Colleges collaborate to advance veterinary teachingJanuary 2, 2019The University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine has formed the Southeast Veterinary Educational Consortium to help encourage collaboration among working veterinarians and teachers at veterinary colleges in the eastern United States.
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New initiative honors veterinary customer service representativesJanuary 2, 2019Veterinary client service representatives (CSRs) across the U.S. are being recognized for their role in the animal health industry.
Managing pain in zoological companion animalsJanuary 2, 2019Zoological companion animals (ZCAs) are presenting to veterinary practices more and more frequently, and many will need some kind of pain management as part of their treatment plan. It can be challenging to know what type of medication to use and at what dose—whether it be in the clinic or at home for longer-term care—and there is a lot of information available that isn’t the easiest to interpret. This article reviews some common types and dosages of pain medications used to provide analgesia to birds, reptiles, and exotic companion mammals.
Compounded drugs—A literature updateJanuary 2, 2019In exciting times of new approved drug formulations for animal species, veterinarians face a myriad of challenges when balancing optimal treatment protocols and overall cost burden. Compounded drugs may offer an enticing alternative to an approved animal drug in terms of palatability and cost to the owner; however, the legal status of compounded drugs is often difficult to evaluate.
The race to develop immunotherapies for canine lymphoma and osteosarcomaJanuary 2, 2019There are many reasons why development of immunotherapies in dogs has been slow. Although cancer, and in particular lymphoma and osteosarcoma, is frequent in dogs, just one percent of owners have pet insurance; those who don’t are willing to spend only a limited amount of money to treat their dog, especially when initial treatment results are not as dramatic as in humans.
Debating raw dietsJanuary 2, 2019In spite of resistance from most veterinarians and from public health authorities, the popularity of raw meat-based diets for dogs and cats continues to grow.
Vets Plus acquires Merrick's Animal HealthDecember 28, 2018A Wisconsin-based manufacturer of veterinary nutrition products has acquired Merrick’s Animal Health. Vets Plus will wholly-own the subsidiary, which makes boluses, tablets, powders, and electrolytes for the production animal industry.
Study shows increase of Lyme disease in dogsDecember 28, 2018Lyme disease in dogs has become increasingly common in the Northeast and has moved into U.S. regions not historically considered endemic.
AVMA and industry groups work to fight suicide among veterinariansDecember 27, 2018Animal health organizations are partnering to combat suicide among veterinarians in the U.S. According to a study by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), female veterinarians were 3.5 times as likely to die from suicide as the general population from 1979 through 2015. For male veterinarians, that number was 2.1 times. "Too many of our colleagues have either contemplated, attempted, or died by suicide," said AVMA president John de Jong, DVM. "Working with our colleagues throughout the veterinary community will help us find solutions more quickly. This issue is affecting not only our profession, but society as a whole, in numbers greater than ever before." AVMA is working with a number of groups to help address the issue, including: Allied veterinary medical associations Independent veterinary communities Representatives of private and corporate practices Suicidology experts North American Veterinary Technicians Association (NAVTA) Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Veterinary Information Network (VIN) American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) The association and partners are creating resources to facilitate outreach, such as question, persuade, refer (QPR) training, a free online program put in place to help veterinarians identify …
Owning a practice? You?December 27, 2018Some would argue practice ownership is only for the most ambitious—for those who love business. Like that classmate who always reads the Wall Street Journal or the one who knows she wants to be a specialist… of some sort… and all that entails. I mean, you know nothing about business. And the stress isn't worth it. The burden of your student loan probably makes practice ownership impossible, anyway. The excuses are endless. But so too are the reasons to own, even more so in this environment of corporate competition, continued consolidation, and rapid change. After all, where there is change—even chaos—there's also opportunity. What's more, practice ownership promises all the things you've always wanted from your profession. It buys you stability and flexibility, the two things that can make having a family more doable. It also means more money. And, paradoxically, those who have the least of it are those who stand to gain the most from practice ownership. I'm not saying it's easy. To be sure, it involves risk. But it's those who never contemplated ownership, those most beset and bedeviled by family-related inflexibility and financial burdens, who also have the most to gain and the least to lose. …
