The ratio of support staff (vet techs, assistants, front desk) to doctors of veterinary medicine (DVMs) in a practice. A ratio that’s too low caps how many appointments a DVM can actually see in a day regardless of demand, since techs handle restraint, prep, and treatment work that frees up doctor time — practices citing “can’t get appointments” capacity problems often have a staffing-ratio problem underneath, not a doctor shortage.
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