alohacattle - at first I thought you were saying that most of the vets on CT were just vacationing - but I see you're talking about Hawai'i. But, that said, I am sort of vacationing, and love it. I can absolutely identify with djinwa's experiences.
There's been a lot written, lately, about there not being enough food animal vets, but I'm not convinced that it's actually the case - AlaCowman made very astute statement about cattlemen starving a good vet to death.
IMO, 'underserved' areas are often 'underserved' for a reason - there's not enough work to keep a veterinarian gainfully employed and allow them to make a reasonable living. Sure, you may need me to come pull a calf that you can't get out - once every five years - but if that's the only time I see you, I'm not able to help you much, and you're sure not helping me make a go of it...
One of my colleagues has opined on more than one occasion that "There's not a shortage of large animal vets Monday through Thursday - it's just on Friday and Saturday nights."(and I'll add Sunday). I think she's right.
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners has actually done an in-depth review and their take on the 'perceived' shortage of rural/food animal veterinarians is that there is not a widespread 'shortage'.
http://www.aabp.org/resources/pdfs/Summ ... .19.11.pdf
Now, I'm getting on my soapbox. Not whining, no longer bitter, just stating some facts.
I was lucky enough to get through veterinary school debt-free - I lived at home with my parents all the way through college and vet school and worked one or more jobs while doing it , but I married $20K of vet school loan debt the next day - which we paid off in 10 years.
The average vet student graduating today has over $140K in school loans just associated with attending veterinary school(I know some that will graduate owing well over $200K), and some are carrying loan debt from their undergrad studies as well. I don't see how they can ever repay that and still make a decent living. Who told them that was a wise, workable decision? Even at $140K, if they had that on a 30-yr repayment plan, the monthly loan payment would be $1000/month.
Some states have instituted 'incentive' or 'loan repayment' plans for new graduates, if they'll go to an 'underserved' area and do food animal practice. OK, what if they go there, and there's not enough work and income to sustain them? What then? They leave when their term of indentured servitude is up, or go bankrupt, and the area is still 'underserved'.
Graduating and having DVM behind your name doesn't immediately convey great wealth, though some people seem to think so.
Folks complaining about cost of veterinary care never seem to think about - in addition to loan debt - what it cost that veterinarian to purchase a lot, build the clinic, outfit the surgery, laboratory, kennels, working pens, purchase and maintain drug/instrument inventories or practice vehicle, pay the utility bills, pay insurance premiums, employ and pay the staff, etc. - all before the veterinarian ever takes home a penny. They're a small business person with significant costs of operation. Veterinarians are just like everyone else - we'd like to have a decent house, a nice car, raise a family, take a vacation every now and then... Yeah, we know you 'love' your animals, and that's the reason many of us were drawn to the profession...but you gotta be able to make a living.
Previous generations of veterinarians shot mine and later generations in the foot, so to speak, by tying their income to 'markup' on drugs, rather than charging appropriately for their knowledge and expertise. MDs have been doing that forever - but since most folks' insurance policies pick up that tab, people don't seem to get - and stay - all enraged about consultation fees, etc. Seems to draw more ire, directed at that 'money-grubbing vet', if you have to pay the whole tab out of your own pocket.
We got, and I suspect current vet students still get...almost ZERO instruction in business management or economics. The guy with an undergrad degree in Business Management is an anomaly - but probably doing a better job with the 'business' aspect of practice than 95% of our colleagues.
Whether there is a shortage or increasing need for more veterinarians is still up in the air. Most of my colleagues say, emphatically, "NO!". But several of the colleges of veterinary medicine around the country are increasing class size (more tuition $$ flowing in!!!), and there have been a few new vet schools opened in the last few years, and some more in the works.
OK, stepping off the soapbox now. I've probably ticked some folks off, but I've said my piece.