Marwick_123-125.indd ROOTS Private practice became the major vocation of local veterinarians from about 1945. Soga was probably the first qualified South African veterinarian to prac- tice privately on a limited scale in the 1800s. Jack Boswell was the first locally qualified (in 1934) vet- erinarian to go directly into practice without first working for the government and is regarded as the father of private practice in South Africa. Boet Bek- ker worked for the government before setting up a successful practice in 1935. PREDICTING THE FUTURE Every day, millions of people read their horoscope in the hope that it might offer guidance for the future of their lives. But lacking the use of tea leaves or a crystal ball, all that I can say is if one reads the press and popular publications and takes yourself out of the box, one begins to see and understand the big- ger picture of veterinary science moving on to the 21st century. The biggest impact that causes an in- dustry to change usually comes from outside the industry and such changes are also going to impact on veterinary science in the future. Therefore, one should constantly look over one’s shoulder to see who might be creating something new that could change veterinary practice, and then stay one step ahead to survive. I believe that veterinarians have without question the most honorable and must wonderful profession that exists on the planet. The range and diversity of the profession is such that a veterinarian can branch out into many sectors of veterinary science and there will always be a lot of willing takers of these services should there be an economic advantage if one should apply them. I am sure the future on into the 21st century is so bright for veterinarians that they are going to have to wear sun glasses. CHALLENGES FACING US TODAY Before we look too far into the future of veterinary science, we should look at the biggest challenge that faces us as veterinarians, which is for a perma- nent solution to the veterinary workforce shortfall in South Africa. The starting point to succeed can be found in four areas: recruitment, selection, educa- tion and retention. The veterinary workforce short- fall is a multi-faceted problem and I don’t claim to have all the answers. I think Onderstepoort realizes the magnitude of the problem and is trying to do something about it. There are, however, some things that each and every veterinarian can do to help. Become a gatherer, recruiter and mentor for young people interested in what you are doing as a veteri- narian. Whether you are employed in state or pro- vincial services, private practice, industry, academy or research, you can impact on someone’s life dra- matically. I had a very good veterinary education but learnt all of bovine medicine, reproduction and nutrition from mentors, all of whom excelled in their own fields. There is just so much that veterinary education can do to prepare students for their ca- reer path—the rest is up to the student and the men- tor. I therefore see that we as veterinarians will have to play a vital role in education and early mentorship in the future if we wish to stem the tide of ever de- creasing numbers of rural practitioners and intend to set the demographic representation of the veter- inary workforce on a new course. 123 Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 76:123–125 (2009) The future of private veterinary practice in South Africa C. MARWICK P.O. Box 248, Clocolan, 9735 South Africa 124 Future of private veterinary practice in South Africa If veterinarians wish to pass the life boat test, the faculty needs to make graduating veterinarians more relevant to society in the 21st century, as the needs of the veterinary profession is severely im- balanced with more than 75 % of qualifying veteri- narians ending up in companion animal practice. This makes the present day delivery of veterinary services, though essential for companion animals, a luxury item that loses its support base in a strained society that is ever increasingly monitoring animal welfare and food security. I don’t think one can overplay the mystique of James Herriot and we should remind ourselves that is why we do what we do and solutions to the veterinary workforce must start with us, the roll players in vet- erinary science. Remember, ‘all politics are local’. FUTURE CHALLENGES The fundamentals of veterinary science are chang- ing and veterinarians should prepare themselves for change. There is a shift from a national market that is commodity-focused to a global market which is much more value-added and niche-market fo- cused. Because most of the world’s population growth will take place in developing countries, the global demand for meat is projected to increase by 60 % by 2020. The second change is from emphasis on production increases to one on social acceptance of meat prod- ucts. Consumers have concerns about animal wel- fare and environmental issues, and they are becom- ing more interested in organically produced foods. Veterinarians should be mindful that animal agricul- turists, who have had a privileged status in the past, now have a lesser status caused by a public increas- ingly out of touch with agriculture (milk out of the bottle, etc.). A further shift is envisioning food as a health pro- moter, and not just for sustenance. Scientific ad- vances in the field of transgenic animals will usher in a new area in which animal products may be used exclusively as medicines and for preventative treat- ments. These products will involve intense efforts to educate the public as to their merit. Finally, rural vet- erinarians will be perceived as public advocates. Veterinarians should be seen as protectors against zoonotic outbreaks as well as agri-terrorism attacks. All these changes will require the reinventing of the 21st century veterinarian. ‘When you are on a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.’ The solu- tion is not to continue on the treadmill of producing meat faster and faster. Step back and reassess your personal and professional pathway into the future. Veterinarians can add value for their clients and expand professional capabilities by acquiring new skills and becoming involved in new activities. These include, to name a few, becoming an animal welfare advisor, food safety expert, bio-security planner, population health expert, participating in the man- agement of the ecosystem for sustainable use, in the maintenance of wildlife health and a greater in- volvement in biomedical research, and acting as a public health advocate. Veterinarians need to focus on improving communications skills, partnering with government agencies and departments, conducting environmental scans of their entire commodity chain and training and teaching producers. I am not here to give all the answers, but will sug- gest that the future is catching up with us veterinar- ians and there is an urgency to address the future and keep looking over your shoulder, for the future we will live in tomorrow is created by actions we take today. In the socio-political environment private veterinari- ans will have to play a vital roll in addressing the unique issues within South Africa. I envisage that private veterinarians will be pivotal in delivering a service on behalf of the government with the aid of animal health technicians and primary health work- ers. The days of private veterinarians working in iso- lation are rapidly coming to an end and they need to build coalitions with state veterinary services, other professions as well as with the food animal industry as a whole. As we move on into the new millennium, we are truly at the crossroad of the private veterinarian’s history. Primary health care, new economic models, political pressure to become more relevant to agri-economic environment, economic viability of the private prac- titioner and technological challenges have brought both opportunities and despair to the private practi- tioner. Studies have shown that the continuing conver- gence of animal heath, human health and eco-sys- tem health is the new reality, and that the concept of one medicine should be embraced with the veteri- narian playing a pivotal role, as almost every human disease can be caused, modified or altered by envi- ronmental agents. This has been clearly shown in the case of TB, HIV, monkey pox, avian influenza, etc. Seventy-five percent of diseases that have 125 C. MARWICK emerged in the past 25 years are zoonotic in na- ture. The concept of one world, one health, one medi- cine, should be embraced by the veterinary profes- sion in the future. The future is what we make of it and we need to adapt or die. By embracing new technology and keep ing ahead of the pack, the private practitioner in South Africa will have a rosy future, so veterinar- ians need to go out and get those dark glasses. << /ASCII85EncodePages false /AllowTransparency false /AutoPositionEPSFiles true /AutoRotatePages /None /Binding /Left /CalGrayProfile (Dot Gain 20%) /CalRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CalCMYKProfile (Coated FOGRA27 \050ISO 12647-2:2004\051) /sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1) /CannotEmbedFontPolicy /Error /CompatibilityLevel 1.4 /CompressObjects /Tags /CompressPages true /ConvertImagesToIndexed true /PassThroughJPEGImages true /CreateJobTicket false /DefaultRenderingIntent /Default /DetectBlends true /DetectCurves 0.0000 /ColorConversionStrategy /CMYK /DoThumbnails false /EmbedAllFonts true /EmbedOpenType false /ParseICCProfilesInComments true /EmbedJobOptions true /DSCReportingLevel 0 /EmitDSCWarnings false /EndPage -1 /ImageMemory 1048576 /LockDistillerParams false /MaxSubsetPct 100 /Optimize true /OPM 1 /ParseDSCComments true /ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true /PreserveCopyPage true /PreserveDICMYKValues true /PreserveEPSInfo true /PreserveFlatness true /PreserveHalftoneInfo false /PreserveOPIComments true /PreserveOverprintSettings true /StartPage 1 /SubsetFonts false /TransferFunctionInfo /Apply /UCRandBGInfo /Preserve /UsePrologue false /ColorSettingsFile () /AlwaysEmbed [ true ] /NeverEmbed [ true ] /AntiAliasColorImages false /CropColorImages true /ColorImageMinResolution 300 /ColorImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleColorImages false /ColorImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /ColorImageResolution 2400 /ColorImageDepth -1 /ColorImageMinDownsampleDepth 1 /ColorImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeColorImages true /ColorImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterColorImages true /ColorImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /ColorACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /ColorImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages false /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 2400 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /GrayImageDict << /QFactor 0.15 /HSamples [1 1 1 1] /VSamples [1 1 1 1] >> /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /TileWidth 256 /TileHeight 256 /Quality 30 >> /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages false /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 2400 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict << /K -1 >> /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile (None) /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False /CreateJDFFile false /Description << /ARA /BGR /CHS /CHT /CZE /DAN /DEU /ESP /ETI /FRA /GRE /HEB /HRV (Za stvaranje Adobe PDF dokumenata najpogodnijih za visokokvalitetni ispis prije tiskanja koristite ove postavke. Stvoreni PDF dokumenti mogu se otvoriti Acrobat i Adobe Reader 5.0 i kasnijim verzijama.) /HUN /ITA /JPN /KOR /LTH /LVI /NLD (Gebruik deze instellingen om Adobe PDF-documenten te maken die zijn geoptimaliseerd voor prepress-afdrukken van hoge kwaliteit. De gemaakte PDF-documenten kunnen worden geopend met Acrobat en Adobe Reader 5.0 en hoger.) /NOR /POL /PTB /RUM /RUS /SKY /SLV /SUO /SVE /TUR /UKR /ENU (Use these settings to create Adobe PDF documents best suited for high-quality prepress printing. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Reader 5.0 and later.) >> /Namespace [ (Adobe) (Common) (1.0) ] /OtherNamespaces [ << /AsReaderSpreads false /CropImagesToFrames true /ErrorControl /WarnAndContinue /FlattenerIgnoreSpreadOverrides false /IncludeGuidesGrids false /IncludeNonPrinting false /IncludeSlug false /Namespace [ (Adobe) (InDesign) (4.0) ] /OmitPlacedBitmaps false /OmitPlacedEPS false /OmitPlacedPDF false /SimulateOverprint /Legacy >> << /AddBleedMarks false /AddColorBars false /AddCropMarks false /AddPageInfo false /AddRegMarks false /ConvertColors /ConvertToCMYK /DestinationProfileName () /DestinationProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /Downsample16BitImages true /FlattenerPreset << /PresetSelector /MediumResolution >> /FormElements false /GenerateStructure false /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks false /IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false /IncludeProfiles false /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings /Namespace [ (Adobe) (CreativeSuite) (2.0) ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /DocumentCMYK /PreserveEditing true /UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged /UntaggedRGBHandling /UseDocumentProfile /UseDocumentBleed false >> ] >> setdistillerparams << /HWResolution [2400 2400] /PageSize [850.394 1133.858] >> setpagedevice