Document Detail


Comparison of long-term financial implications for five veterinary career tracks.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20707746     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: To compare present values of expected income streams for 5 distinct veterinary medical career tracks. DESIGN: Present value model. SAMPLE POPULATION: AVMA survey data. PROCEDURES: Present values of expected income streams (net of debt repayment) were created and ranked. Sensitivity to each independent variable was assessed. RESULTS: Career present value at 34 years after graduation (CPV(34)) was highest for board-certified specialist (SP; $2,272,877), followed by practice owner (PO; $2,119,596), practice owner buying into practice after 10 years (PO-10; $1,736,333), SP working three-fourths time (SP3/4; $1,702,744), and general practitioner (GP; $1,221,131). Compared with CPV(34) for SP, other career tracks yielded values of 93.3% (PO), 76.4% (PO-10), 74.9% (SP3/4), and 53.7% (GP). The model was robust to debt, interest rate, loan term, and discount rate but was sensitive to mean starting incomes and mean incomes. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Greatest return on time and money invested by a veterinary student is through practicing full-time as an SP or through being a PO. Being an SP or SP3/4 was substantially more lucrative than being a GP and was comparable to being a PO. Practice ownership and working as an SP3/4 may be options for balancing financial gain with free time. Specialty training and practice ownership may be career tracks with the best potential repayment options for veterinarians with a large educational debt. Regardless of the amount of debt, the type of practice, mean incomes in a particular field, personal lifestyle, and professional interests are important factors when deciding among career tracks.
Authors:
Meg E Gordon; James W Lloyd; Donna L Harris-Kober
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association     Volume:  237     ISSN:  0003-1488     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc.     Publication Date:  2010 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-16     Completed Date:  2010-09-21     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7503067     Medline TA:  J Am Vet Med Assoc     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  369-75     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Office of the Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Career Choice*
Income / statistics & numerical data*
Time Factors
Veterinarians / economics*
Veterinary Medicine / economics*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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