Current Scenario and Requirements for Strengthening Veterinary Resilience

Current Scenario and Requirements for Strengthening Veterinary Resilience

Radhika Sharma¹, Amit Mahajan² and Ankush Sharma³

(^1,2,3 Veterinary Officer, Department of Animal Husbandry, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh)

Abstract: To celebrate the contribution of worldwide veterinarians, focus and address the professional constraints, World Veterinary Day is celebrated every year worldwide on the last Saturday of April. Irrespective of these constraints and adversity, veterinarians are deep rooted to ensure the growth of their profession. Being under the umbrella of ‘One Health’  , dedication towards the economy generation for rural poor, providing services at their doorstep irrespective of the kind of terrain or being a messiah for the  pet owners, Veterinary profession contributes towards varied sectors of the society. The theme of World Veterinary Day-2022 is “Strengthening Veterinary Resilience”. Though, Lack of scientific resources, diagnostic aids and wide veterinarian and livestock population ratio in different Indian states acts a stumbling block when it comes to the resilience in veterinarians. Hence, to strengthen the resilience , these hurdles are required to be addressed by the policy makers.

Keywords : Veterinarian . Resilience, Resources, Diagnostic tools.

  Introduction :  Domestic and wild animals play a vital role in terms of  economic security, social wellbeing and maintenance of ecological balance favoring humanity. Livestock in particular, is source of income generation for rural poor that also ensures food security. It can act as a collateral for credit and an essential safety net during times of crisis. As a matter of fact, more than 60% of animal diseases are of zoonotic importance making animal health and public health co-related. Thus, strengthening of veterinary services on national and global level can directly influence global health security by influencing “risk at source” for antimicrobial resistance and emerging pandemic threats. Developing and preserving animal resources and tackling food safety crises becomes another sector if veterinary services are well supported through “good governance”.

“Healthy animals require healthy advocates” : According to the 20^th livestock census (2019), total livestock population in India is 535.78 million wherein total Bovine population (Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak) stands 302.79 million showing an increase of 1.0 % over 19^th Livestock Census. Considering the total livestock population of India as compared to the total number of veterinarians in service sector, there are 67,784 registered veterinary practitioners (Indian Veterinary Practitioners’ Register, 2015). The National Commission on Agriculture (NCA, 1976) recommended one veterinarian for every 5,000 adult cattle units.  But the ratio is almost 50% in most of the Indian states. However, with significant increase in productivity through livestock and introduction of foreign blood needing intensive management and health care, the ratio between the existing livestock population and veterinarians in service sector need to be covered up so that at least one veterinarian becomes available per 2,500 – 3000 cattle units for better health care and management practices and accomplishment of substantial productivity and profits. This recommendation also stands rigid with the guidelines by the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE).

Table :  Anticipated Requirement of Veterinarians by 2035

(Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, GOI) (IAMR and NAARM, 2011).

There is an anticipated requirement of human capital in veterinary and animal science for sectors vis. defense, wildlife, biosecurity, public health, veterinary extension, forestry, insurance and industries like dairy, meat, poultry, pharmaceutical and animal feed industries. Though the  above figures depict about 50%  shortage of veterinary human resource.

Lack of avenues and insufficiency of diagnostic aids in field conditions :  Veterinarians are the grass root level workers who provide services at the doorstep of the patient owners irrespective of the terrain and topography. Yet, the lack of basic scientific equipment, diagnostic tools and manpower for handling and management makes the work profile cumbersome in the field condition for a veterinarian.

The above two factors are major setbacks that hamper the resilience of veterinarians in the field conditions. Besides that, an Australian study on Veterinarians depicted that,  personal resources vis. motivation, optimism, challenging adaptability and strength building ability rather than the career stage, gender and region of work determines the resilience (McArthur and co-workers, 2021).On the other hand, a Canadian study depicted that demographic factors like clinical practice type, role within clinics and marital status has negative correlation with the resilience (Perret and Co-Workers, 2020).

Strengthening the resilience:  Resilience amongst the vet professionals can be strengthened by working on the vulnerability and by stress management. As per the current Indian scenario, vulnerability to stress amongst the vet. professionals can be overcome by recruitment of qualified veterinarians in different organizations including the field level and upgrading organized veterinary set-up. As per OIE, recognizing  animal health and welfare as global public goods, increased international attention and investment must be placed on Veterinary Services. Investment in Veterinary Services through meeting internationally adopted health standards and regulations can help in achieving critical health objectives in animals, saving costs by preventing and containing health crises.

1. Investing in Veterinary Services results in a positive return on investment when collectively accounting for reduced poverty and hunger and the facilitation of safe trade.
2. Investment in Veterinary Services yields further societal benefits, including generating educational and employment opportunities for youth, empowering women, providing essential services and increasing resilience to shocks and threats.

Besides these, upgrading of  profession can be done by:

1. a) Assuring financial stabilization of students during the study period.
2. b) Assuring scientific infrastructure at field level.
3. c) Utilization of personal scientific qualifications and specialization.
4. d) Organizing trainings and workshops in aspects of leadership, management or strategic planning on regional and timely basis.
5. f) Recruiting trained para-veterinarian staff for the first-aid and minor treatment of livestock at doorstep of the owner.
6. e) Continuity of this process requires a true partnership between the public and the private sectors. Although leadership from the public sector is a fundamental and critical determinant of success, collaboration with the private sector in the form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) is also important.
7. g) Reducing the burden of the non-technical work.

Developing Personal Resilience : as per a survey by CDC, 1 in 10 veterinarians suffer from psychological distress in the United States , amongst which only a half of them are seeking help (WSFA News. 2021). Whereas, Vets are four times more likely to commit suicide which is double the rate of doctors, pharmacists, dentists and nurses. (ABC News, 2021). There are other multiple stress boosters amongst vets , like limited social acceptability and unemployment despite of being special technocrats. This can be combatted by development of specific characteristics including acceptance of personal limitations, remaining optimistic and learning to accept and manage uncertainties, mindfulness and self-compassion, creating and maintaining a supportive social network. On the other hand, to develop resilience, growing unemployed veterinarians must focus on developing and improving personal bio-data by thriving oneself to learn, gain experience and establishing the relationships with mentors, seniors and colleagues.

Conclusion : Resilient veterinarians are better equipped to handle the daily challenges and crises that may occur in their practices. Robust Veterinary Services can prevent and contain health crises and save lives, while delivering a positive economic return, particularly in rural communities, which aligns with the sustainable development goals. However, to capture these benefits, strictly organized professional set-up shall play a key role. Narrowing the ratio amongst veterinarians and livestock population, recruitment of abundant scientifically qualified staff in research centers and para-vet staff at field level shall aid to the strengthening of veterinary services nationwide. So much so, all countries must meet their obligations and have the capacity to ensure that their Veterinary Services operate under the tenets of good governance aligned with international standards and regulations. All the personal characteristics can be imparted if practicing veterinarians and students are exposed to courses in their professional curriculum that helps developing administrative skills to maintain and manage the services on and off field. The curriculum should help learn about the importance of building carrier resilience that can protect them against the negative impacts of workplace stress boosters and career setbacks.

https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/strengthening-veterinary-resilience/

References :

1. Strengthening Veterinary Services through the OIE PVS pathway , 2019.
2. Human Resource needs in Veterinary and Animal Sciences, National Academy Of Veterinary Sciences (India), 2015.
3. McArthuret al. The Prevalence of Compassion Fatigue among Veterinary Students in Australia and the Associated Psychological Factors, Spring;44(1):9-21, 2017
4. https://www.avma.org/news/world-veterinary-day-2022-focuses-strengthening-veterinary-resilience

1. Kemper et al., Are Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Associated with Sleep and Resilience in Health Professionals? J Altern Complement Med. 21(8):496-503.2015.
2. Moffett et al., Veterinary Students’ Perspectives on Resilience and Resilience-Building Strategies Spring;44(1):116-124. 2017.
3. Kinsella et al., Mindfulness in allied health and social care professional education: a scoping review. Epub.  2018.
4. Raab et al., Mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy among health care professionals: a review of the literature. J Health Care Chaplain.;20(3):95-108. 2014.

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