AVMA offers resources to help observe, celebrate National Pet WeekMay 4, 2018The American Veterinary Medical Association wants to help veterinary professionals share National Pet Week with clients by providing resources and content for social media and marketing purposes. The event, which occurs each year during the first full week of May and celebrates the special bonds between pets and people, provides an opportunity to deepen connections with clients and educate pet owners about the importance of providing a lifetime of love to animal companions of all shapes and sizes, according to the AVMA. To help practices observe National Pet Week, the AVMA provides a toolkit of veterinary clinic resources for members, including: Ready-to-use content to post on social media pages, including copy-and-paste message posts and ready-to-download images Ideas for easy, stress-free ways to celebrate National Pet Week in the clinic and around the community Marketing tips and best practices to spread the word about clinic events or promotions Each day of National Pet Week incorporates a different theme: Sunday - Choose well, commit for life Monday - Socialize now. New doesn't have to be scary. Tuesday - Nutrition and exercise matter. Wednesday - Love your pet? See your vet! Thursday - Pet …
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AVMA global food security policy follows World Veterinary Day 2018 themeApril 27, 2018In advance of World Veterinary Day 2018, April 28, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced the association's first global food security policy, which complements the theme of this year's event, promoting the role of the veterinary profession in sustainable development to improve livelihoods, food security and safety. The AVMA Committee on International Veterinary Affairs wrote the policy following its 2017 Global Food Security Summit. "Veterinarians, as individuals and as members of associations, play a vital role in food security through their education and professional support of large-scale farmers and smallholders; work on disease-eradication programs; roles in ensuring good biosecurity; public health interventions for food safety; research; capacity building; and as a source of expert advice and opinion for governments, the media, consumer groups and the public," wrote the AVMA Food Safety Advisory Committee in a statement. "Veterinarians have always been key to ensuring a safe and abundant food supply around the world, said Michael Topper, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP, president of the AVMA. "This policy commits the AVMA to bring together different groups with diverse areas of expertise to establish public and private stakeholder partnerships to achieve global food security." World Veterinary Day 2018 is …
JAVMA now free online, via app for SAVMA membersApril 27, 2018Student AVMA (SAVMA) members can now read the Journal of the American Veterinary Association (JAVMA) for free online or through the JAVMA mobile app. Students can sign in to the app with their SAVMA ID and password or register online at avmajournals.avma.org to get free access to all of the journal's clinical research, feature articles, and content. SAVMA members who want to receive the print version may subscribe at a significant discount rate of $40 per year. On-the-go access through the JAVMA mobile app allows subscribers to read it from an iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile device. App functions include: Pinch-to-zoom functionality to view text and images in greater detail Full-text and archival search capabilities Note taking, note syncing, and bookmarking pages Navigation by table of contents and page carousel Easy sharing of articles via email or social media The mobile app is available through the Google Play and Apple App stores. Learn more at avma.org/JAVMAapp.
AVMA membership surpasses 91KApril 19, 2018 Membership for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) hit a record-high this year, with more than 91,000 veterinarians cited as association members—equating to three out of every four U.S. veterinarians. The achievement was announced at AVMA's board of directors meeting, held in Schaumburg, Ill., Apr. 5-6. The board also announced the results of its recent performance survey, which demonstrated an increase in member satisfaction, with more members recommending the association to veterinary colleagues. Additional meeting highlights are outlined below. New AVMA website The board approved funding for a digital agency to assist AVMA with a full redesign of the association website. The project has commenced, with the updated website scheduled to launch in 2019. Veterinary Information Forum follow-up In January, the AVMA House of Delegates hosted a Veterinary Information Forum and asked association staff to collect information from state veterinary medical associations about the provision of veterinary care to underserved populations. The association expects to compile these findings and share them with its members by January 2019. Depopulation guidelines The AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals: 2018 Edition will be the third product in the association's Humane Endings …
DEA provides opioid shortage updateApril 16, 2018The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a statement last week on the ongoing opioid shortages affecting both human and veterinary medicine, resulting from issues at a drug manufacturing plant. "In order to prevent any pharmaceutical drug shortage that negatively impacts patients, DEA is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, drug manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and hospital associations to ensure that patients have access to necessary hospital-administered pain medications," said the DEA in its statement. "These include certain injectable products that contain morphine, hydromorphone, meperidine, and fentanyl." "In recent months, the largest U.S. manufacturer of these injectable products has slowed production at one of their manufacturing facilities in order to perform necessary and required upgrades. As a result, this company voluntarily surrendered a portion of their quota allotment and DEA reallocated these amounts to three DEA-registered manufacturers of FDA approved injectable products in accordance with DEA regulations. "DEA is communicating actively and directly with all entities impacted and is committed to making further adjustments to individual procurement quotas as necessary and will also consider other measures that may be necessary to address potential shortages for these products." The shortage is expected to last into …
AAVMC strengthens internship guidelinesApril 16, 2018 The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) has developed a comprehensive set of guidelines designed to ensure the academic integrity of veterinary internship programs. The review follows recent criticisms, which deemed clinical placements as a means of providing hospitals with inexpensive labor, offering little educational value for students. Working off guidelines published in 2011 by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the AAVMC also looked at preexisting guides outlined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) when establishing the best practices for veterinary medical clinical internship programs. As such, AAVMC's Internship Guidelines include recommendations on work hours and climate consistent with health and wellness concerns referenced by the ACGME. The updated guidelines reinforce a core statement carried over from the AVMA's document, stating the primary purpose of an internship is to provide an educational program for the intern; not a service benefit to the hospital/clinic. "These guidelines will help to improve the learning experience, advance the quality of clinical internship programs, and ultimately train better veterinary practitioners," said Andrew T. Maccabe, DVM, MPH, JD, AAVMC CEO. "We are grateful to the working group members for their …
AVMA VetVance video series teaches financial savvy to recent gradsApril 13, 2018 The American Veterinary Medical Association has developed a series of financial education videos to help new and recent veterinary grads gain a deeper understanding of finance management and advance financial literacy and overall well-being within the veterinary community. "Managing Your Finances" videos are available at VetVance.com. The VetVance video series is comprised of five learning modules: Debt-to-Income Ratio – Debt-to-income ratio calculator Managing My Debt – Debt management and budget optimization Investment Value of My DVM Degree – Veterinary degree return on investment calculator Planning for My Starting Salary – Answers to common salary and expectation questions Improving My Starting Salary – Tactics to help ensure salary growth The video series features Bridgette Bain, Ph.D., AVMA associate director of analytics and Charlotte Hansen, AVMA statistical analyst. VetVance, a project of Zoetis, is a free, web-based learning resource for the entire veterinary community. The VetVance modules are among many financial resources already developed by the AVMA. Other resources include: Personal Financial Planning Tool Salary Calculator Student Financial Resources Individualized Insurance Plans
Veterinarians not advising clients of proper pet meds disposal, says OSU studyApril 9, 2018Recent research from Oregon State University (OSU) found that more than 60 percent of veterinary professionals do not instruct their clients about proper disposal of medicine used by their companion animals. "People are just starting to understand the impact that discarded pharmaceuticals and personal care products have on the environment," said the study's corresponding author, Jennifer Lam, who worked on the research while a graduate student in marine resource management at Oregon State University. "This study opens the door and shows a communication gap, shows where there's an opportunity to help educate people. There's not much communication going on between veterinary care professionals and their clients on how to dispose of expired pet medicines, meaning there's a lot of potential for those professionals to help their clients learn what to do." Lam and other OSU researchers surveyed 191 pet owners and almost 50 percent placed unused veterinary care products and medicine in the garbage. Researchers surveyed 88 environmental educators and 103 veterinary care professionals. The survey revealed 61 percent of the veterinary professionals did not share information about proper disposal with their clients. The 39 percent who reported sharing that information did so 19 percent of …
AVMA names new communications division leadApril 5, 2018The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has named John Eckroth as the association's communications division lead. In this position, Eckroth will set and guide the strategy for all external and internal association communications, including public relations outreach and digital communications. He will oversee the organization's media relations, crisis communications, digital communications, social media, market research, corporate communications and internal communications functions. "John brings a strong background in digital strategy and communications, branding and identity, content strategy, digital asset management, and analytics, and we're excited to see him leverage these strengths to benefit our members and the profession," said Angela Roberts, chief marketing and communications officer at the AVMA. Eckroth joins the AVMA from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, where he served as director of digital experience and strategy. Prior to that, he was the director of digital communications and infrastructure at the University of Chicago. He graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in computer technology.
AVMA, AAVMC form Veterinary Futures CommissionApril 4, 2018To better evaluate the challenges and opportunities within the veterinary profession, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) have established a Veterinary Futures Commission comprised of individuals from academia, industry, professional practice, and other sectors of the profession. "We're very excited to bring together such a visionary and diverse group of big-picture thinkers to participate in these critical discussions," said Michael J. Topper, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP, president of the AVMA. "They are just the right folks to participate in the critical strategic discussions we need to be having, asking the right questions, and, when need be, challenging assumptions that might be holding us back." The commission, a result of the AVMA/AAVMC Joint Committee, will hold its first meeting April 8-9 in conjunction with the Innovation Summit at Texas A&M University. "The purpose of this group is to help shape a better future for the profession of veterinary medicine," said Andrew T. Maccabe, DVM, MPH, JD, AAVMC CEO. "The diversity of perspective and experience that commission members bring to the table is going to promote some innovative thinking and help generate the kinds …
