State/Territory
New Mexico
Shortage Location - Must Serve
Navajo Nation (Northwest New Mexico): San Juan, McKinley, Sandoval, Rio Arriba, Cibola (NM)
Shortage Location - May Serve
Bernalillo, NM
Location Center
Navajo Technical University Veterinary Hospital, State Hwy 371 & Route 9, Crownpoint, NM 87313
VSGP Status
Open
VMLRP Status
(Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program)
Open
Priority of shortage
Critical
Fiscal year
Percent FTE
(Full Time Equivalent, based on a 40hr work week.)
30
Type of Shortage
(Veterinary Practice Area / Discipline / Specialty)
Type II Shortage: Private Practice – Rural Area Food Animal Medicine
Must serve
Beef Cattle
Small Ruminant
Other Must Serve
Equine
May serve
Dairy Cattle
Swine
Poultry
Other May Serve
Camelids
Employer
Position Title
Other disciplinary area
Carry Over
Nominator Name
Samantha R. Uhrig
Nominator Title
State Veterinarian
Nominator Org
New Mexico Livestock Board
Nominator Email
Nominator Phone
505-841-6161
Importance/Objectives of Veterinarian
Of the 298,000 members of the Navajo Nation, about 64,361 Navajo members (US Census Bureau 2020) live in the rural areas of Eastern Agency (based around Crownpoint, NM) and Northern Agency (based around Shiprock, NM) covering approximately 17 million acres. The area includes tribal trust land, federal range land, and tribal communities and private land further north and east outside of the Navajo Nation. An estimated 113,205 livestock are in this region of the Navajo Nation (www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus). There is a great need for veterinarians to provide food animal and livestock veterinary care and expertise in this region. Ranching livestock and farming are part of the local economy. This region is served by Navajo Technical University (a tribally-operated higher education institution) Veterinary Hospital. Filling this position would enhance availability of local veterinary services to food animals and livestock residing on the Navajo Nation and surrounding area improving accessibility to veterinary care and contributing to the overall improvement of animal health in this remote region of NM.
Veterinarian Medical Activities & Services
The primary veterinary activity of this shortage situation in North West New Mexico is clinical medical and surgical practice, including the diagnosis and treatment of livestock, livestock preventative herd health (including immunizations, nutrition consultation, parasite control, breeding soundness exams, sampling for trichomoniasis lab analyses, pregnancy palpation, CVI's for animal movement, etc.), disease and plant poisoning outbreak investigations, emergency disaster response, university extension outreach and education, and public health disease surveillance. Due to the remoteness of this high desert arid region, veterinary practitioners are expected to travel up to 150 miles one way across rough terrain even in inclement winter weather conditions to provide livestock veterinary services. In addition, some local veterinary medical research relevant to the Navajo Nation is undertaken by veterinarians along with direct supervision and training of students such as veterinary technicians and STEM students. Furthermore, veterinarians assist with continuing education presentations for local producers throughout the year and youth agriculture-based programs during the summer time. Veterinary services are provided at the hospital located in Crownpoint and via mobile practice. Equine surgical and herd health services are provided at the USDA FS Bloomfield facility.
Historical Efforts of Recruiting/Retaining a Veterinarian
Efforts have been made to increase veterinary salaries & benefits, however, there are difficulties in establishing and maintaining highly competitive salaries and benefits packages on the Navajo Nation comparable to urban practices. Veterinary positions have been prone to high turnover due to low salary, difficulty in obtaining housing locally and remoteness of the location. Two Navajo & one tribal university veterinary positions have remained unfilled for over ten years despite advertising and recruitment efforts. VMLRP assistance is critical for recruitment and retention of veterinarians in this area especially of a type II practitioner able to provide food animal coverage but also work in a mixed animal facility to help pay off student loan debt.
Consequences of Not Securing/Retaining a Veterinarian
The shortage of veterinarians in this region has detrimental effects on the health and moral of the veterinarians that currently serve the people of the Navajo Nation in North West New Mexico because of the demands of serving such a vast area. Short staffing impacts the livestock economy as a result of limited services, delayed delivery of services, delayed ability to respond to food animal emergencies, and potential disasters. Further, inadequate staffing in this area places three neighboring states at potential risk due to an inability to rapidly respond to emergency animal disease incidents. Additionally, this area is at great risk for loss of veterinarians on staff due to lower salaries than other government agencies and graduates facing high loan debt. During the last 9 years, only two tribal veterinarians and two tribal university veterinarians have been responsible for an area the size of West Virginia with a human population of approximately 250,000 (2010 census) and livestock census of over 271,000 head of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. The area is economically depressed and livestock production is a large part of the economy. As a sovereign tribal nation, the tribal and university veterinarians perform clinical and emergency medical services, extension outreach and education, and have teaching roles in the local veterinary technology program.
Community Aspects
The Navajo Technical University Veterinary Hospital Director, Office Manager and Registered Veterinary Technician have been in their roles for up to 14 years and have provided consistency for the operation of the facility, academic programs, and land grant/extension services, and veterinary services provided. The Director has provided mentorship for new DVM graduates in the past and will continue to do so in the future. The position includes financial coverage of the annual continuing education (registration, lodging, travel) required to maintain the state license. The beautiful Four Corners region of New Mexico offers many family outdoor opportunities for biking, hiking, trail-running, climbing, camping, fishing, boating, horseback riding, and skiing. Cost of living is very reasonable and affordable for this rural area. The Crownpoint community and surrounding area is very small but offers several options for schools.