HOT TOPICS:
2011 Hot Topics:
JOINT WDA AND EWDA MEETING
JULY 22-27, 2012, LYON, FRANCE
The 61st International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association (www.wildlifedisease.org) and the 10th Biennial Conference of the European chapter of the WDA(www.ewda.org) will be jointly organized in Lyon (France) from Sunday, July 22nd through Friday, July 27th 2012.
The mission of the WDA is to acquire, disseminate and apply knowledge of the health and diseases of wild animals in relation to their biology, conservation, and interactions with humans and domestic animals. The EWDA seeks to provide a forum for the exchange of information on wildlife diseases and their management. Through the provision of opportunities for networking, collaborative research and training we seek to raise the profile of wildlife disease research and management.
The main topic of the conference will be "Convergence in wildlife health". The organizing and scientific committees are aiming at gathering experts in wildlife health from a wide range of experiences and origins.
FEATURED TOPICS:
• ONE HEALTH
• MIGRATION AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE RISK
• HOW TO ASSESS THE HEALTH STATUS OF A WILD ANIMAL POPULATION
• WEIGHING COSTS AND BENEFITS OF WILDLIFE DISEASE CONTROL
Information is available at:
http://wda2012.vetagro-sup.fr
Keep in touch: register for the newsletter on the website.
PLEASE NOTE! We have left Monday 23rd of July free for people who would like to organize workshops in conjunction with the WDA/EWDA conference. Please note that we will facilitate the organisation of a workshop to the best of our ability, but do not have funding to support workshop costs. Workshop organizers are expected to take care of funding themselves.
People who are interested in organizing a workshop should send an email to chair of the scientific committee, Thijs Kuiken (t.kuiken@erasmusmc.nl).
Deadline : October 31st 2011.
The organizing committee
Lawmakers reach agreement to avoid shutdown
By Dan Friedman National Journal September 26, 2011
Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed on a continuing resolution that would include $2.5 billion in disaster aid funding and which would eliminate the chance of a government shutdown next week. The bill lasts through Nov. 18.
The Senate is also expected to pass on Monday a continuing resolution lasting one week. The House is expected to approve the one-week continuing resolution by unanimous consent on Thursday. The House will then approve the longer CR next week.
The possibility of a government shutdown - the third in less than a year - has loomed large over Washington since last week when the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House clashed over disaster funding - how much and how it might be offset by other spending cuts. But the emerging agreement - which has yet to pass - only keeps the government afloat briefly setting u the possibility of another showdown in mid-November just days before the super committee is charged with offering its recommendations.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=48901&dcn=e_gvet
Call for Nominations:2011 Calvin W. Schwabe Award Read More
2010 Hot Topics:
AVMA promotes best practices for disposal of pharmaceuticals:
(SCHAUMBURG, Ill) July 1, 2010—The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced today the availability of a video illustrating best practices on the proper disposal of veterinary pharmaceuticals.
After reviewing the AVMA guidance which was developed in communication with EPA staff, the EPA cancelled its current plans to require that the healthcare industry, including veterinarians, complete a survey on how drugs are disposed of in veterinary facilities. Veterinarians are already good stewards of the environment, but AVMA’s guidance was developed to even further minimize drug waste in water.
“When we saw the initial draft survey, we realized it was going to take our members approximately 40 hours to complete,” said Dr. Lynne White-Shim, assistant director of the scientific activities division of the AVMA. “We worked with a wide variety of councils, committees and staff members, including governmental relations, to arrive at a solution that satisfied EPA’s concerns while saving our members both time and money.”
A six-step insert on how to properly dispose of pharmaceutical drugs was released in the April 1 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. It can also be accessed at www.avma.org/issues/policy/BMP_RxDisposalPoster.pdf. More information is also available at www.avma.org/drugdisposal, and the video is available at the AVMA Media Library and on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKp3phEtS2M.
2009 Hot Topics:
DCVMA looks to the future and votes to sponsor the AAVMC North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (click here to see the presentation given by Dr. Michael Chaddock at our March Board Meeting)
Ninety one organizations representing a broad range of interests relating to food animal agriculture, food safety, and veterinary medicine urge Congress to bolster recruitment and retention incentives for veterinarians employed by the federal government. (click here to see complete letter)
More progress on veterinarians in public practice:
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has determined there exists a severe shortage of candidates for VMO positions and as a result has approved Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) government-wide for Veterinarian Medical Officer (VMO) positions at the GS-701-11/15 grade levels nationwide. For more information and a copy of the OPM Memo see: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=42084&dcn=todaysnews
On Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia held a hearing entitled, Protecting Public and Animal Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce. This hearing focused on the Federal veterinarian workforce. To view the testimony live see: http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=c34dd856-a58a-4ab8-9588-258131fd817a (Scroll down, and click the white arrow and you’ll get the video stream).
2008 Hot Topics:
GAO Publishes Report on:
Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public and Animal Health http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09178.pdf
What GAO Found:
The federal government lacks a comprehensive understanding of the sufficiency of its veterinarian workforce. More specifically, four of five component agencies GAO reviewed have assessed the sufficiency of their veterinarian workforce to perform routine activities and have identified current or future concerns. This includes USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and Agricultural Research Service (ARS); and DOD’s Army. Current and future shortages, as well as noncompetitive salaries, were among the concerns identified by these agencies. HHS’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not perform such assessments and did not identify any concerns. In addition, at the department level, USDA and HHS have not assessed their veterinarian workforces across their component agencies, but DOD has a process for doing so. Moreover, there is no government wide effort to search for shared solutions, even though 16 of the 24 federal entities that employ veterinarians raised concerns about the sufficiency of this workforce. Further exacerbating these concerns is the number of veterinarians eligible to retire in the near future. GAO’s analysis revealed that 27 percent of the veterinarians at APHIS, FSIS, ARS, Army, and FDA will be eligible to retire within 3 years.
AAVMC publishes Study on:
Envisioning the Future of Veterinary Medical Education http://www.jvmeonline.org/cgi/reprint/34/1/1.pdf
What the study found:
This report of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges’ 2006 Foresight Project, developed under the leadership of an AAVMC Steering Committee, drew on the experience, imagination, and energetic participation of more than 95 participants from across the United States and Canada.
The environment of veterinary medicine is one of profound change. The current number of veterinarians is inadequate to address the present and future needs of society. To remain relevant, academic veterinary medicine must prepare veterinarians for what may come in the future. In order to be recognized and remunerated for their knowledge, compassion, integrity, and judgment, veterinarians must first demonstrate their relevance to new societal trends. The objective of the study reported here was to determine a future direction for academic veterinary medicine using Foresight technology.
The tools employed were challenge questions and the development of eight future possible scenarios. The study supported the need for change. This report recommends an adaptive and responsive system of veterinary medical education, achieved by defining those areas of professional focus that would address all the anticipated needs of society. An area of professional focus signifies a pathway leading to a DVM degree. Colleges would choose to offer selected areas of professional focus most appropriate to their capabilities, according to a bi-national plan. Veterinary medicine is integral to the well-being of any future society. This is a pivotal moment for the veterinary profession and for veterinary medical education. Leadership, collaboration, and a shared vision will determine the destiny of the profession.
DC Council passes Animal Protection legislation (click here)
The DC government passed the Animal Protection Amendments Act of 2008 which makes extensive changes to the animal laws of D.C. Many members of the DCVMA contributed through testimony and consultation with Councilmen to suggest commonsense approaches for the revised laws.
AVMA House of Delegates Resolutions related to Pay Equity for Veterinarians.
Resolution 1: Pay Equity with Physicians
Resolution 2: Pay Equity Priority for One Health Initiative
Resolution 3: Economic Assessment on pay in public practice
Background information
The DCVMA’s efforts at the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) were a great success. Two of our resolutions and both of our nominees for the Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine won the support of the HOD.
- Dr. Bonnie Buntain won the At Large seat on the Council and Dr. Alicia Anderson won the seat representing Public Health Agencies and the Armed Forces (see also: http://www.avma.org/convention/news/sunday23.asp)
- Two of our three Resolutions were approved; one to support pay equity for veterinarians and physicians in public practice, the other to support a study on public practice economics (see also: http://www.avma.org/convention/news/monday17.asp).