When I came of age as a veterinarian (sometime last century), I heard a wise elder describe our profession as a stool supported by a stable and trustworthy three-legged foundation. The first leg is regulatory, the second academia and the third associations. Let’s look at some of the acronyms that make up the legs and consider what they do for our profession.
Oversight
The regulatory leg comprises groups like the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) and its member state boards. Regulatory boards are accountable to the public and work to hold licensed veterinary professionals to high standards, including in the areas of lifelong learning and quality care. Along with the AAVSB and state boards, regulators also include:
- The Council on Education (COE), which accredits veterinary medicine colleges.
- The Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA), which accredits veterinary technician programs.
- The International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA), which writes exams like the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE).
Have you had enough acronyms? I’ve undoubtedly left many out, but we’re just starting.
Before I continue, here’s a quick personal story about the regulatory leg. I was fortunate to serve two terms on my state veterinary medical examining board. Over those eight years, I can count on both hands the number of revoked licenses we saw. I fear that veterinary professionals are overly concerned with risking their licenses. In the few cases I witnessed, licenses were most often voluntarily surrendered or taken away due to a felony conviction.
At WellHaven Pet Health, where I serve as chief medical officer, I recently reviewed over 1.5 million cases seen over the past few years. Only eight of them went to a state board, and all were dismissed. My point: The license risk is minimal if records are well documented and good client communication is practiced.
With state boards, we’re fortunate to have peer review. The board members are fellow veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians/nurses. Your state’s board is made up of peers who understand the day-to-day realities of veterinary practice. Don’t live in fear of your board. They’re led by good colleagues who’ve walked more than a few miles in your shoes.
Discovery
The second leg is dedicated to the creation and dissemination of knowledge. It includes academia (veterinary medicine colleges and veterinary technician/nurse programs) and their national organizations: the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and the Association of Veterinary Technician Educators (AVTE). Their customers are veterinary professionals and society. They work to supply entry-level, practice-ready graduates to our profession and provide the latest in research, evidence-based medicine and best practices. One also might include in this category organizations like the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), Viticus, Fetch, specialty colleges and others.
Another story: I was fortunate to serve on the founding leadership team of the Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine and on the NAVC board of directors. (I am currently the board president.) Both LMU and NAVC are part of the academic leg of the stool, and both are progressive, forward-thinking organizations dedicated to supporting our profession with new colleagues and new knowledge and providing lifelong learning opportunities.
Organizations making up the academic leg of the stool embrace new thinking and innovation to improve our profession. Bravo to all.
Promotion
The third leg is made up of associations advocating for our profession. Among them are the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), state veterinary medical associations (VMAs), the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), the Veterinary Medical Association Executives (VMAE) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). I’m a big fan of AAHA and proud to say that two-thirds of WellHaven veterinary hospitals are AAHA-credentialed.
Progressive, But Not Always
The three-legged framework has helped guide my professional journey. Parsing out the acronym soup has helped me make sense of all those working to drive our profession.
As I think deeper about the three legs, I’m struck by several things. The first is how progressive the regulatory and academic legs of the stool have been of late.
For example, the AAVSB published its model practice act several years ago, providing for the establishment of a virtual veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). The AAVSB will soon roll out exciting progress on license portability. In addition, the organization is taking an honest look at the role of a midlevel provider in our profession, a position like the nurse practitioner and physician assistant in human medicine.
Likewise, the academic community has done a remarkable job leading our profession into the future. New schools and new thinking in legacy schools have successfully challenged the status quo and embraced technology, new models of education, a competency framework, wellness support, three-year programs and professional-skills training.
While I am a loyal member of my state and national professional associations and admire much of what they do, I’ve not found them to be as progressive or open to change as the other legs of the stool. The AVMA has been slow to acknowledge the workforce shortage, is opposed to a midlevel provider and is against a virtual VCPR despite the value it provided during COVID. Our professional association has framed the issues as binary, meaning:
- Are you for midlevel providers or veterinary technicians?
- Are you for hands-on exams or a virtual VCPR?
- Do you believe we have a workforce shortage or an efficiency challenge?
None of those are binary issues. All are “and” issues, not “or” issues. The stool’s regulatory and academic legs are evaluating the issues fairly. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said it best when signing legislation that allows for a virtual VCPR in her state: “Politicians are more in tune with our stakeholders than is the leadership of organized veterinary medicine.”
Be a Force for Change
Change is healthy. A virtual VCPR is inevitable, as demonstrated in Arizona. As for midlevel providers, the first master-level veterinary technician graduates will receive their diplomas in late 2023, empowering them with more career options. Master-level veterinary technicians will stay in our profession and provide even more value to patients, clients and employers.
Lastly, many in our profession are working to solve the workforce shortage by focusing on efficiency, retention, wellness, preventive care, new models of care, new schools and more seats in existing schools.
All three legs have positioned the veterinary profession as one of society’s most respected and admired vocations. Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers and staff members for all they do in their organizations to maintain our profession’s good standing while adapting to society’s ever-changing needs.
I encourage readers to consider volunteering in any of the three legs. Make your voice heard. Take an active role in leading positive change. Together, we can continue to move veterinary medicine forward. The future is bright.
WORDSMITHING
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges was renamed the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges in 2021. “The wording change, although subtle, now correctly denotes that international members are part of an American-based association, linked by a common accreditation system,” the AAVMC reported then. “In contrast, the former name described the colleges as American-based.”