Working against the system

Still, in a profession with manpower deficiencies in all sectors, limiting the scope of licensees will compound the problem, Klingborg says.

"The ultimate questions center on what our patients need," he says. "Do they need competent people who are professional only in one area or does their veterinarian need to be good at practicing general medicine? Does this country need more veterinarians? It's not a 'yes,' answer. It's a 'hell, yes' answer."

"How is licensure to be limited?" Klingborg asks. "There are no species more different than the cat and dog. And when you consider pocket pets and fish, I have to ask, 'what is our goal?' It ought to be better care. I just don't see, frankly, how limited licensure is going to better serve our patients."

Answers will come, but not easily, Pappaioanou counters.

"Is this going to happen in a single three-day meeting? No," she says. "But there's no question that all this is solvable. It takes people who are committed with leadership. It's a national dialogue that we need to have."

Conflicted

Despite Pielstick's personal reservations, he wants to start that conversation. He became motivated when an Oregon State University professor appealed to the licensing board, stating that an extra year of education was needed to teach mixed-animal practice.

"This professor was struggling with educating students in all aspects, and I thought to myself, 'We make the least amount of money. We can't afford another year of education,'" he says.

That's when Pielstick decided to explore limited licensure as a concept. Given his background, he's conflicted; an all-species edu-cation has enriched his career. Yet limiting the licenses of veterinarians seems inevitable, despite its drawbacks, he says.

"I think there's a younger generation that needs this and will be highly in favor of it. Small-animal students don't want to spend their time and money studying llamas and pigs," he says. "I think I'm a better veterinarian because of my broad training. That said, we're probably going to have species-limited licensure. I'm on board with that, even if it's a real sad thing for me."

That sentiment is typical among much of the profession, Pappaioanou says, noting that many times, the most serious policy issues are best tackled in smaller, more efficient state venues.

"They get something out there that works, and it spreads," she says. "Standardization comes when the federal government picks up on it. It's how things have worked in the United States for generations."