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Several perspectives on this topic are covered in depth in a special February issue of Trends magazine. It’s time to take another look at veterinary student debt, according to AAHA President-Elect John Tait, DVM, MBA, CFP. As framed to date, discussions about student debt, often dubbed the elephant in the room, have focused on the fact that the salaries of recent graduates are insufficient to pay student loans and attain the lifestyle generally associated with professional status. But the value of a veterinary degree isn’t measured by the salary you earn early in your career, Tait maintained during a session at the North American Veterinary Conference in January.

Half of veterinarians participating in a survey this week said they expect to cut staff hours in an effort to save jobs during 2009. The survey was conducted during a symposium on economic issues and the recession at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Fla. Student debt, economic forecasts, and lessons from a multi-practice owner weathering the recession in the long-struggling Midwest were also front-and-center at the conference.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) this month turned up the heat on animal abusers with two initiatives in Florida aimed to expand the small field of veterinary forensics. The University of Florida announced last week it is forming a Veterinary Forensic Sciences Program at the school’s William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. The program is being formed with a $150,000 grant from the ASPCA, and a three-year commitment of support from the ASPCA, the university said in a news release. The opening day of the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 17, also featured a series of presentations on “Animal CSI – Veterinary Forensics,” sponsored by the ASPCA.

Before the diet, workout and clean-the-garage New Year’s resolutions are firmly disregarded, violated or otherwise ignored, make one you will actually keep: Help out your practice. In light of the gloomy economic outlook for this year, we asked several experts what one thing they would advise a practice owner or manager to resolve to do for 2009. According to Peter Weinstein, VetPartners president elect and owner of Irvine, Calif.-based PAW Consulting, practices should do like Monty Python, and always look on the bright side of life. “Maintain a positive outlook on your practice, your life and the world around you,” Weinstein advises.

Preliminary results of an AAHA survey of practice managers and owners show that while most practices are doing well and making sound financial decisions, a significant percentage are spending more than they are making, and nearly a quarter (24 percent) of all practices surveyed are worried about the viability of their practice in light of a long-term credit crunch. In order to finance normal operating expenses, the most common type of credit that practices use is business credit cards, according to the survey. Only 25 percent of respondents said they never use them.

With the world economy melting faster than the polar ice caps, your instinct might be to lay low and weather the storm. But, some experts and practitioners say, the economic climes might be a fair wind that could accelerate the trend toward practice consolidation. “In general, crises will accelerate a trend toward consolidation for reducing overhead costs and personnel costs,” said Lawrence Gelburd, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “It could be a smart move if [practices] can lower their overhead without having to go out and borrow a lot of money.”

With low rates and a saturated market, now is a good time to buy a home for your family. But is it a good time to buy a home for your practice? The answer is yes, according to academic and professional sources. Mark Levine, PhD, is a professor at the University of Denver, and is director of the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the university’s Daniels College of Business. He says that given the right opportunity, now could be a great time to purchase commercial real estate for your practice. “Obviously, the key is the right property for the right terms,” Levine said. “But, speaking on a general basis, the sellers seem to be much more negotiable today as compared with six months or a year ago.”

As animal welfare issues gain momentum worldwide, two of the nation’s top veterinary organizations are taking a leadership role in the field. The American Animal Hospital Association is looking into revising its animal welfare positions, and an American Veterinary Medical Association official has become the first U.S. citizen to be credentialed in animal welfare. “We’re going to look at the present policies that AAHA has right now, and if they need changing and how,” said AAHA board member Rod Jouppi. “[Animal welfare] has always been a very important part of AAHA, and it is appropriate that the policies that have been established be reviewed periodically.” Meanwhile, Gail Golab, PhD, DVM, head of the AVMA Animal Welfare Division, traveled to Australia to study with veterinarians from Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. After more than two years of study, she sat for and passed written and oral exams to earn membership-level credential in the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists’ (ACVSc) Animal Welfare Chapter. The ACVSc and the British Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) are the only veterinary organizations in the world to offer animal welfare credentials.

Despite a withering economic climate, most veterinarians say they are growing financially, according to a recent American Animal Hospital Association survey. Of the 550 hospital directors who responded to an AAHA economic impact survey in July, 55.5 percent said their revenues increased in the first six months of 2008, as compared with the first half of last year. More than a quarter (28.4 percent) said revenue decreased, and 16.2 percent indicated that their revenues remained level. Most respondents took time to add comments on their survey forms, which Albers saw as a sign that people are at least watching the economy closely. “To me, it indicated a high level of interest in the issue,” said AAHA executive director John Albers. Of the nearly 500 practices that left comments, 25 percent said they had, or were planning to, increase prices to help get through the downturn. More than 12 percent said they were cutting staff, and 26 percent said they were increasing marketing. Nearly 10 percent were planning to add services or facilities, and 15 percent said they were not making any changes at all.

While growing numbers of foreclosures are forcing homeowners out of their homes, sometimes pets are left behind to fend for themselves. But veterinarians can help by recognizing an imminent foreclosure and helping clients arrange for their pets’ welfare. The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County operates a cat-only no-kill shelter in Gaithersburg, Md. Shelter volunteer Peg Webber said the number of people giving up their cats this year has nearly doubled. Her shelter has already had to turn away almost 200 cats so far, due to the limited space and number of foster homes. Last year the shelter turned away about 210 cats for the entire year. Many of these cases are related to foreclosure. “They’ll just say ‘I have to move,’ but after a bit of talking with them it’s obvious why,” Webber said.