Why new associate veterinarians leave in year one, and what it costs your practice

The short answer: replacing an associate veterinarian costs roughly $86,000 before you count a single lost appointment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median veterinarian salary at $130,100 in May 2025, and a replacement estimate developed by AVMA economists puts the cost of replacing a doctor at about two-thirds of annual salary. The revenue the empty seat stops producing comes on top of that.

And the reasons doctors leave are rarely the ones owners guess. In the AVMA's most recent census of veterinarians, the veterinarians considering leaving the profession pointed first to their mental health and to work hours, not to pay. Most of what drives a new associate out is inside the practice, which means most of the fix is too.

What a departure actually costs

Two things, and owners usually price only the first. Replacement is the cost of finding, hiring and ramping a new doctor, estimated at about 66 percent of salary. At the current median that is roughly $86,000.

Lost production is the second and it is the one that grows. Every week the seat is open is a week of appointments you did not book, clients who drifted to the practice down the road, and overflow landing on the doctors you still have. The AVMA's 2026 Economic State of the Veterinary Profession report found that gross revenue per full-time veterinarian at companion animal practices was lower in 2025 than in 2024, and named a workplace culture that fully engages the veterinarian-led team as one of the conditions for getting productivity back. Our breakdown of the cost of an empty DVM seat runs the vacancy math in more detail.

Why they actually leave

The AVMA's 2025 report, drawn from its census of veterinarians, found that 8.6 percent of veterinarians were considering leaving the profession for reasons other than retirement. The most-cited reasons were to better their mental health, at 33.7 percent, and lifestyle and the number of work hours required, at 16.6 percent. The AVMA's own summary was that the reasons had less to do with money and more with lifestyle and managing stress. Associates also reported lower satisfaction with their job and their lifestyle than practice owners did.

Inside a practice, that tends to show up in a handful of recognisable ways.

No real mentorship. A new associate needs someone to take the hard case to on a Tuesday afternoon. When the senior doctor is too buried to be that person, the associate is alone with every difficult call, and that is exactly the stress the AVMA data points to.

A caseload that makes the new doctor pay for the vacancy next to them. When a practice is already a doctor short, the newest associate often absorbs the overflow. Longer hours on the newest doctor is the burnout loop that creates the next vacancy.

Production pay that does not match the schedule. A production model with a low base can look generous on paper and feel thin in the first months while a caseload builds. If the early paychecks look nothing like the offer conversation, trust goes quickly.

Breaks and leave that exist on paper only. A benefits package means little if nobody feels able to take lunch or use a sick day. The AVMA's recommendation to employers is specific: flexible hours, designated break times, and actively encouraging people to use their sick and vacation leave.

What keeps a new associate past year one

Name a mentor before day one and protect that doctor's time. Not an open-door policy, a specific person with a standing weekly slot.

Ramp the caseload deliberately. Longer appointment slots in the first months cost far less than a replacement.

Make the first paycheck match the conversation. If pay is production-based, set a guaranteed floor for the ramp-up period so there are no surprises.

Check in at 30, 90 and 180 days and ask the question directly: what would make you leave? Associates will often tell you, if someone asks before they have already decided.

Fix the vacancy next to them. Asking one new doctor to carry two seats is the fastest way to end up with two vacancies.

Where international hires fit

Every domestic hire comes from the same small pool, which is part of why doctors move so freely between practices: there is always another offer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 3,100 openings for veterinarians a year on average across the 2025 to 2035 decade.

A licensed veterinarian from Mexico or Canada who relocates for your practice has made a far bigger decision than a domestic associate changing clinics across town, and chose your practice specifically. That changes the retention conversation, though it does not replace the basics above. Our guide to hiring an international veterinarian covers how the route works from the clinic side.

It is also why VetBridge USA backs its placements with a three-year replacement guarantee. At $86,000 or more a departure, a placement that does not last is not a placement.

Sources

The median veterinarian salary comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025, and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. Figures on veterinarians considering leaving the profession, their reasons, satisfaction by job position and the AVMA's retention recommendations come from the AVMA's 2025 Economic State of the Veterinary Profession report, based on its Census of Veterinarians. Revenue per full-time veterinarian and the workplace culture finding come from the AVMA's 2026 Economic State of the Veterinary Profession report, published in January 2026 from surveys conducted in 2025. The replacement cost method of about 66 percent of salary comes from Neill, Hansen and Salois, The Economic Cost of Burnout in Veterinary Medicine, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.