Workforce shortages are a key challenge facing the veterinary profession. While this is not a new phenomenon, the issue has been exacerbated significantly by recent events, including the additional pressures on the profession brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, changes to the situation of EU vets caused by Brexit, and an increase in demand for vets driven by a surge in pet ownership in the UK.1 The RCVS’s recent survey of the veterinary profession on their experiences of the pandemic found that during this time many had to take on additional responsibilities (54%) and alter their working patterns (71%), while the increased demand has been widely felt with 80% saying they personally saw an increase in their caseload due to an increase in animal ownership. Many felt this took a toll on them personally, with 65% experiencing conflict between their wellbeing and their professional roles. Meanwhile, among veterinary surgeons from the EU surveyed in 2018,3 over half (54%) said they felt less welcome in the UK since the Brexit vote, and 37% said they were now more likely to leave the UK. Some were contemplating leaving the UK; a third (31%) said they were considering a move back home, while a fifth 20% were actively looking for work outside the UK. In this report we explore recent changes to the levels of veterinary surgeons entering and exiting the profession, as well as investigating the factors behind these trends. In Section 3 of the report we describe the annual numbers of veterinary surgeons joining and leaving the profession, as well as the changing working patterns within the profession. Sections 4 and 5 delve deeper into these figures by looking at the key characteristics of those joining and leaving the profession, and how these have changed over recent years. Section 6 looks at the reasons why people decide to leave
the profession, and explore the underlying factors associated with intending to leave the profession. In Section 7 we look at those returning to the profession after a break. Finally, Section 8 aims to identify the areas where further research is needed to understand the issues of recruitment, retention and return to the veterinary profession.
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