Secondly, there is a significant gender shift in our profession. These women have gone on to graduate and enter the veterinary workforce and gradually they are changing the balance from the male dominated profession that it still is. The result of all of this is a shift in veterinary work patterns on a daily and a career basis. It is interesting to learn that veterinarians face the same sort of problems wherever they are in the World. These problems start with the costs of veterinary education and the difficulty paying for it.
Graduates now have significant debt when they enter the workforce.
There is the gender shift that I talked about above and this is exacerbated by the loss of potential male graduates who are attracted to careers that are less arduous and that have greater rewards. There are demands placed on communities to provide safe food. This should not be seen as a problem, but rather as a challenge for our profession. Similarly, the growing global urban population is placing a greater expectation on the need to recognise the good welfare of animals. This is another very important challenge for our profession that we should not ignore.