Registered veterinary professionals in Republic at all-time high
There are now 3,281 vets and 1,189 veterinary nurses on the Veterinary Council of Ireland’s register, it has been revealed.
Figures from the Veterinary Council not only show an all-time high of registered veterinary professionals in the Republic but also changing trends in where those vets come from with more than 70% of those registered this year having qualified abroad.
Out of 189 newly registered vets in the Republic, 54 qualified from UCD, while the rest were drawn from veterinary schools medicine abroad including Budapest, which accounted for 35 and Warsaw which accounted for 12.
Dublin is home to the largest number of vet pofessionals with 700 (456 vets and 244 nurses), Cork is next with 509 (356 vets and 153 vet nurses), followed by Tipperary with 284 (233 vets and 51 nurses).
Niamh Muldoon, CEO and Registrar of the Veterinary Council of Ireland said the increased numbers of qualified professionals would benefit the Republic as it continues to face “increased demand for veterinary services and on-going recruitment challenges.”
The figures come after research published earlier this year by the Veterinary Council of Ireland showed that more than 40% of Irish veterinary professionals are suffering from high levels of stress.
Research conducted in collaboration with the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide Research Foundation in April 2021 touched on topics such as depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, deliberate self-harm, and suicide.
The anonymised research looked at 747 registered veterinary practitioners and veterinary nurses in both employee and managerial roles, a figure which represents 18% of all registered vets and vet nurses in Ireland at the time of the survey.
High anxiety was reported across all roles, with 34.7% reporting normal levels of anxiety, 22.9% in the borderline abnormal range, and 42.5% in the abnormal range.
Three quarters of them struggle with work life balance, while two-thirds feel long working hours are a major stressor and two-fifths say out of hours care is a top stress inducer.
