Among the lessons learned from COVID was that veterinary medicine, a profession long said to be slow to change, can change — and change in a hurry. Our profession recognized the obstacles, adapted, innovated, failed at times, learned and overcame significant barriers. Happily, our profession continues to learn, adapt, innovate and embrace change to enhance our colleagues’ well-being, help pets more efficiently, empower and better utilize our teams, reduce barriers to veterinary care, and improve medical outcomes. Progressive professionals are stepping up to lead that change as opposed to allowing outsiders to force it on us.
Change agents, sometimes called change champions, promote, support and enable new ways of doing things. They also come together to form organizations dedicated to solving complex issues facing our profession.
I’d like to introduce you to five groups championing change.
Veterinary Innovation Council
VIC is the brainchild of the North American Veterinary Community and could be said to be the godfather of change in our industry. VIC is a nonprofit made up of leaders from throughout the profession who champion disruptive solutions to key emerging and existing problems. For example, VIC shed light on veterinary telehealth about seven years ago. Telehealth has since grown into an entire industry, a CE track, a new career path and another way to reduce barriers to care.
VIC then looked at the topic of midlevel providers, like physician assistants in human medicine. Following VIC’s spotlight on midtier providers, the first master’s-level veterinary technician programs emerged, and work is underway to establish an accrediting body and licensure examinations. Most recently, VIC has tackled the enormous issue of access to care, from which we’ll soon see innovative solutions.
VIC holds the signature Veterinary Innovation Summit each year to showcase the latest innovations, promote disruptive startup companies and bring together thought leaders to steer change across our industry.
Consortium on Workplace-Based Education and Learning
COWBEL, another volunteer-led nonprofit, gets my vote for the best acronym. It brings together enthusiastic veterinary educators from around the world to deliver real-world clinical learning opportunities to veterinary students in distributed education models. Distributed models are proving to be a novel, cost-effective and successful means for academia to partner with quality veterinary practices to provide exceptional hands-on clinical experiences, resulting in more confident and competent new graduates.
Board of Chief Veterinary Medical Officers
Established one year ago, BCVMO is another volunteer-driven nonprofit comprising top medical decision-makers from their respective organizations. Their groups range from for-profit to not-for-profit, independent to corporate, generalists to specialists, and shelter to academia. Over 60 members represent tens of thousands of veterinary professionals.
BCVMO aims to bring awareness to and solve issues affecting the delivery of care and the well-being of veterinary professionals. The organization is committed to these strategic pillars:
- Advancing the quality of veterinary care.
- Evolving the veterinary team.
- Advocating for regulatory improvements.
- Increasing veterinary team capacity.
Veterinary Virtual Care Association
VVCA arose from VIC’s first telehealth initiative. The nonprofit has grown into an influential and progressive group of volunteers committed to developing best practices for delivering virtual pet care, defining standards and protocols, sharing experiences among practice teams, engaging with virtual care providers, and advocating for policies supporting quality virtual care.
VVCA provides a variety of resources, including a quick-start guide for general telemedicine, case scenarios, guidelines, best practices, workflows and consent forms. It also holds the annual Veterinary Virtual Care Global Telehealth Summit, attended by hundreds of passionate providers. Additionally, VVCA has effectively advocated for legislative action expanding access to veterinary telehealth.
Coalition for the Veterinary Professional Associate
CVPA, which also arose from a VIC initiative, is another volunteer-driven nonprofit. It works to solve providers’ needs and ensure access to care by introducing the midtier veterinary professional associate, much like the physician assistant.
Interestingly, the evolution of PAs in human medicine began with academia seeing a need for and launching PA training programs. Also of interest is that the American Medical Association initially took a firm stance opposing PAs. (Sound familiar?) The first master’s degree veterinary technician programs are underway, and the first degrees were awarded in December 2023. This accredited and licensed new role will directly address the workforce shortage, access to care, and rural and companion animal needs.
CVPA comprises veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians from independent and corporate practices, nonprofits, shelters, industry and academia, as well as physician assistants and nurses from human medicine.
Lead or Follow
All these change champions are tackling significant issues facing the veterinary profession. However, I hasten to add that the problems we face are also issues of abundance. Pet numbers and lifespans are up, euthanasia is down, and the bond between pets and families has never been stronger. We have more business than we can keep up with. That is a problem, but it’s far preferable to scarcity issues.
Change is coming, so we can lead or follow. Will you lead change or be a victim of change?
I appreciate this quote attributed to Socrates: “The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
There’s never been a better time to be a veterinary professional. Let’s be open to change. Here’s to change champions!
LEARN MORE
- Veterinary Innovation Council: veterinaryinnovationcouncil.com
- Consortium on Workplace-Based Education and Learning: cowbel.org
- Veterinary Virtual Care Association: vvca.org
- Coalition for the Veterinary Professional Associate: cvpa.vet
- Board of Chief Veterinary Medical Officers: bcvmo.org