COLLABORATION BETWEEN PRIVATE PRACTICE ACADEMIA

摘要

For decades, the question over which is "better" for specialists-private practice or academia, has been raised between individuals as well as within individuals. The answer to that question is, of course, dependent on the goals and aspirations of a specific specialist. In the "old days", private specialty practices were few and far between, and university hospitals tended to have the best equipment and the most complete complement of specialists in a single location. During the last 20 years, the landscape of specialized veterinary medicine has changed dramatically. Large, fully-staffed and fully-equipped private referral hospitals now abound and most veterinary specialists seek careers in the private sector following residency training. In addition, many university faculty members have left academic positions for private referral practice. Coincident with the seemingly explosive growth of private referral practices, many university hospitals have experienced either limited growth or steady lossesof both faculty and revenue. The advantages of private practice life in comparison with academia have historically included dramatically higher salaries, more freedom to choose a location in which to live, more flexible working hours, limited to no pressure to publish and less bureaucracy. Advantages to an academic career compared to private referral practice include opportunities for research and scholarly pursuits, more teaching opportunities, and job security (assuming that tenure is secured); in addition, although there may be less choice in terms of flexibility of working hours, academia tends to be, in my experience, less hectic than private practice life. Within the last 2 years, the landscape of specialty veterinary medicine has once again changed. And it was not a good change for academia or the private sector.