ALBERTA – There is an alarming veterinarian shortage in Canada.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association states that demand for veterinarians is rising each year, and that the shortage is worldwide.
Dr. Darlene Donszelmann, University of Calgary Senior Instructor in veterinary medicine and CEO of Canada VetWork Inc. lives with this situation daily.
She has taken the initiative to make an impact and improve the situation.
“The workforce shortage is far worse in rural remote and northern communities then it is in other areas,” stated Donszelmann.
“People(new graduates) go where the money is or where the entertainment is or where their family is which is often in the city and those major communities."
“We know that that has a huge impact on agriculture. It has an impact on livestock. We're tackling Canada with global talent and we're doing it one vet at a time.”
Donszelmann started Canada VetWork Inc. to connect with and assist in bringing international veterinarians to Canada to fill the urgent need.
Canada VetWork Inc. holds webinars with practicing accredited veterinarians around the globe to find candidates willing to come to Canada, get licensed and then practice in Canada.
They support the candidates through the immigration and Canada licensing for veterinarians.
They started two years ago and have to date have brought 12 accredited veterinarians to Canada with 50% of those vets working in rural and remote north locations.
One recent candidate is heading up to the far north to work.
Three additional candidates are completing the immigration and licensing process and are considering contracts.
Canada VetWork Inc. supports the international vets while they transition into their new roles and get familiar with the community.
They primarily work with accredited vets because the process is quicker to get them licensed and working.
Candidates who are accredited veterinarians have the American Veterinary Medical Association Council of Education accreditation.
These candidates have to complete an English exam or French exam, a language qualification, and they have to complete the same type of NAVLE all species written exam.
This is the same NAVLE exam that Donszelmann had to complete when she graduated.
Those accredited candidates can become licensed after the successful completion of that exam.
A non-accredited candidate can require years of their life to get qualified.
The very fast non-accredited candidates could complete everything required in a year and a half.
It is time consuming and expensive.
An accredited candidate can be through the process in a matter of a few months.
Canada VetWork Inc. knows that some international universities graduate large numbers of students but don't necessarily have the veterinarian system in their country to offer rewarding careers.
For that reason people want to come to Canada and they want to develop their career into something that's rewarding and challenging.
There are a number of candidates from Mexico and some of them have been in practice for three to five years and even have their own practice.
These vets recognize the limitations in their own country and are looking for a more rewarding career to use the knowledge they have learned.
Families may also come with the vet and are looking forward to all Canada has to offer. Jen Jenson, Operation Manager for Canada’s VetWork Inc. works with the candidates and their families and supports them through the immigration and licensing process.
Canada VetWork Inc. carries the upfront costs to get candidates through immigration and licensing.
As with other recruiting companies, there is a fee for contracts signed and vets working at Canadian clinics.
What sets Canada VetWork Inc. apart is there are no upfront costs for the clinic while the candidate is going through the process.
The diligence in bringing high quality veterinarians into the country and trying to fill the urgent need for animal care is the prime motivation.
Donszelmann said that this approach is to help alleviate some of the veterinary shortage for her colleagues who are quite stressed.
Running a clinic herself for many years she knows vets are very overworked.
They have been on call 7/24 for many years and work many weeks without days off.
There's a lot of mental health issues in this profession because of long work hours and high client expectations.
Many clients’ expect perfection in 100% of cases and Donszelmann says not all animals are going to live through the medical problems that arise.
Jenson commented that they have great success bringing in vets who start working and stay in their roles with only one person leaving due to a medical emergency.
Their mission is to provide both the candidates and employers with the support and resources necessary to make the hiring process as smooth as possible from beginning to end.
More information is available on their website at canadavetwork.com.
