Análisis de la situación de la profesión veterinaria en España, con especial referencia a la Comunidad de Madrid

Abstract

During the last 20 years, there have been several events with great influence on the veterinarian profession, such as the autonomous regions development, the increase on the number of Faculties of Veterinary, the massive insertion of women into the profession, the pet sector development and the full integration in Europe. All those factors justify the need to perform a deep analysis on the veterinarian profession, which can contribute with useful information in order to establish improvement strategies, especially if it is taken into account the very few studies performed in Spain about this topic. To carry out the analysis, surveys to all the professionals belonging to the Madrid Veterinarian Association, to the newly graduates, to the 4th and 5th year students, and to the general population have been performed, in order to find out the main troubles of the profession and identify the veterinarians needs. And based on the results, and from the Professional Association Board of Administration, being able to establish directions for professional improvement in the short, mid and long term. As main conclusion, it is found that veterinarian professionals are mainly young, with female predominance, and the private sector as their main scope of work. Professionals are not well paid and with low self-esteem in relation to their high qualification, dedication and professionalism. This fact contrasts with the high appreciation noticed on the general population with regard to the veterinarian professionals. The main problems addressed are the large number of veterinarian students graduating yearly, as well as the lack of specialization. The most immediate solutions set out are limiting the access to the profession, promoting postgraduate training and stimulating specializations.