HHS

HHS neither assesses veterinarian workforce needs departmentwide nor has it instructed any of its component agencies that employ veterinarians— FDA, CDC, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—to assess their own workforces.

HHS officials told us that departmental leadership in workforce planning is important. In fact, they said the department is in the preliminary stages of developing a strategic departmentwide approach to workforce planning for certain professions. This effort will initially focus on workforce assessments for specific occupations, such as nurses and medical doctors. HHS officials told us they will not initially include veterinarians in this effort, because veterinarians are not deemed mission critical for the department, even though they are critical to the missions of FDA, CDC, and NIH. However, HHS officials said that this effort does not preclude agencies from assessing their own veterinarian workforce needs and sharing that information with the department. HHS officials also told us that because the department is expected to provide veterinary medical care and support during public health and medical disasters that warrant a coordinated federal response, it is critical that appropriate veterinary resources are identified and maintained. Furthermore, these officials told us that efforts are under way at the component agency level to address the national veterinary shortage. Specifically, CDC, in collaboration with Emory University, has developed a residency program designed to provide comprehensive training in laboratory animal medicine to better prepare veterinarians for working in laboratory research facilities at CDC and across the nation. In addition, in 2006 and 2008 CDC sponsored a “Veterinary Student Day” to promote public health careers for veterinarians.