PUBLIC HEALTH BRIEFS 5. Bull, N. and J. Aucoin. Voluntary association participation and life satisfaction: a replication note. Journal of Gerontology, 30:73-76, 1975. 6. Cutler, S. Voluntary association participation and life satis-
faction: a cautionary research note. Journal of Gerontology, 23:96-100, 1973. 7. Anderson, E.G., and A.A. Andrew. Senior citizens health conference. Nursing Outlook, 21:580-582, 1973.
Changing Career Specialties Within Veterinary Medicine WILLIAM E. SNIZEK, PHD, AND CLIFTON D. BRYANT, PHD For ecologically apparent reasons, the burden of feeding the increasing population of this country has traditionally fallen upon the rural farmer. Seminal to the accomplishment of this task has been the part played by the veterinary medical practitioner. Over the past several decades, however, rather marked intraoccupational changes have occurred within the veterinary medical profession. While originally established on an agricultural base, recent trends within veterinary medicine have served to focus upon "companion" rather than large animal private practice. Crawford, et al,1 for example, in a study of 787 veterinarians engaged in private practice in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, found 59.7 per cent of those surveyed to have practices totally devoted to the treatment and care of small or companion animals. By contrast, only 17.7 per cent of the private practitioners studied were found to have practices devoted totally to large or farm animals. Explanation for such trends could conceivably include the argument of diminished opportunity for large arfimal practice. Yet while it is true that, from time to time there has been some cyclical reduction in the number of food animals owing primarily to economic conditions, there is little evidence to indicate that this is other than a temporary phenomenon. As the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Veterinary Medical Research and Education recently pointed out: "With the prospect of increasing human population and greater demand on food resources, the food animal practitioner's role assumes increased significance. They serve
Drs. Snizek and Bryant are with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Address reprint requests to Dr. Snizek at the above address. The study upon which this brief article is based was made possible through funds furnished under the Hatch Act, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Project 616214, and made available by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Research Division (Agricultural Experiment Station). A more detailed discussion of the remarks made herein may be found in, Snizek W. E. and Bryant C. D., Intraoccupational Veterinary Specialties: Career Trends and Contingencies Among Students and Practitioners. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, Fall, 1975, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp.36-43.
AJPH, April, 1976, Vol. 66, No. 4
agriculture and the nation by supporting efficient and economic production of meat, milk and eggs; protecting the nation's livestock from domestic and foreign diseases; and implementing measures for eradication of certain of the more devastating pathogens. "2
Accordingly, in the face of continued demand for animal protein production, opportunities for large animal practitioners continue, as they have over the years, and should broaden rather than diminish in the future. Given the intraoccupational shift from large to small animal private practice within veterinary medicine, an attempt was made to identify those factors, in the form of various career contingencies and considerations, which affect individuals' decisions to pursue a specific type of private practice within veterinary medicine. Among the factors examined as possibly affecting initial decision or subsequent propensity to engage in small, as opposed to large, animal veterinary practice were: area of childhood residence, perceived income differentials, job demands, and professional image.
Procedure The present study utilized a cross-sectional data gathering design. Three distinct groups of subjects were selected for study. First, a random sample of 76 pre-veterinary students were surveyed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute concerning their interests, expectations, and reasons for considering one or another form of practice mode within veterinary medicine. Next, random samples totaling 454 students majoring in veterinary medicine at the University of Georgia and Ohio State University were surveyed concerning similar questions of type of private practice contemplated. And finally, 198 veterinarians, slightly over 50 per cent of those licensed to practice in Virginia during 1973, were interviewed as to their initial expectations and subsequent realizations with respect to their chosen mode of private practice within the profession. Pre-veterinary and veterinary medical students were classified as to practice mode based upon their responses to a question concerning anticipated type of practice. Prac381
PUBLIC HEALTH BRIEFS
ticing veterinarians who were interviewed were categorized as to mode of private practice as follows: 1. Small animal practice-those practitioners who specified that they spent more than 75 per cent of the practice time with small-companion animals. (N = 115 or 59.0 per cent). 2. Mixed animal practice-practitioners who indicated spending less than 75 per cent of their time with small animals and not more than 50 per cent of their time in the treatment of farm and/or thoroughbred animals combined. (N = 37 or 19.0 per cent). 3. Large animal practice-practitioners who indicated spending more than 50 per cent of their time in treating farm and/or thoroughbred animals. (N = 30 or 15.4 per cent). 4. Other-a residual category comprised of exotic animals, academic, commercial, and governmentally employed veterinarians surveyed. (N = 13 or 6.7 per cent). Three of the 198 veterinarians interviewed were deleted from classification and further study since one had retired and the other two had undertaken alternative occupations.
Results In light of the empirically documented decline in the existence of and interest in large animal veterinary practice, the present study first sought to explore the possible explanatory power of various demographic variables as they might relate to this phenomenon. While the exploration of demographic or life history variables, in general, was not found to be a very productive direction in which to go in attempting to account for intraoccupational career preferences, at least one such background factor did seem to be of some utility. Choice of a type of private veterinary practice was shown in the present study to be rooted, at least in part, in the demographic factor of area of childhood residence. In this regard, students and practicing veterinarians alike who had been raised in rural areas were found to be significantly more likely to anticipate, or to be currently engaged in, mixed or large animal practice, while individuals raised in more urban areas were found to favor small animal practice. Such findings might well suggest the desirability, in terms of pre-veterinary and veterinary school policy, of selectively recruiting into veterinary programs a greater proportion of students from rural backgrounds as one means of maximizing the likelihood of attracting students with an interest in large animal medicine. Another factor often assumed to be linked to one's type of practice, but which was found not to be so related, was that of income. While many veterinary students, practicing veterinarians, and members of the general public assume small animal practice to be more lucrative than large animal
382
practice, this conceptualization was not substantiated in the present study. Instead, no statistically significant differences were found in either the anticipated or actual incomes of veterinary students and practicing veterinarians, respectively, when related to their specific type of private practice. Nevertheless, to the extent to which a belief in such income differentials, extant among students and practitioners, is allowed to perpetuate, future veterinarians may very well be dissuaded from practicing mixed or large animal veterinary medicine because of financial considerations. Several other findings of the present study which may have a direct bearing upon the diminishing recruitment and retention of large animal veterinary practitioners concern various differences observed to exist between large and small animal practice itself. Among such differences is the highly mobile nature of large animal practice, as well as its lower prestige and image as a profession among both veterinarian and public alike. Unlike the small animal veterinarian, and based largely on the extensive travel and type of clientele concomitant with the practice of large animal medicine, the large animal practitioner has found it difficult, if not impossible, to pattern his practice after that of the other medical professions. Hence, it would appear that the large animal veterinarian, because of various structural constraints inherent in the mode of practice itself, has been denied the prestige and professional esteem generally granted medical practitioners and, to a significant degree, small animal veterinarians. In view of this, it would appear that if the pattern of intraoccupational career movement from large to companion animal practice is to be reversed or blunted, then the conceptualization found in many pre-veterinary and veterinary schools, concerning mixed or large animal veterinarians as lacking the appropriate medical aura and professional prestige vis-a-vis companion animal practitioners, will have to be
remedied. And finally, one cannot help but notice the striking similarity between the plight of farmers in securing veterinary services and that faced by rural communities in attempting to obtain adequate human health services. Perhaps various of the factors shown to either encourage or deter veterinarians from establishing practice in rural areas of our country may have some applicability to the eventual location in which human medical practitioners establish their practices.
REFERENCES 1. Crawford, L. M., Tisdel, L. E., Lewis, R. E., and Talbot, R. B.,
General characteristics of veterinarians in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 163:362-364, 1973 2. New Horizons for Veterinary Medicine. Committee on Veterinary Medical Research and Education, National Research CouncillNational Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1972.
AJPH, April, 1976, Vol. 66, No. 4
faction: a cautionary research note. Journal of Gerontology, 23:96-100, 1973. 7. Anderson, E.G., and A.A. Andrew. Senior citizens health conference. Nursing Outlook, 21:580-582, 1973.
Changing Career Specialties Within Veterinary Medicine WILLIAM E. SNIZEK, PHD, AND CLIFTON D. BRYANT, PHD For ecologically apparent reasons, the burden of feeding the increasing population of this country has traditionally fallen upon the rural farmer. Seminal to the accomplishment of this task has been the part played by the veterinary medical practitioner. Over the past several decades, however, rather marked intraoccupational changes have occurred within the veterinary medical profession. While originally established on an agricultural base, recent trends within veterinary medicine have served to focus upon "companion" rather than large animal private practice. Crawford, et al,1 for example, in a study of 787 veterinarians engaged in private practice in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, found 59.7 per cent of those surveyed to have practices totally devoted to the treatment and care of small or companion animals. By contrast, only 17.7 per cent of the private practitioners studied were found to have practices devoted totally to large or farm animals. Explanation for such trends could conceivably include the argument of diminished opportunity for large arfimal practice. Yet while it is true that, from time to time there has been some cyclical reduction in the number of food animals owing primarily to economic conditions, there is little evidence to indicate that this is other than a temporary phenomenon. As the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Veterinary Medical Research and Education recently pointed out: "With the prospect of increasing human population and greater demand on food resources, the food animal practitioner's role assumes increased significance. They serve
Drs. Snizek and Bryant are with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Address reprint requests to Dr. Snizek at the above address. The study upon which this brief article is based was made possible through funds furnished under the Hatch Act, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Project 616214, and made available by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Research Division (Agricultural Experiment Station). A more detailed discussion of the remarks made herein may be found in, Snizek W. E. and Bryant C. D., Intraoccupational Veterinary Specialties: Career Trends and Contingencies Among Students and Practitioners. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, Fall, 1975, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp.36-43.
AJPH, April, 1976, Vol. 66, No. 4
agriculture and the nation by supporting efficient and economic production of meat, milk and eggs; protecting the nation's livestock from domestic and foreign diseases; and implementing measures for eradication of certain of the more devastating pathogens. "2
Accordingly, in the face of continued demand for animal protein production, opportunities for large animal practitioners continue, as they have over the years, and should broaden rather than diminish in the future. Given the intraoccupational shift from large to small animal private practice within veterinary medicine, an attempt was made to identify those factors, in the form of various career contingencies and considerations, which affect individuals' decisions to pursue a specific type of private practice within veterinary medicine. Among the factors examined as possibly affecting initial decision or subsequent propensity to engage in small, as opposed to large, animal veterinary practice were: area of childhood residence, perceived income differentials, job demands, and professional image.
Procedure The present study utilized a cross-sectional data gathering design. Three distinct groups of subjects were selected for study. First, a random sample of 76 pre-veterinary students were surveyed at Virginia Polytechnic Institute concerning their interests, expectations, and reasons for considering one or another form of practice mode within veterinary medicine. Next, random samples totaling 454 students majoring in veterinary medicine at the University of Georgia and Ohio State University were surveyed concerning similar questions of type of private practice contemplated. And finally, 198 veterinarians, slightly over 50 per cent of those licensed to practice in Virginia during 1973, were interviewed as to their initial expectations and subsequent realizations with respect to their chosen mode of private practice within the profession. Pre-veterinary and veterinary medical students were classified as to practice mode based upon their responses to a question concerning anticipated type of practice. Prac381
PUBLIC HEALTH BRIEFS
ticing veterinarians who were interviewed were categorized as to mode of private practice as follows: 1. Small animal practice-those practitioners who specified that they spent more than 75 per cent of the practice time with small-companion animals. (N = 115 or 59.0 per cent). 2. Mixed animal practice-practitioners who indicated spending less than 75 per cent of their time with small animals and not more than 50 per cent of their time in the treatment of farm and/or thoroughbred animals combined. (N = 37 or 19.0 per cent). 3. Large animal practice-practitioners who indicated spending more than 50 per cent of their time in treating farm and/or thoroughbred animals. (N = 30 or 15.4 per cent). 4. Other-a residual category comprised of exotic animals, academic, commercial, and governmentally employed veterinarians surveyed. (N = 13 or 6.7 per cent). Three of the 198 veterinarians interviewed were deleted from classification and further study since one had retired and the other two had undertaken alternative occupations.
Results In light of the empirically documented decline in the existence of and interest in large animal veterinary practice, the present study first sought to explore the possible explanatory power of various demographic variables as they might relate to this phenomenon. While the exploration of demographic or life history variables, in general, was not found to be a very productive direction in which to go in attempting to account for intraoccupational career preferences, at least one such background factor did seem to be of some utility. Choice of a type of private veterinary practice was shown in the present study to be rooted, at least in part, in the demographic factor of area of childhood residence. In this regard, students and practicing veterinarians alike who had been raised in rural areas were found to be significantly more likely to anticipate, or to be currently engaged in, mixed or large animal practice, while individuals raised in more urban areas were found to favor small animal practice. Such findings might well suggest the desirability, in terms of pre-veterinary and veterinary school policy, of selectively recruiting into veterinary programs a greater proportion of students from rural backgrounds as one means of maximizing the likelihood of attracting students with an interest in large animal medicine. Another factor often assumed to be linked to one's type of practice, but which was found not to be so related, was that of income. While many veterinary students, practicing veterinarians, and members of the general public assume small animal practice to be more lucrative than large animal
382
practice, this conceptualization was not substantiated in the present study. Instead, no statistically significant differences were found in either the anticipated or actual incomes of veterinary students and practicing veterinarians, respectively, when related to their specific type of private practice. Nevertheless, to the extent to which a belief in such income differentials, extant among students and practitioners, is allowed to perpetuate, future veterinarians may very well be dissuaded from practicing mixed or large animal veterinary medicine because of financial considerations. Several other findings of the present study which may have a direct bearing upon the diminishing recruitment and retention of large animal veterinary practitioners concern various differences observed to exist between large and small animal practice itself. Among such differences is the highly mobile nature of large animal practice, as well as its lower prestige and image as a profession among both veterinarian and public alike. Unlike the small animal veterinarian, and based largely on the extensive travel and type of clientele concomitant with the practice of large animal medicine, the large animal practitioner has found it difficult, if not impossible, to pattern his practice after that of the other medical professions. Hence, it would appear that the large animal veterinarian, because of various structural constraints inherent in the mode of practice itself, has been denied the prestige and professional esteem generally granted medical practitioners and, to a significant degree, small animal veterinarians. In view of this, it would appear that if the pattern of intraoccupational career movement from large to companion animal practice is to be reversed or blunted, then the conceptualization found in many pre-veterinary and veterinary schools, concerning mixed or large animal veterinarians as lacking the appropriate medical aura and professional prestige vis-a-vis companion animal practitioners, will have to be
remedied. And finally, one cannot help but notice the striking similarity between the plight of farmers in securing veterinary services and that faced by rural communities in attempting to obtain adequate human health services. Perhaps various of the factors shown to either encourage or deter veterinarians from establishing practice in rural areas of our country may have some applicability to the eventual location in which human medical practitioners establish their practices.
REFERENCES 1. Crawford, L. M., Tisdel, L. E., Lewis, R. E., and Talbot, R. B.,
General characteristics of veterinarians in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 163:362-364, 1973 2. New Horizons for Veterinary Medicine. Committee on Veterinary Medical Research and Education, National Research CouncillNational Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1972.
AJPH, April, 1976, Vol. 66, No. 4
