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Protecting Animal and Public Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce, Testimony of Dr. Michael Gilsdorf
testimony 7 of 8
Title: Protecting Animal and Public Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce, Testimony of Dr. Michael Gilsdorf
Date: February 26, 2009
Author: Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Institution: Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Bibliographic Entry: “Protecting Animal and Public Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce.” February 26, 2009. Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia. Witness testimony of Dr. Michael Gilsdorf
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=c34dd856-a58a-4ab8-9588-258131fd817a (Accessed March 24, 2009)
Electronic Link: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/TestimonyGilsdorf20090226Revised.pdf
Key Words: federal veterinarians, veterinary workforce, National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV), animal and public health
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions: Dr. Michael Gilsdorf, Executive Vice President of the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV), also testified on the challenges faced by federal veterinarians and the reasons for their limited presence in the federal government workforce. The major challenges to federal agencies in maintaining an adequate veterinary workforce are recruitment, retention and continuing education (CE) issues. In one of the NAFV surveys performed prior to this hearing, more than 90% of the federal managers surveyed identified that increased flexibility in starting pay would enhance many federal agencies’ ability to recruit veterinarians. Additionally, federal veterinarians overwhelmingly indicated that significant increased access to incentives like student loan repayment, recruitment bonuses, scholarship programs, internship programs, direct hiring authority, re-hiring retired federal veterinarians as part-time employees under a contract or as re-hired federal annuitants without penalty, and increased base salaries, would be necessary for future recruiting efforts. Additional non-monetary recruiting incentives identified by federal veterinarians include: treating personnel as professionals and not as technicians, providing appropriate and timely training and continuing education opportunities, providing official approval to attend professional meetings related to their official duties, improving leadership from management with decision-making based on science, and improving management support when difficult veterinary decisions are based on science versus public perception. Dr. Gilsdorf concluded his testimony with the suggestion that “There needs to be additional methods within federal agencies to pay higher salaries in order to recruit and retain an adequate veterinary workforce in the future.”
Name of Researcher: Ashanti Z. Corey
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: April 2, 2009