Veterinary Debt Initiative
About the VDI
The vision of the Veterinary Debt Initiative is for veterinarians to thrive in rewarding and financially sustainable careers.
The mission of the Veterinary Debt Initiative is to educate, advocate and provide leadership to ensure veterinarians can pursue a lifetime of financial success in a personally and professionally rewarding career.
The strategic plan is to raise awareness and provide access to resources that will enable pre-veterinary students, veterinary students and veterinarians to make highly informed financial decisions.
Veterinary debt is one of the most important issues facing veterinarians. It's critical to both financial success and personal wellbeing. The AVMA is committed to helping veterinarians thrive in rewarding and financially sustainable careers – and that includes finding solutions to reduce veterinary debt, as well as maximize income.
Beyond the many programs we offer directly to AVMA members, the AVMA has joined with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and the Veterinary Medical Association Executives (VMAE) to lead the Veterinary Debt Initiative. This is a multi-faceted partnership that unites the entire veterinary profession to improve the financial picture for veterinarians. The Veterinary Debt Initiative shares best practices, knowledge and ideas to enhance financial literacy, explores ways to reduce the cost of education, and creates resources to help veterinarians reduce and manage debt. The alliance has provided sessions for students to attend at the annual SAVMA Symposium, and partnered with industry leaders who are providing information about student loans and repayment options.
The partnership also advocates for informed public policy that supports veterinarians financially. Partners collaborate to create a coordinated and engaged voice on legislative matters affecting debt, such as developments related to education funding, student debt reduction, and business costs.
The initiative is currently concentrating on those identified as needing the most help – pre-veterinary and veterinary students, and new graduates and early career veterinarians with existing debt – and has further plans to deliver resources to veterinarians in later career stages. The Veterinary Debt Initiative has developed a multi-year strategic plan that includes identifying priorities and the objectives that support them.
Learn more about the Veterinary Debt Initiative at VeterinaryDebtInitiative.org.
Examples of AVMA's work on the Veterinary Debt Initiative
- CE sessions on student loan repayment at the AVMA Convention
- Support for online student loan learning on MyVeterinaryLife.com
- Sharing AAVMC materials outlining the cost of attending veterinary school when we talk with pre-veterinary students, such as the infographic “What’s the story behind tuition?”