The AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) and Veterinary Leadership Conference (VLC) were held in a hybrid manner January 6-9, 2022. Attendees were able to participate live in person in Chicago or virtually as travel and pandemic conditions allowed. There were informational updates covering a number of topics, including wellness, economics, DEI, and advocacy. Washington was represented by Drs. Diana Thomé (Delegate), Gary Marshall (Alternate Delegate), and Sandy Willis (District Director.)
It will come as no surprise that updates regarding wellness showed that burnout is real, and veterinarians are considering leaving the workforce now more than ever. There are a number of factors putting pressure on the work force including high demand for veterinary care, decreased efficiency, high turnover, and a work/life imbalance. AVMA has gathered much data, and now will interpret this data to determine what solutions can be developed to ease the strain on veterinary teams.
Legislative advocacy at the state and national level continues to be one of the core duties of the AVMA. It is a challenging time, as the political arena is very polarized right now. This has spilled over into issues that typically have broad bipartisan support, including issues important to the veterinary profession. One AVMA strength is that we are a non-partisan group, that aims to meet the needs of our profession rather than one political party. The AVMA works to advance world class advocacy by maintaining a presence on Capitol Hill, continually developing congressional champions and being a trusted partner for state and allied VMAs. There are continued threats of a federal prescription mandate, prohibitions on procedures (such as declaw), and regulatory enforcements on the VCPR as well as compounding. More information about the AVMA’s role in advocacy can be found here: https://www.avma.org/advocacy One way you can help support the AVMA’s advocacy efforts is through support of the Political Action Committee (PAC). It is important to note that all political contributions are independent of dues, as dictated by law.
There are two candidates running for AVMA president elect, Grace Bransford and Rena Carlson. Dr. Bransford, from California, served as AVMA Vice President from 2018-2020 as well as on numerous councils and committees. Dr. Bransford has a goal to increase public awareness of the “value of the veterinarian” and the profession. Dr. Carlson, from Idaho, acted as the chair of various boards including the AVMA of Board of Directors, Legislative Advocacy Committee, the AVMA Strategy Management Committee, as well as 10 years in the House of Delegates. Her goal is to “lead our profession into the future.” Elections will occur at the summer meeting of the House of Delegates in July. Your input on these candidates is important, so please feel free to reach out to us with your comments.
The House of Delegates considered three revised policies and two new polices:
Resolution 1: A revised policy on rabies. This is largely a change of verbiage meant to emphasize the danger of this disease and importance of vaccination. The House of Delegates approved this policy. Washington voted in favor of this resolution.
Resolution 2: A revised policy on annual rabies vaccination waiver. Again, this is a change of verbiage meant to streamline the language and emphasize the risks when choosing to not vaccinate. The House of Delegates approved this policy. Washington voted in favor of this resolution.
Resolution 3: A new policy on food safety. This incorporated language from the policy on the U.S. Banned Drugs used by exporting countries and emphasized the unique skill and critical role of veterinarians in food safety. The House of Delegates approved this policy. Washington voted in favor of this resolution.
Resolution 4: A new policy on support for the collection of antimicrobial use data for antimicrobial stewardship. The House of Delegates approved this policy. Washington voted in favor of this resolution.
Resolution 5: A revised policy on guidelines for the of classifying veterinary facilities. This policy is currently used by other organizations when referring to definitions about how veterinary facilities are named. The House of Delegates voted to refer this policy back to the Board of Directors for clarification of the definitions. Washington voted in favor of the referral to the Board of Directors.
Veterinary Information Forum: Each meeting of the House of Delegates hosts open discussion on timely topics during the Veterinary Information Forum. The first topic discussed was license portability. While easier access to license portability was almost universally supported, there are regulatory hurdles to this that vary from state to state and likely fall outside of the purview of the AVMA. Following discussion, the HOD directed the Board of Directors to further explore the issue of license portability giving consideration to existing policies and the possible need for additional policies. This work should be done in collaboration with the state and allied associations to further understand what issues need to be resolved and how to best address them.
Many Washington veterinarians raised concern regarding license portability during times of emergencies and natural disasters. It is important to note that there is an existing framework to allow veterinarians (and other licensed healthcare providers) to cross state lines to provide services during declared states of emergency. An increasing number of states, especially those that routinely deal with major storms, provide a means of rapidly approving temporary licenses for disaster related work. Additionally, when states requests assistance from another state (such as a veterinary team) the requesting state is required to provide for either a waiver or to provide a temporary license for any licensed professionals in the team.
One established resource to be aware of is a service the American Association of Veterinary State Boards offers. This service eases the burden on the practitioner to gather and transmit needed documents for acquiring licensure in additional states. The AAVSB is the only organization in the U.S. or Canada to offer license transfer services to veterinarians and veterinary technicians through VAULT, the Veterinary Application for Uniform Licensure Transfer. It can be accessed at https://www.aavsb.org/licensure-assistance/vault-transfers-overview. We will keep you updated as AVMA researches other options to address this issue.
The second topic was expanding AVMA membership to other members of the veterinary team. During discussion, representatives from the national technician organization (NAVTA) and practice management organizations (VHMA) advised there was concern expansion might dilute membership from their respective groups and that at times, the needs of the groups may be divergent. The House of Delegates directed the Board of Directors to consider creating a pathway of communication with other veterinary healthcare team organizations, starting with the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, and the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, to investigate how best to work collaboratively to strengthen their organizations and professions as well as the AVMA.
Thank you to everyone who offered feedback during the open comment period. Your participation allows us to be more successful representing you, the veterinarians of Washington. Please let us know if we can address any questions or concerns.
By Diane Thomé, AVMA Delegate from Washington. She can be reached at [email protected].
Posted January 28, 2022