconomic environment with low interest and inflation rates; high pet, poultry and livestock populations at locations earmarked for private practice; leasing of vacant government premises for use as clinic and for accommodation; and enforcement of legislation on private practice, especially that against moonlighting by government veterinarians and technicians. These should be considered and used in the promotion of private veterinary practice in Ghana.     

Perceived constraints to private veterinary practice in India

We used an exploratory study in two districts of West Bengal State, India to find out the constraints of private veterinary practice. Privatization of veterinary services is being seen as an alternative to government-sponsored veterinary services to livestock. In December 2000 to February 2001, 50 private veterinary practitioners were interviewed from the districts. Their opinion was that weak regulations about competition from illegal practitioners and the use of veterinary drugs, competition by animal-health technicians (who are likely to charge less than veterinarians), absence of efficient diagnostic-laboratory support, and lack of commercial livestock farming were the main constraints faced.     

Perceptions of Livestock Owners of Private Veterinary Practice in Ghana

Using the participatory appraisal approach, a study was designed to assess the perceptions of livestock owners on private delivery of veterinary services in two districts in the major livestock-producing area in Ghana. A significant proportion (74%, n = 180) were willing to patronize locally established veterinary practices. However, the respondents emphasized that the fees charged had to be reasonable and affordable. Factors identified as likely to discourage the use of the private provider included the inability of the provider to speak the local language; non-availability of credit facilities for services rendered by the provider; unreliability of personnel; poor interpersonal skills; lack of technical know-how; inability of the provider to make house calls or farm visits; and poor personal and work ethics. These findings provide information for prospective private veterinarians on the expectations of their clients and could be used in the preparation of veterinarians for private practice.     

Privatization of Veterinary Services in Developing Countries: A Review

Increasing fiscal constraints on the government, a lackadaisical performance by public sector animal health and breeding services and pressure from donor partners have prompted the governments of various developing countries to rethink the role of the public sector in the provision of veterinary services. Various countries have started to implement, or have already implemented, privatization of some veterinary services. The results are mixed. It is established that private provision alone is not optimal, and a blend of private and public sector veterinary services is required to utilize the virtues of both.The privatization process has also begun in India. Certain state governments in India are pursuing a cost recovery approach and are encouraging private practitioners to cope with the financial constraints and to deliver broad and effective animal health and breeding services. This paper considers the global aspects of the privatization of veterinary services as well as the scenario in India, so as to gain an insight into the very complex and debatable issue of privatization of veterinary services.     

Profile of Veterinarians and Veterinary Practice in Ghana

This paper presents a profile of veterinary practice and veterinarians in Ghana, as assessed through secondary data and a questionnaire. In all, 123 veterinarians responded, giving a response rate of 85% (123/145). Analysis of the secondary data from 1986–95 revealed that Veterinary Livestock Units (VLU) per veterinarian ranged from 10000 to 16000 and VLU per technical support staff ranged from 2000 to 3000. However, the distribution of the staff within the country was poor, resulting in very high ratios for the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Volta Regions and low ratios for Central, Ashanti and Eastern Regions. The bulk of the respondents (78%) had 15 or fewer years of experience, with the overall mean being 12 years. The most common animal species handled were small ruminants and the most common activities were prevention/treatment of worms, surgery and giving advice. Lack of transport ranked highest among the constraints to veterinary work. The perceived determinants of effective and efficient service delivery were the availability and efficiency of means of transport, adequacy of logistics, remuneration for staff in rural posts and farmer education in husbandry practices. The respondents perceived poor management techniques of farmers and lack of credit as major factors hindering livestock production in Ghana. The implications of these and other findings are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Attitudes, procedures, and delivery of behavior services by veterinarians in small animal practice

OBJECTIVE: To survey veterinarians in small animal practice concerning their attitudes about delivery of behavior services, frequency of common behavior problems, manner in which services were provided, confidence in their clinical ability to treat these behavior problems, frequency of use of pharmacologic intervention, and number of dogs and cats euthanatized specifically because of behavior problems. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: Random sample of veterinarians in small animal practice in the United States. PROCEDURE: A self-administered mail survey was sent to a random sample of 2,000 veterinarians. Results were tabulated and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: It was estimated that approximately 224,000 dogs and cats were euthanatized annually in small animal veterinary practices in the United States because of behavior problems. Although veterinarians seemed unwilling to euthanatize animals for behavior problems solely on the basis of a client's request, many veterinarians did not routinely inquire about animal behavior and often were not confident in their clinical skills to treat behavior problems. Female veterinarians tended to be more proactive in addressing behavior problems and to have more positive attitudes than male veterinarians about the importance of animal behavior. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Efforts are needed to increase the number of veterinarians who systematically incorporate inquiries about animal behavior into routine clinical practice and to build the confidence of veterinarians for diagnosing and treating animal behavior problems.     

Use of participatory epidemiology to compare the clinical veterinary knowledge of pastoralists and veterinarians in East Africa

Because of severe resource and logistical constraints in large areas of Africa, disease surveillance systems need to maximize the use of information provided by livestock keepers and make correct interpretations of indigenous livestock knowledge. This paper describes the use of participatory epidemiology (PE) to compare the names, clinical signs and epidemiological features of cattle diseases as perceived by pastoralists and veterinarians. Using results from two previous studies with pastoralists in southern Sudan and Kenya, provisional translations of local disease names into modern veterinary terminology were used to develop a matrix scoring method for use with veterinarians. Matrix scoring data from pastoralists and veterinarians were then compared using simple visual comparison of summarized matrices, hierarchical cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. The results showed good agreement between pastoralists' and veterinarians' disease names and diagnostic criteria. The matrix scoring method was easy to use and appropriate for use in under-resourced areas with minimal professional support or laboratory services. Matrix scoring could be used to assist livestock disease surveillance workers to design surveillance systems that make better use of pastoralist's indigenous knowledge and correctly interpret local disease names. The method should be combined with conventional veterinary investigation methods where feasible.     

Providing animal health services to the poor in Northern Ghana: rethinking the role of community animal health workers?

The Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) system has been promoted as an alternative solution to providing animal health services in marginal areas. Yet, access to quality animal health services still remains a fundamental problem for livestock dependent communities. This paper uses the concepts of accessibility, affordability, and transaction costs to examine the perceptions of livestock keepers about the various animal health service providers. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 120 livestock-keeping households in the Tolon-Kumbungu and Savelugu-Nanton districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. A multinomial logit model was used to determine the factors that influence households’ choice of alternative animal health service providers. The results show that the government para-vets are the most preferred type of animal health service providers while CAHWs are the least preferred. Reasons for this observation include high transaction costs and low performance resulting from limited training. In areas with few or no government para-vets, farmers have resorted to self-treatment or to selling sick animals for consumption, which has undesirable health implications. These practices also result in significant financial losses for farmers. This paper finds that the CAHWs’ system is insufficient for providing quality animal health services to the rural poor in marginal areas. Therefore, market-smart alternative solutions requiring strong public sector engagement to support livestock farmers in marginal areas and setting minimum training standards for animal health service providers merit policy consideration.     

Performance of Community-based Animal Health Workers in the Delivery of Livestock Health Services

Since the liberalization of animal health services in Kenya in the early 1990s, community-based animal health workers (CBAHWs) have become an important alternative animal health delivery channel in the country's marginal areas. However, professional veterinary practitioners have questioned the effectiveness of CBAHW programmes in animal health service delivery in Kenya. This is partly due to lack of information about their performance and partly because CBAHW programmes were implemented before the necessary changes in the existing legal, policy and institutional frameworks had been made. This study was designed to provide such information. In this regard, the productivity of livestock herds among farmers who utilized the services of CBAHWs was compared to that of livestock belonging to farmers who utilized the services of professional veterinarians. The annual live births per mature female (birth ratio) and the proportion of young stock to mature females (breeding index) was computed over a period of 3 years in cattle and goat herds under care of CBAHWs and professional veterinarians. The birth ratios in cattle and goats under CBAHWs were not significantly different from those under the care of professional veterinarians (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the breeding index of cattle and goats under the two categories was not statistically different. Besides the CBAHWs providing clinical services, they also created positive externalities through participatory learning enjoyed by neighbouring livestock keepers, who later dispensed with their services. Policy attention is therefore needed to enhance the participation of CBAHWs in animal health service delivery and to appropriately integrate their activities into the existing formal animal health delivery system in Kenya. Interventions that improve the professional development of these workers, with emphasis on areas pertaining to care of young stock, would not only promote the sustainability of CBAHW programmes but would also improve livestock productivity in the country's marginal areas.     

Length of veterinary working life

Objective To estimate the time veterinary graduates spend in private practice and in veterinary work generally, and to determine what factors influence this.
Methods Questionnaires were completed in the sixth year after graduation by 119 veterinarians who had participated in this longitudinal study since starting the veterinary course, and the data were analysed using the SAS System for Windows.
Results Of those who started the veterinary course, 90% graduated, and 96% of these then entered private practice. Five years later 94% (73% in full-time equivalents) were working as veterinarians, and 64% (50% in full-time equivalents) were still in private practice in Australia. Hours, attitudes of principals and clients, and inadequate rewards were the main reasons for leaving private practice. The likelihood of being still in private practice was greater for those who had had significant responsibility for animals before they entered the course, but it was not related to geographical origin (city vs country), age at entry or gender. Women were, however, more likely than men to be working part time as veterinarians. Predictions of veterinary working life were not affected by geographical origin or by previous experience with animals or on farms, but men expected to work longer than women.
Conclusion The average veterinary career, estimated by veterinarians who graduated 5 years earlier, is 24 years in fulltime equivalents for men, and 16 years for women. Almost all (94%, representing 73% in full-time equivalents) still work as veterinarians after 5 years, most of them (76%, representing 59% in full-time equivalents) in private practice. The likelihood of remaining in private practice is related to previous responsibility for animals.     

Perceived importance and integration of the human-animal bond in private veterinary practice

OBJECTIVE: To determine perceptions of the human-animal bond (HAB) among veterinarians in private practice and evaluate how these veterinarians incorporate the HAB in their practices. DESIGN: Survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: 1,602 veterinarians in private practice in Washington state. PROCEDURE: Participants were contacted and asked to complete a survey. RESULTS: Response rate was 26% (415/1,602). Most respondents agreed that veterinarians will be more successful if they recognize and facilitate the HAB, that facilitating the HAB was important to their practices, that they actively evaluated the degree of bonding between clients and their animals, and that the bonding between a client and his or her animal affected the way they practiced medicine. However, > 50% of respondents did not train veterinary technicians and front office staff members in the HAB or encourage veterinary technicians or front office staff members to learn about the HAB. Fifty-one percent of respondents offered few or no HAB resources to clients. When asked to quantify the importance of 10 nontechnical skills associated with private veterinary practice, respondents ranked communication skills, ethical reasoning, and business management first, second, and third; the HAB was ranked fifth. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that for veterinarians in private practice in Washington state, there is a dichotomy between how important they consider the HAB to be in their practice and the degree to which they facilitate the HAB with regard to communication, training, and client resources. More research on the HAB is necessary to better understand what the HAB encompasses and its implications for private practitioners.     

Clients’ perceptions of delivery of veterinary services in peri-urban Ghana

A study was designed aimed at comparing the assessment of performance of animal health care delivery systems in peri-urban Ghana by livestock and poultry keepers in 4 locations. 889 respondents were interviewed using a questionnaire. A higher proportion of respondents in Location 1 met their needs for animal health by themselves, while in Location 3 these needs were met mainly by veterinarians. The mean distances to veterinary clinics, veterinary technicians or to purchase medicine were significantly higher in Location 1. Higher proportions in 3 locations perceived effectiveness of service delivery to be good. However, equity was poor in all 4 locations. Higher proportions in Locations 2, 3 and 4 said services were unaffordable. Client needs were perceived to have been met by higher proportions in Locations 3 and 4 but not in Locations 1 and 2. Staff attitude and technical competence were good in all 4 locations. The study concluded that the differences reported in the quality of service indicators in the 4 locations were not critical enough to recommend location-specific delivery systems.     

New Zealand veterinarians--demography, remuneration and vacancies

AIMS: To determine levels of remuneration for veterinarians in New Zealand, to examine associations between putative explanatory factors and gross annual remuneration, and to quantify the type and prevalence of vacant positions. METHODS: A postal survey to 486 identifiable clinical practices and 53 identifiable organisations that employ veterinarians was used to gather data for the 2-month period of December 2001 to January 2002. RESULTS: Data were produced for 972 veterinarians (367 females and 605 males) working in 325 clinical practices, and 299 veterinarians (88 females and 211 males) employed by 32 organisations. Median levels of gross annual remuneration for assistants, partners/ shareholders and sole owners working >/=5 days per week in clinical practice were NZ$60,000, $90,000 and $75,000, respectively, and for veterinarians in organisations, irrespective of number of days per week worked, was $68,000. Pay rates increased linearly as the number of years since graduation increased for all clinicians and with increasing age for veterinarians in organisations. Full-time assistants were likely to be paid more if the practice was rural rather than urban in location, if they were males, and if administrative duties were part of the job. The same factors, except for sex, were significant for remuneration for owners and partners/shareholders working full-time. Their remuneration tended to be higher if the practice was involved with either dairy or deer work but decreased as the number of animal species serviced increased and if they worked >5 days per week. Part-time female veterinarians were generally paid more than male counterparts. Male veterinarians working in organisations were generally paid about 8% more than their female colleagues. Veterinarians in organisations involved with administration at a head office were generally better paid than those without administrative duties. Pay rates were, on the whole, better in private organisations than in universities, state-owned enterprises, government-operated and other types of organisations About 50% of all services provided by clinical practices were directed to small animals, 27% to dairy cattle and about 10%, 6% and 3% to horses, sheep and beef cattle, and deer, respectively. About 31% of veterinarians worked solely with small animals but most had multiple species workloads. Of the 325 respondent practices, 98 reported vacancies for 119 veterinarians, of which 79 were full-time, 27 part-time and 12 locum positions. Of the 32 respondent organisations, seven reported vacancies for 16 mostly full-time positions. Farmer owned co-operative practices were less likely than privately owned practices to have full-time vacant positions. The only factor identified as influencing part-time vacancies in clinical practices was hourly pay rate. Vacancies occurred randomly across practices, irrespective of location, and there was no indication of greater demand for services for any particular species. The odds of a vacancy in organisations was lower for state-owned enterprises and private organisations than for government organisations (odds ratios (OR)=0.14 and 0.18, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Relatively more females than males worked part-time and 23% of all assistants in clinical practice worked part-time. Sex made a significant difference to gross remuneration for full-time assistants in clinical practice and for veterinarians employed by private or government organisations. In both situations, males were generally better paid than females. Female part-time assistants and partners/shareholders or sole owners in clinical practice were generally better rewarded than their male counterparts. Sex had no effect on remuneration levels for owners/ partners working full-time in clinical practices. The study confirmed a serious shortage of veterinarians in New Zealand. The probability of a vacancy occurring in farmer owned co-operative ('club') practices was lower than in private practices. Vacancies were distributed randomly among rural, urban and rural/urban practices with no evidence of rural practices being more severely affected than urban or rural/urban practices.     

A survey of farmers'' attitudes to services provided by consulting veterinarians to the Western Australian sheep industry

A postal survey was conducted of 80 sheep farmers in the Kojonup and Esperance districts of Western Australia to establish what they wanted from a veterinary service. Twenty five of the farmers surveyed used a sheep consultant, 25 did not, and 30 were interested in employing one. Farmers were asked questions about themselves and their attitudes to private veterinarians who provide specialist services to sheep farmers. Data reported here showed that farmers wanted a veterinarian who lived in the district, was well trained in sheep management and production, was enthusiastic and had good communication skills. The service provided should be whole-farm and available to members of the consultant's group only. Regular newsletters and field days were necessary, but the provision of contract services, such as mulesing, lamb-marking, drenching, pregnancy testing and sheep classing, and 'fire-brigade' services for sick animals, were not rated as important. Most farmers were unwilling or unable to give a dollar value for the likely benefits of a consultancy service. Non-financial benefits included keeping farmers up to date with new technical developments and information. The survey also showed that a veterinarian specialising in services to sheep farmers could be confident of employment.     

Factors affecting Canadian veterinarians' use of analgesics when dehorning beef and dairy calves

Data collected through a national, randomized mail survey (response rate 50%) were used to identify reasons why veterinarians were likely (i) to use analgesic drugs when dehorning calves, and (ii) to perceive dehorning without analgesia as very painful. Logistic regression analysis indicated that veterinarians were more likely to be analgesic users the more they perceived that dehorning without analgesia was painful (OR = 1.7, P < 0.001). Other positive influences were if the veterinarian worked in British Columbia or Alberta (OR = 5.9, P = 0.005), and if they were primarily in dairy practice (OR = 3.7, P = 0.012) rather than beef practice. This effect of dairy practice was negated if the veterinarian also perceived that owners were unwilling to pay for analgesia (interaction term: OR = 0.25, P = 0.038). Veterinarians were also less likely to perceive dehorning without analgesia as very painful if they perceived that owners were unwilling to pay (OR = 0.58, P = 0.029). However, this effect on pain perception was offset by concern for personal safety (OR = 2.7, P = 0.015). The results are consistent with the relatively high level of outreach about animal welfare among farmers and veterinarians in the western provinces. The results confirm that many veterinarians' approach to pain management for dehorning is influenced considerably by concern about cost. However, pain management for dehorning is not expensive and there is unequivocal evidence that dehorning calves without pain management causes significant distress. Continuing education of veterinarians should help to increase analgesic usage.     

The marketing of herd health and production management services on Dutch dairy farms: perceptions of dairy farmers and their veterinary surgeons

A questionnaire-based survey on veterinary herd health and production management services was conducted on 194 specialist dairy veterinarians and 466 dairy farmers. The farmers were randomly selected from greater than 6,000 farmer clients of the surveyed veterinarians. This paper reports these survey findings and the findings of an earlier survey conducted among the veterinarians. The survey included questions on the attributes of the service itself, the practitioners delivering the service, reasons for participation and the expected future of herd health and production management services. Reasons farmers participated in herd health and production management programmes included; access to routine screening of their herd; increasing profits; and receiving regular veterinary advice or solutions to remedy existing problems. Advantages of participation named included: good management support; higher profits; structural solutions to problems; and being better informed. Differences between farming styles were observed, pointing to the different needs and goals of farming styles. Farmers cited high costs and the time investment required as major disadvantages. The proportion of farmers citing these reasons was lower than expected by the veterinarians. In the future, preventive healthcare will be the main reason of farmers to participate. Farmers who are not using the service can potentially be encouraged to engage the services after gaining increased insight into the herd health and management service structure, the planning of activities, the cost-benefit of the service, veterinary surgeons being more co-operative with other farm advisors and veterinarians being more willing to pay attention to quality issues on the dairy farm.     

Response of a veterinary college to career development needs identified in the KPMG LLP study and the executive summary of the Brakke study: a combined MBA/DVM program, business certificate program, and curricular modifications

In the present market, veterinarians with a strong background in career development, practice management, and business skills have a clear advantage in achieving financial success. Although there is ample evidence that the scientific and clinical skills of veterinary college graduates are high, there are also data that suggest that additional capabilities in the business realm may promote greater economic success. As noted in the KPMG executive summary, the field of veterinary medicine must make changes in its "current business practices and attitudes" to be successful in the future. Furthermore, the KPMG study found that 36% of industry employers reported that some jobs within their companies had specific job requirements that were not met by a veterinarian with only a veterinary medical degree. The areas of additional training most often cited included business, administration, personnel management, sales and marketing, and financial skills. Yet, Lewis and Klausner found that veterinarians reported challenges in the business realm, such as "how business works and how business goals are translated into action. This challenge held true for veterinarians in industry, academia, government, and private practice." The present gender trends in the field of veterinary medicine provide additional impetus to make career development and business skills training more prevalent. Presently, women comprise >65% of the veterinary student population and approximately 45% of all practicing veterinarians. In some areas of practice, the rate is much higher. For example, in 2002, women comprised 48.2% of all small animal exclusive private practitioners. Unfortunately, the KPMG study found that female veterinarians in private practice report lower self-evaluation of business management and financial skills, compared with their male cohorts. Female veterinarians in nonprivate practice report lower self-evaluation in communication, personnel management, business management, and marketing skills than that reported by males. As a result of these pressing needs, CSU CVMBS has undertaken a major initiative to improve the veterinary practice management and business skills training of veterinary students by offering a variety of options to gain this knowledge: a combined MBA/DVM degree program, a Business Certificate Program for Health Professions, and core curriculum courses. In this way, students can select the amount of focus they want to place on career development and business skills as they earn their DVM degree, to best ensure that they become successful veterinarians.     

New Zealand veterinarians — demography,remuneration and vacancies

AIMS: To determine levels of remuneration for veterinarians in New Zealand, to examine associations between putative explanatory factors and gross annual remuneration, and to quantify the type and prevalence of vacant positions.

METHODS: A postal survey to 486 identifiable clinical practices and 53 identifiable organisations that employ veterinarians was used to gather data for the 2-month period of December 2001 to January 2002.

RESULTS: Data were produced for 972 veterinarians (367 females and 605 males) working in 325 clinical practices, and 299 veterinarians (88 females and 211 males) employed by 32 organisations.

Median levels of gross annual remuneration for assistants, partners/shareholders and sole owners working ≥ days per week in clinical practice were NZ$60,000, $90,000 and $75,000, respectively, and for veterinarians in organisations, irrespective of number of days per week worked, was $68,000. Pay rates increased linearly as the number of years since graduation increased for all clinicians and with increasing age for veterinarians in organisations. Full-time assistants were likely to be paid more if the practice was rural rather than urban in location, if they were males, and if administrative duties were part of the job.

The same factors, except for sex, were significant for remuneration for owners and partners/shareholders working full-time. Their remuneration tended to be higher if the practice was involved with either dairy or deer work but decreased as the number of animal species serviced increased and if they worked >5 days per week. Part-time female veterinarians were generally paid more than male counterparts.

Male veterinarians working in organisations were generally paid about 8% more than their female colleagues. Veterinarians in organisations involved with administration at a head office were generally better paid than those without administrative duties. Pay rates were, on the whole, better in private organisations than in universities, state-owned enterprises, government-operated and other types of organisations

About 50% of all services provided by clinical practices were directed to small animals, 27% to dairy cattle and about 10%, 6% and 3% to horses, sheep and beef cattle, and deer, respectively. About 31% of veterinarians worked solely with small animals but most had multiple species workloads.

Of the 325 respondent practices, 98 reported vacancies for 119 veterinarians, of which 79 were full-time, 27 part-time and 12 locum positions. Of the 32 respondent organisations, seven reported vacancies for 16 mostly full-time positions. Farmer-owned co-operative practices were less likely than privately-owned practices to have full-time vacant positions. The only factor identified as influencing part-time vacancies in clinical practices was hourly pay rate. Vacancies occurred randomly across practices, irrespective of location, and there was no indication of greater demand for services for any particular species. The odds of a vacancy in organisations was lower for state-owned enterprises and private organisations than for government organisations (odds ratios (OR)=0.14 and 0.18, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Relatively more females than males worked part-time and 23% of all assistants in clinical practice worked part-time. Sex made a significant difference to gross remuneration for full-time assistants in clinical practice and for veterinarians employed by private or government organisations. In both situations, males were generally better paid than females. Female part-time assistants and partners/shareholders or sole owners in clinical practice were generally better rewarded than their male counterparts. Sex had no effect on remuneration levels for owners/partners working full-time in clinical practices.

The study confirmed a serious shortage of veterinarians in New Zealand. The probability of a vacancy occurring in farmer-owned co-operative (‘club’) practices was lower than in private practices. Vacancies were distributed randomly among rural, urban and rural/urban practices with no evidence of rural practices being more severely affected than urban or rural/urban practices.     

Business management — an introduction>

Management is concerned with the successful allocation of available resources to achieve various objectives and opportunities. Strategic management involves a systematic appraisal of any profit (e.g. veterinary practice) or non-profit (e.g. veterinary club)organisation in order to develop sound strategies, plans and budgets for improving future performance.

The veterinary profession has to operate within the economic environment. It therefore has to continually determine the likely impact of various economic trends, for example, zero or low growth in real terms in the short run; declining farm income; continuing high inflation; low private investment; high balance of payments deficit; tight money supply; continuing economic cycles; increasing instability; increasing rates of change; and declining livestock numbers.

An analysis of the results of a small survey of veterinary firms showed quite wide variations for various possible objectives such as revenue growth and size, profit, profitability, and range of services offered. An interfirm comparison study is really required to eliminate some of the anomalies in the analysis and to improve the information provided.