The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has published a new workforce model for the veterinary professions, aiming to make projections of workforce supply versus demand for veterinary services until 2035.

Some key findings of the model in regard to veterinary nurses were:

• The number of vet nurses on the Register is projected to increase by 78% between 2023 and 2035, reaching 41,200. This rate of growth (around 4.9% per year) is lower than the average growth between 2017 and 2023 (7.2%)
• Growth is faster among the older age groups, with the proportion of vet nurses aged 40 and over projected to increase from 30% of the total in 2023 to 38% in 2035
• The number of vet nurses in clinical practice (where the majority of vet nurses work) is expected to increase by more than the overall average (86% compared with 78%)
• The number of FTE vet nurses is projected to increase by 72% between 2023 and 2035 (compared to the increase in headcount of 78%) and the average FTE across all vet nurses is projected to fall from 0.84 in 2023 to 0.81 in 2035
• In terms of demand and supply, the supply of vet nurses equated to 96% of total demand in 2023, and will exceed total demand by 2025, reaching a surplus of 22% over total demand by 2035. In clinical practice, by 2035 there is a predicted surplus of 28% over the total demand level

In response to the report, BVNA President Lyndsay Hughes commented: “BVNA welcomes the work carried out by the RCVS to better understand potential workforce numbers of veterinary professionals over the coming decade. However, we are concerned by the suggestion that the supply of veterinary nurses may exceed demand by 2025. We feel this type of modelling alone does not present a complete picture, and so we encourage the veterinary profession to look at the wider context of how veterinary nurses currently work – and could work in future – in conjunction with this data.

“Currently, it is widely regarded that RVNs are not well-utilised in practice. We feel this provides a key oversight within the workforce projections; there are missed opportunities for RVNs to support vets’ workload more effectively, whilst working within the scope of Schedule 3. Proper utilisation of RVNs could therefore help to rebalance at least some of the effect of workforce shortages amongst vets in clinical practice, by enabling vets to spend more time on the tasks only they can do.

“Further, BVNA is championing the need for an enhanced RVN role, and we are calling for this to be included within any future reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. We accept that the impact of legislative reform is a complex issue to reflect within workforce modelling. However, we consider that the current reported shortages against demand for vets provides further evidence that an enhanced RVN role would significantly benefit the veterinary team, by enabling RVNs to take on additional clinical responsibility. In turn, this could also lead to an increase in demand for RVN roles in clinical practice.

“Whilst we welcome the insights provided by the RCVS workforce modelling, it is important to remember that modelling does not provide a crystal ball into the future. We feel the projections do, however, provide further support for the need to enable RVNs to contribute as fully as possible to the veterinary team.”