Diversity In Veterinary Medicine
Diversity in veterinary medicine has traditionally been viewed as the inclusion of more women in the profession. The first woman, graduated from McKillip Veterinary College in Chicago in 1903. Very slowly more women entered this field of medicine. 1970-89% of veterinary college enrollment was held by men. 2007, only 37 years later was dubbed ‘the year of the female veterinarian’ with 75 percent of that year’s graduates being women. 2009 was the tipping point for the profession with 55% of the licensed DVMs being female. As of 2017, 80% of all veterinary students were women, and currently 64% of the practicing veterinarians you’ll encounter will be women and 90% of the veterinary nurses are also women.
But diversity is more than gender. Sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religion and age all must be considered. Veterinary medicine has been called ‘the whitest profession in America’. 86% of America’s veterinarians are white, 6% are Asian and 8% LatinX. Stats on LGBTQ are scant but as of 2011, 7% of all veterinary students identified as LGBTQ.
Improving inclusivity is a major focus of veterinary medicine recruitment and advancement. But the question remains as to how we got to our current status, what is being done to have the profession more closely mirror the general population and why it is important.
My guest is Dr. Tierra Price. She is part of a very elite cadre of veterinarians. Dr. Price is also is one of the 2.1% veterinarians in the United States who are African American. We are going to discuss the challenges in becoming a veterinarian when no one looks like you, how she and the profession are attempting to remedy this disparity and the organization she founded, the Black DVM Network.
BIO:
Dr. Tierra Price is a recent graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, where she served as Vice
President of her class and President of the Women’s Veterinary Development Leadership Initiative. She is currently
a Community Medicine veterinarian in Los Angeles, California, but has a wide variety of veterinary interests including
emergency/critical care, surgery, public health and lab animal medicine. As a veterinary student, in 2018, Dr. Price founded BlackDVM Network, a community that connects Black veterinary professionals for mentorship and advancing veterinary medicine. This safe space provides educational and networking opportunities for its members as well as a sense of belonging. Dr. Price’s commitment to highlighting Black veterinary professionals is directly related to her desire for a mentor she could identify with.In her free time, she loves dancing, yoga, reading and soaking up the sun. Most importantly, Dr. Price believes we should be able to show up as our entire selves in our career. She hopes to inspire others with her drive, authenticity and confidence to boldly take on challenges in veterinary medicine.