MyVetLife

Among the multitude of career planning resources available to you, be sure to spend some time online with My Veterinary Life provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Representing more than 91,000 members at every career stage, the AVMA is committed to advancing the shared interests, values and goals of member veterinarians. My Veterinary Life’s website helps you succeed with tools and resources to simplify and improve your everyday life. Click here for more.

Should I pursue a boarded specialty?

That’s the $1,000,000 question! 

You can probably categorize your classmates into one of three groups - 

1. Those who, without a doubt, no question, are pursuing a residency and boarded specialty. 
2. The “I’m done with school” There’s no way I’m going to be boarded crowd.
3. Those who are agonizing over the decision. The answer they give you depends on the day of the week. 

This decision can be very difficult! As it should be. The decision to specialize has major consequences on your life and finances. Becoming a boarded specialist is a major commitment and will define your professional life and career. 

Also, remember that important decisions should be based on data and a calculated process. Not on a whim or a gut feeling! 

First, what are we talking about? 

We’re discussing specialties that are recognized by the AVMA’s American Board of Veterinary Specialties. There are 41 AVMA recognized specialties and over 13,500 veterinarians that are specialized. Some will called these veterinarians “Diplomates” and their specialty groups “Colleges.” How many veterinarians are in each specialty? Here is a table!

Typically, to become a “boarded specialist” a veterinarian must complete a residency program and take board certification exams. Seems simple, right? Except for two things...to be accepted into some residency programs a requirement of 1 if not 2 years in an internship program is needed and the board certification exams can be extremely difficult. As in 30-40% passage rates. There are many, many boxes to check and hurdles to jump over. The question becomes is it all worth it? 

Let’s look at some factors that should be weighed when determining whether to pursue a boarded specialty. 

These are questions to jog your thinking - every personal situation is different, but you should have a definitive answer to each of these questions, if you don’t, spend some more time researching and thinking! 

• Programs, Acceptance and Completion 

1. How hard is it to be accepted into the internship and residency programs? 
2. Do I have the grades for acceptance? 
3. Will I have to complete 1 or 2 internships? 
4. Are there alternative routes to becoming boarded? Such as a private practice route or a working/test out route? 
5. Where are the residency programs at? 
6. What happens if I don’t pass the board exams? Will I have useful skills? 

• Life Factors During Internships and Residency

1. 1. 1. Can my family and I move several times during these years? 
      2. What about my spouse’s job, children, parents, immediate family? 
      3. Can I live where the program is? 
      4. Can my family and I withstand long working hours? 
      5. Is there emergency duty? 

• Lifestyle After Completion 

1. Where are the jobs (geographically)? 
2. Will I be required to live in a metropolitan area, or near a university to practice the specialty? 
3. Are there emergency duty requirements? 
4. What will the working hours be like? 
5. Are there practice ownership possibilities? 

• Finances

1. 1. What do the internships and the residencies pay? Here is the public data available on residency salaries! 
   2. What is the average salary after completion of board certification exams? According to the 2018 AVMA Report on the Market for Veterinarians (table 10) Boarded specialists earn on average about $70,000 more than non-boarded veterinarians. The range really depends on the type of specialty though! 
   3. What do the alternative routes to board certification pay? 

Here are the big ticket items regarding finances and board certification. 

What are my Opportunity Costs during the internship and residency? Said another way, what can I earn as a general practitioner if I don’t do an internship and residency. What impact does that extra salary have on my student loans and savings? 

Here’s an example - Let’s say that you could earn an average of $110,000 in private practice in total compensation over the 4 years that it would take to complete a board certification. As an intern and resident you would average $35,000 over those 4 years. The difference is called opportunity cost and that is $75,000 per year or $300,000 over the 4 years. This can be a lot of money, especially if you calculate some savings and compounding interest! 

What impact does a boarded certification have on my Lifetime Earnings? On average, boarded specialists earn $70,000 more than GPs. Therefore, over the course of their career (lifetime) they tend to make up those early career lost opportunity costs. This modeling study showed that lifetime earnings (career present value)  is around $1,000,000 more for boarded specialists over a 34 year career. 

When calculating the opportunity cost, interest rates, student loans and other factors, boarded specialists did much better. Here’s a caveat - this model was done over 10 years ago. My guess in 2020 is that the numbers have only widened for certain specialties like surgery and neurology. 

What about my student loans? 

This can be huge. Federal student loans can be put into an Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan while in internship and residency. Secondly, credit for Public Student Loan Forgiveness can be applicable for interns and residents working for public universities. (We’ll discuss all of this later, in great detail). 

Student loans are accruing interest during internships and residencies and that can really add up. 

Lastly, what is your passion? 

We are all about your happiness, wellness and fulfillment during your career in veterinary medicine. If a boarded specialty is your passion and would make your life compete, go for it! If you are doing it solely because of the money…one thing is certain…it’s going to be a long haul. We want you to weigh all the factors, such as life, career and financial when making the decision. 

Now you know this truly is the One Million Dollar Decision!