Animal health company, Instinct Science, has released its second State of Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Care Report, highlighting the changing landscape in emergency and specialty veterinary care.
Based on a survey of 545 emergency and specialty veterinary professionals, the company’s annual report highlights improvements in morale and teamwork within the sector. More than half of respondents (57 percent) reported adopting new technology contributes to better work-life balance, suggesting investment in modern tools can lead to happier, more balanced teams. Moreover, 54 percent of the respondents reported overall high or very high job satisfaction and morale, an increase from last year’s 34 percent. The report notes the feedback on high morale is particularly prevalent in practices that prioritize wellness programs and open communication.
Despite these positive trends, particularly in job satisfaction, ongoing issues remain. Seventy-eight of practices reportedly still experience staffing shortages, and 79 percent of practices experiencing high turnover rate for veterinary technician and veterinary nurse roles.
Other key findings include:
- Patient volume and wait times have eased in 2024, with 59 percent of practices reporting about the same or lower volume as last year. From 2023 to 2024, the percentage of patients waiting less than 15 minutes more than doubled, and the proportion of patients waiting more than two hours decreased from 27 percent to 16 percent.
- 61 percent of respondents identified the integration of digital treatment sheets as the most impactful productivity tool
- 54 percent of respondents cited cloud-based PIMs/EMR for workflows and organizational productivity have improved their efficiency in daily tasks.
For more information, visit the Instinct Science website.