‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage
There is a global veterinary workforce shortage, particularly in rural and regional areas. In response to this shortage in New South Wales (NSW), the State Parliament launched a Parliamentary Inquiry in 2023. The Inquiry received 205 publicly available written submissions, providing insights into th...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| author | Sharon Mary Pepita Thio Anne Quain |
| author_facet | Sharon Mary Pepita Thio Anne Quain |
| author_sort | Sharon Mary Pepita Thio |
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| description | There is a global veterinary workforce shortage, particularly in rural and regional areas. In response to this shortage in New South Wales (NSW), the State Parliament launched a Parliamentary Inquiry in 2023. The Inquiry received 205 publicly available written submissions, providing insights into the perceived challenges and barriers for veterinarians working in rural practice, and how the perceived impact of the feminisation of the workforce interacts with this. By analysing a subset of submissions written by veterinarians reporting lived experiences in rural practice (<i>n</i> = 63), we identified eight major themes. These were as follows: rural practices are not financially sustainable; rural veterinarians often have a more challenging and higher workload than their urban counterparts; working in rural practice increases challenges to health and wellbeing; it is difficult to recruit and retain people in rural practice; veterinary students are poorly selected and not well prepared for rural practice; clients have unrealistic expectations of rural veterinarians; rural practice is not compatible with family life; and veterinarians have mixed opinions regarding whether an increase in the proportion of female veterinarians is a key contributing factor in the shortage of veterinarians. These findings may assist in the development of recruitment and retention strategies for rural veterinary practice. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f708c09614ba4387a896cf8f8387fe24 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-f708c09614ba4387a896cf8f8387fe242025-01-24T13:52:11ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812025-01-011216910.3390/vetsci12010069‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce ShortageSharon Mary Pepita Thio0Anne Quain1Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, AustraliaSydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, AustraliaThere is a global veterinary workforce shortage, particularly in rural and regional areas. In response to this shortage in New South Wales (NSW), the State Parliament launched a Parliamentary Inquiry in 2023. The Inquiry received 205 publicly available written submissions, providing insights into the perceived challenges and barriers for veterinarians working in rural practice, and how the perceived impact of the feminisation of the workforce interacts with this. By analysing a subset of submissions written by veterinarians reporting lived experiences in rural practice (<i>n</i> = 63), we identified eight major themes. These were as follows: rural practices are not financially sustainable; rural veterinarians often have a more challenging and higher workload than their urban counterparts; working in rural practice increases challenges to health and wellbeing; it is difficult to recruit and retain people in rural practice; veterinary students are poorly selected and not well prepared for rural practice; clients have unrealistic expectations of rural veterinarians; rural practice is not compatible with family life; and veterinarians have mixed opinions regarding whether an increase in the proportion of female veterinarians is a key contributing factor in the shortage of veterinarians. These findings may assist in the development of recruitment and retention strategies for rural veterinary practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/1/69veterinary workforceparliamentary inquiryrural practicerural veterinariansworkforce feminisationreflexive thematic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Sharon Mary Pepita Thio Anne Quain ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage Veterinary Sciences veterinary workforce parliamentary inquiry rural practice rural veterinarians workforce feminisation reflexive thematic analysis |
| title | ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage |
| title_full | ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage |
| title_fullStr | ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage |
| title_short | ‘It’s Already Hard and It’s Nearing Impossible’: A Thematic Analysis of Submissions by Rural Veterinarians to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage |
| title_sort | it s already hard and it s nearing impossible a thematic analysis of submissions by rural veterinarians to the nsw parliamentary inquiry into the veterinary workforce shortage |
| topic | veterinary workforce parliamentary inquiry rural practice rural veterinarians workforce feminisation reflexive thematic analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/1/69 |
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