Cross-sectional survey of rural and nonrural veterinarians indicates similarities in intent to stay or leave practice and differences in community attachment and satisfaction.

Objective: The primary objective was to identify veterinary workforce characteristics and factors contributing to staying in or leaving a veterinary practice. A secondary objective was to compare workforce characteristics and factors related to retention between survey respondents working in rural versus nonrural areas.

Methods: Veterinarians were surveyed via a questionnaire distributed with the use of a state veterinary medical association listserv or veterinary program alumni listserv from February 2022 to January 2023 and social media postings on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook in April 2022.

The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine Shelter Program.

The shelter program at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine provides veterinary students with extensive experience in shelter animal care including spay/neuter, basic wellness care, diagnostics, medical management, disease control, shelter management and biosecurity. Students spend five days at shelters in the junior year of the curriculum and two weeks working on mobile veterinary units in their senior year. The program helps meet accreditation standards of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education that require students to have hands-on experience and is in keeping with recommendations from the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium.