Animal welfare considerations of laparoscopic A.I.

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Madam:— Members of the public have brought to my attention that there are some within our profession performing laparoscopic A.I. in goats in an unsatisfactory fashion.     

Veterinary development

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The honour of being President gives one the opportunity of repaying the Association and the profession for the right to practise veterinary science in an environment which they have helped to create. It also gives the President the opportunity of a close association with other groups of people who are directly associated with our profession for it has been said that no man is an island and this is exceptionally so as far as the veterinary profession is concerned. While we are individuals, some more so than others, it is only as a cohesive organization that we can survive and progress. It is sometimes forgotten that the President and Council of the Association are elected by veterinarians, to make decisions on behalf of the veterinary profession. It is sometimes forgotten that the President and Council of the New Zealand Veterinary Association are veterinarians who are affected by decisions made, just as much as any colleague. To make a decision is to invite criticism; time will prove many decisions to be wrong, but there is a great satisfaction when a decision made proves to be the right one. I believe that a correct decision made is progress and this is the subject that I choose to discuss with you. I could talk about the past but that was yesterday and it is argued that there is no guidance in the past, for the problems of the future. I could talk about the future, but the future is tomorrow, so I will confine myself to the present and the problems associated with making progress in our present environment. I have said that the Veterinary Association is not an island, that its future, present and past are intricately tied to the farming endeavour of New Zealand as are many other organizations. I have had the, pleasure over the last 18 months of sitting on a ministerial committee called “The Committee of Veterinary Development”. As many will know, this committee was established at the request of the New Zealand Veterinary Association. Of major concern to us was the representations on this committee, for it consisted of administrative officers of the Department of Agriculture, Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Veterinary Association, and an independent chairman.     

Global perspectives of veterinary education: reflections from the 27th World Veterinary Congress

All who work in veterinary education must recognize the breadth of their responsibilities. We are at a time in veterinary history where the profession must look how to meet a global standard for veterinary education and the global recognition of our basic qualification. There is a societal expectation that a professional approach is being taken to managing food security and food safety, as well as the environment and biodiversity. Within our profession, we need to recognize our obligation to fulfill this role. Society and regulators will seek those who have the capacity to provide for society's needs. It is no longer a case of relying on the reputation of our profession alone. There is a significant disparity in universal recognition of the veterinary qualification between the major blocs of the developed world and the developing world. Graduates from developing countries are not widely recognized, and they and their countries may therefore be at a significant disadvantage. There will be significant costs involved in raising the standards of veterinary education. A lead must be taken by a global body such as the World Veterinary Association to develop a long-term strategy toward global recognition of the veterinary qualification.     

Presidential address

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This, the 40th Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Veterinary Association being held at Massey University of Manawatu has a very special significance for the veterinary profession in New Zealand. It was at Palmerston North in November, 1924, that the first Annual General Meeting of our Association was held, with 14 members in attendance. This year, when the newly established Faculty of Veterinary Science at this University initiates undergraduate training, it is a great privilege and source of satisfaction to our Association to hold our conference at Massey with a greatly augmented membership.     

Reflections on modern veterinary education

In this brief address, I would like to review in very broad terms some of the major quandaries facing the veterinary profession as we hurtle towards what I believe will be a very different earth in the not too distant future. Associated with these, I also wish to express some personal concerns about what we need to prepare our students for and thus fulfill our obligation to the profession at large. Finally I would like to deliver some thoughts on how we might meet these tremendous demands on our curricula. These latter reflections will by no means be all encompassing but will represent some substance for future debate. I must honestly confess that I too am anxious how best to meet several of the challenges but there must be ways and means. We need everyone's sage input and well considered opinions to develop our strategy and to come through as the elegant, humanistic, responsive and accommodating profession for which we are so well known.     

Pet insurance--essential option?

As Hawn (2) says, "insurance is about risk and peace of mind." She reports that the American Humane Society supports pet insurance because companion animals are able to be treated for disease or accidents that are life-threatening where, otherwise, they would have been euthanized. For veterinarians, she suggests that pet insurance allows them to practice veterinary medicine "as if it were free." It is inevitable that pet insurance will grow as a recourse for veterinary fees. This may be a savior to some families whose budget is stretched to the limit at a critical moment in the health care of their cherished pet. We in the veterinary profession have an advantage over other professions. We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of insurance, as it applies to human health and dental care. If we work hand-in-hand with our own industries, collectively we may be able to develop a system that wins for everyone, with fees that allow practice to thrive and growth strategies that accommodate new treatment and diagnostic modalities, as well as consistent and exemplary customer service. The path ahead is always fraught with bumps and potholes. We can be a passive passenger and become a victim of the times or an active driver to steer the profession to a clearer route. Pet insurance is but one of the solutions for the profession; the others are a careful assessment of our fees--charging what we are worth, not what we think the client will pay; business management; customer service; leadership of our health care team; lifelong learning; and more efficient delivery systems. Let us stop being a victim, stop shooting ourselves in the professional foot, and seize the day!     

Presidential Address: 53rd Annual Conference of the New Zealand Veterinary Association,Christchurch, Feb. 17, 1977

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My address today is not attuned to any particular theme so goes untitled, but I hope not un-noted for I wish to touch upon some areas of concern to the veterinary profession and some areas where the veterinary profession should be concerned.     

Acute pain management.

We encounter patients with acute pain many times each day, and few aspects of veterinary practice offer such an opportunity to help so many in such a profoundly rewarding way. As emphasized here and elsewhere, we now have excellent tools with which to help these animals, and the biggest impediment to optimal treatment of their pain is often our own difficulty in recognizing its presence. Perhaps the single most important aspect of treating acute pain is to cultivate an ability to see past our personal biases and expectations which may limit treatment and to rediscover the common sense we had about pain before we entered the profession. By rededicating ourselves to seeking out, preventing, and relieving pain, we not only perform a vital service for our patients but also elevate our profession even as we reap financial and spiritual rewards for our efforts. What could be better?     

Intramedullary fixation of fractures

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Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you for inviting me to address your Association this morning. Before commencing on my subject, I wish to pay tribute to your profession. The pathways of our professions have met on many occasions during the centuries we have practised our respective arts and sciences. Both professions have contributed in no mean way to the advancement of the other, and symbiotically we have advanced to the greater benefit of mankind as a whole.     

Continuing Education for Veterinarians “Education is a life-long process” Plato

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Veterinary continuing education can be simply thought of as those activities veterinarians pursue throughout their careers in order to maintain their professional competence in a changing environment. This life-long learning process is essential for the maintenance of professional standards if they are to keep up with the pace of change in today's world. The pace is such that if the profession is to fulfil its responsibilities to help provide food, fibre, animal companionship and human health care, all veterinarians must be free to participate in continuing education. In New Zealand it is the clinical practitioners who must struggle most to maintain their knowledge. Yet this group, because of its size and activities, forms the main interface between the profession and the public. Thus it must be of concern to the whole profession that all members and in particular the practitioners have an equal and ample opportunity to participate in continuing education.     

The future of rural veterinary practice

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It is my privilege, as President of the New Zealand Veterinary Association, to pass comment on the field of veterinary endeavour today at this, the 48th Annual Conference. I do not feel competent to draw conclusions from past trends, or to make wise comments on decisions that have been made which directly affect or impinge on our profession. What I would like to attempt to do is to evaluate the future of rural veterinary practice in this country as we see it today.     

The veterinary profession in New Zealand

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At the beginning of this new decade, the veterinary profession in New Zealand faces a future of boundless opportunity. After a rapid and difficult growth period of twenty years, the profession is now well established as an entity, and if we, its members, show wisdom and vision, we can ensure that veterinary science will take its rightful place in the progress of New Zealand. If we fail, the profession will find itself playing a minor role in the future. We dare not allow ourselves to just drift into the years ahead.     

Veterinary education in New Zealand

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A subject that concerns us deeply at the present time is that of the proposed Veterinary School in New Zealand. As might be expected with any scheme of this importance there will be considerable controversy both within and without our profession. Any lay opinion of value must be informed, and our own expressed views will be used as a guide. Therefore it is essential for the veterinary body to have a clear appreciation of each debatable point and also to form a firm opinion on each one. This corporate expression will be an aggregate of the views of individual members so that, for it to be truly representative, each and every veterinary surgeon must define matters to his own satisfaction and be prepared to subscribe arguments based on careful thought and reason. Even ideals should be capable of testing in debate, and illogical prejudice can do considerable harm to any cause. Of the many things to be decided there are some that will affect us more closely than others, and those are the ones affecting the standard of the graduates who will enter our ranks. We must make sure that our opinions on these are given the weight they deserve.     

Veterinary education

Extract

It is with considerable hesitance that I have selected for the topic of my presidential address, a subject which has been so near to the hearts of previous presidents. For the last three months, after 12 years' fallow in the diagnostic, research, practice, and survey fields, the problems of veterinary education have become my constant companions. It is no longer possible to argue in a detached way with friends on how a veterinary surgeon should be trained—it has become essential for me to recognize clearly the main services which our profession could and should give, and, with the help of my colleagues in the Department of Medicine, to ensure that, in the subjects of anatomy, surgery, and medicine, the training given fits the students in the best possible manner for the tasks ahead.     

Veterinary practice,competition and advertising: 1985–1994

In 1985, members of the veterinary profession and four other professional groups in New Zealand were surveyed to establish their attitudes towards the developing commercialisation of their professions, and particularly towards advertising. This survey was repeated in 1988, and again in 1994. The results of the three surveys are presented in this paper.

There was a sharp movement towards acceptance of advertising, and toward a competitive orientation in general, between 1985 and 1988, with a consolidation of these changes during the following 6 years. The acceptance of the idea of an openly competitive profession now has widespread support among veterinarians. Similarly, there is general support for the use of most kinds of “informative” advertising, with many practitioners viewing advertising as a business building tool, but with the advertising of fees remaining an area over which there is still considerable caution. Although clients are seen as more demanding than in the past, the client-practitioner relationship is still expected to be an enduring one. We suggest that, in view of the relaxed attitudes towards advertising that now exists among members of the veterinary profession, control of advertising should cease to be a concern to the profession.     

Range Education in the 21st Century: Striking the Balance to Maintain a Relevant Profession

Range science education programs strive to keep pace with the changing needs of the range profession and to ensure that range graduates are knowledgeable, skilled, and able to address contemporary, complex problems unique to rangelands. Today, range education programs face many challenges in our ability to meet the demands and needs of our profession and society. First, our capacity to meet the demands for range science graduates has been diminished by 1) elimination or restructuring of academic rangeland science programs, 2) reduced numbers of range-trained faculty teaching rangeland courses, and 3) limited public awareness of degrees and careers in rangeland science and management. Second, range education programs are challenged to strike a balance between retaining traditional basics and modernizing curriculum to include contemporary concepts and technologies. Third, range science graduates need to understand the current social, political, and economic context of resource management, including global change issues that are of paramount concern to society. We propose multiple approaches to meet these challenges: 1) perform needs assessments with diverse stakeholders to ensure that range education programs are relevant to society's needs and address the future of the profession; 2) find innovative approaches to strike the educational balance between fundamental concepts, practical field experiences, and mastery of technical and interpersonal skills; 3) collaborate across institutional boundaries to share educational resources and incorporate course formats that meet the diverse needs of today's students; 4) examine and align professional qualifications, educational standards, and curriculum by defining learning outcomes and core competencies needed by well-trained range professionals; and 5) communicate the unique features of the rangeland profession that solidify its position among the disciplinary pillars of natural resource science and management.     

The Association,rabbit control and myxomatosis

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Animal welfare is one of the goals if not the main goal of the veterinary profession. Thus the control of rabbits in New Zealand by the purposeful introduction of myxomatosis, a disease that produces severe lesions that last for eight days or longer in affected rabbits, must be considered by the profession from an animal welfare point of view. Before we can agree with the use of myxomatosis, we need to be sure that the rabbit problem is sufficiently severe and intractable to warrant such an introduction, and that the use of myxomatosis will effectively and continually control the population, bearing in mind that once introduced it will spread throughout the country and will always be present in some degree.     

Medical Mythology

THE heritage of medicine and veterinary medicine is rich in mythic figures and legends. Many of these figures and symbols are evident in today's profession and some are universally accepted as symbols of medicine. Perhaps a moment spared from busy daily schedules to reflect on a segment of this fascinating history will cause us to appreciate our profession and its family tree a little more.     

Our professional responsibilities relative to human-animal interactions

An interesting area with great potential for benefiting and enriching the lives and conditions of people and animals is opening to us in research, service and teaching. By working with colleagues in other disciplines, we can develop new and creative ways to realize the great promise inherent in people-animal interactions properly studied and utilized.

Veterinarians who understand that a strong human-companion animal bond can augment people's mental and physical states will help develop sound and effective companion animal programs for individuals who are lonely or handicapped and for persons in the school systems of the community, as well as its hospices, nursing and convalescent homes, prisons and other institutions. Children experiencing the deep satisfaction of interacting with animals while young will more likely become responsible pet owners and advocates as adults. The image of the profession is enhanced when children and adults see veterinarians as concerned teachers and compassionate health professionals.

We as professionals will be required not only to update our knowledge and skills, but to acquire new knowledge in fields of animal and human behavior, psychology and sociology. We are needed on interdisciplinary research teams to study human-animal interactions. We will also be asked to commit time and personal energies in community programs, sometimes with no remuneration. But if skilled health professionals like veterinarians do not take the lead in establishing sound, long-term companion animal programs in their own communities, everyone will suffer including the animals. How we, as individual professionals, respond will be an important reflection of our compassion and our humanity.

     

Relieving veterinarians' workloads and stress: leveraging Australia's veterinary technologists and nurses

Like the rest of the world, Australia is in the throes of a dire shortage of veterinarians, while the demand for veterinary professional services grows. This combination has a very real impact on veterinarians' workload and stress, with significant mental health impacts. Times have changed in our profession and it is time for a change in our practice. We need to look at a different way of managing veterinary workloads and demands and, in particular, better utilise our paraprofessional staff. It is the solution right under our noses embracing our veterinary technologists and nurses.