Vets to fight labour shortage with trained vaccinators

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2024 (612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the face of a long-standing labour shortage, Manitoba’s governing body of veterinarians will allow trained laypeople to practise some animal care in the North.

“We know there’s a great need,” Corey Wilson, executive director of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, said Tuesday.

Minimally, Manitoba is short 68 vets, according to 2022 MVMA data. However, the number doesn’t account for roughly one-third of the province’s private practices or any veterinary needs outside of private practice, Wilson noted.

The association is considering a number of ways to address the labour shortage — including the limited access vaccinator program, in which laypeople are trained to vaccinate animals.

Such trainees (called designated vaccinators) will also be able to administer microchips and certain medications.

“I think it’s a really positive step,” said Gina Bowen, director of veterinary services for the Winnipeg Humane Society.

A majority of veterinarians and veterinary technicians in the province seem to agree, Bowen added. That group makes up the MVMA’s membership and they voted Jan. 25 to change a bylaw, allowing for the new program.

The initiative is set to begin June 1.

The vaccinators will be trained by modules and sponsoring veterinarians; once trained, they’ll work in First Nations communities and any community north of the 53rd parallel.

Ideal candidates already live in those communities, Wilson noted. The role may not be full-time or even paid, however.

“It’s very possible that this is a very small, part-time task of somebody,” Wilson said, highlighting current nurses and paramedics.

Paying the vaccinator will be a choice communities and supporting veterinarians make, Wilson outlined, adding the MVMA is “not really making any recommendations on that front.”

Rabies shots, non-prescription deworming medication, microchips and over-the-counter medication fall under the vaccinator’s purview to administer.

“(It’s) increasing preventative care, which actually decreases the workload on the vets,” said Bowen.

The Winnipeg Humane Society frequently sends veterinarians to remote communities through its One Health program and has pushed to increase access to veterinary care in remote places.

That led to a partnership with the MVMA and provincial Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer to explore a designated vaccinator program, Bowen said.

“(The initiative) doesn’t compete with private vets. It’s a safe thing to do. It enables communities to… increase the health of their own animals.”

The program further aims to reduce the risk of rabies in the province.

Winnipeg Humane Society staff want to train vaccinators in remote communities as they travel with the One Health program, Bowen added.

The MVMA didn’t have a specific number of vaccinators or sponsoring veterinarians needed — it depends on demand, Wilson said.

Sponsoring vets will indirectly supervise the vaccinators, the MVMA outlined. Trainees without phone or internet service can keep paper records of their services, to be given to their sponsoring vet at a later date, Bowen said.

The program is “just one piece” of a larger puzzle to solving the labour shortage, she added. The Winnipeg Humane Society has been short-staffed much of the past three years.

The veterinary shortfall is a national problem. In response, the MVMA has “somewhat increased” the scope of veterinary technologists’ work (vet techs have lesser schooling than a full veterinarian).

Bringing in foreign-trained veterinarians are another option being eyed by the MVMA.

There’s been more demand for services, but the province and Canada hasn’t invested in upping their training of veterinarians, Wilson noted.

In 2022, the provincial government worked with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon to increase its number of Manitoba students to 20 per year (from 15).

Manitoba’s new vaccinator program represents “a meaningful contribution to the reconciliation process with Indigenous communities,” Alexandra Jerao, a veterinarian with Manitoba Animal Health and Welfare, said in a news release.

Its supporting veterinarians will undergo education with a truth and reconciliation component.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com