I knew I wanted to become a veterinarian when I was in elementary school. It was the only choice for me. The biggest challenge I faced was the difficulty of getting into veterinary school.

Veterinary medicine offers so many diverse career options. If you start down one track, and want to make a change, you can still use your veterinary degree to explore other options. It's amazing how many doors open with a veterinary degree.

I think that AVMA offers room for everybody. There is a diverse array of opinions on various issues out there, and I like how the AVMA seems to be open to considering everyone's opinions. And there are a lot of ways to be involved, from attending a CE meeting to getting highly involved in organized veterinary medicine as a volunteer leader.

I use the Biennial Economic Survey in the classes I teach at Michigan State University. The data provides a reference point from which the students can start learning and understanding how businesses really operate.

We've been using the AVMA data for five years and we also use the NCVEI Web site. I really appreciate the AVMA's support of the NCVEI and all that they try to do to promote economic understanding of veterinary business issues.

I educate students on how to use the AVMA research data to evaluate a practice's financial health. We take financial data from various practices and compare it to the AVMA benchmarks. We also look at starting salaries on national and local levels and at averages for various board certified veterinarians and practitioners within specialties. It's a valuable tool that students can put to work as they plan their careers.

MARKET AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH
The AVMA conducts critical market research for the veterinary profession. For Dr. Harris, the research helps prepare her students with real-world insights into their future careers.