Leading industry groups team up for ‘Veterinary Visionaries’ initiative

Veterinary organizations throughout the country are teaming up on a new initiative to unify the industry’s approach to the challenges it faces.

The American Animal Hospital Association, the American Association of Veterinary State Boards and the AVMA are among the groups that are creating the initiative, called Veterinary Visionaries.

They plan to build a community and programs that work toward solutions to major issues like the lack of diversity in the veterinary profession and ongoing public health concerns. The group will also address telehealth, including advanced technology and artificial intelligence.

Veterinary Visionaries’ first event, free and open to anyone in the industry, will take place virtually April 7. It will feature sessions highlighting the work of veterinary hospital team members who have made critical decisions to reimagine the profession over the last year.

“Crisis caused the acute response, but leaders caused lasting change,” said AAHA chief medical officer Dr. Heather Loenser. “With this event, we aim to provide tangible, practical advice from actual veterinary teams who rose above 2020 and changed how they worked together now, as well as how their practices will do things in the future.”