American Veterinary Medical Association

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American Veterinary Medical Association
Formation9 July 1863;160 years ago (1863-07-09)
Headquarters1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173-4360
Website avma.org

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 105,000 veterinarians in the US. [1]

Contents

The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publications, and discounts on personal and professional products, programs, and services. The AVMA indicates that it lobbies for animal friendly legislation within a framework that supports the use of animals for human purposes (e.g., food, fiber, research, companionship). [2]

The AVMA Council on Education is the designated accrediting body for schools of veterinary medicine in the United States.

The AVMA publishes the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR). [3]

The AVMA's veterinary student organization is the Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA).

History

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) was founded in 1863, when 40 delegates representing seven states met for a convention in New York. Originally named the United States Veterinary Medical Association, the USVMA was renamed the AVMA in 1889. [4]

By 1913, the AVMA consisted of 1,650 members, with membership open only to graduates of accredited veterinary schools. [4]

As of 2021, the AVMA has more than 97,000 members. [1] In addition to treating pets, veterinarians work in a number of fields, such as public health, agriculture, food safety, academics, and the military. [4]

AVMA policy

The AVMA produces policies in response to member requests and stakeholder interest. These statements are general and aim to encourage improvement based on the best available scientific evidence. [5]

In 2005, the AVMA changed its policy on pregnant sow housing, stating that "given the number of variables and large variation in performance within both group and stall systems for pregnant sows, no one system is clearly better than others under all conditions and according to all criteria of animal welfare". [6] The AVMA's policy was adopted after a comprehensive review by a multi-disciplinary, multi-perspective task force of experts that produced an accompanying review of housing for pregnant sows. [7]

The AVMA has voted on several proposals to take a formal stand against the forced feeding of birds to make foie gras. Although foie gras has been banned in many countries in Europe, as well as in the U.S. state of California, because of an absence of science specifically addressing the welfare aspects of foie gras production, as well as conflicting opinions among its membership, the AVMA opted not to take a stand either for or against foie gras. The AVMA has published a welfare implications of foie gras production backgrounder. [8]

The AVMA has received pushback from many veterinarians for its classification of ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+) as "acceptable under constrained circumstances". Many veterinarians regard the method as cruel and have questioned the justification for the classification. [9] In its guidelines, the AVMA relied only on one report from North Carolina State University and argued this gave evidence that VSD+ provided sufficiently limited suffering. [10] However, this unpublished report's methodology has been questioned by organizations such as the Animal Welfare Institute for using an untested metric for stress (using heat shock protein 70), containing mathematical errors, having unclear writing, and more. [11] [12]

Legislation

AVMA supported the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014, a law that amended the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to clarify that veterinarians are not required to have separate registrations to dispense controlled substances outside of their principal place of business, such as when treating animals on a farm. [13] [14] AVMA argued that "the CSA must be amended so that our nation's animals do not suffer unnecessarily." [15] Due to an interpretation of the law by the Drug Enforcement Administration, veterinarians were not allowed to travel to their off-site animal patients with controlled substances. [16]

Academic Accreditation

The United States Department of Education has designated the AVMA Council on Education as the accrediting body for schools of veterinary medicine in the United States. In this capacity, the AVMA develops and maintains educational standards for these institutions to ensure the qualifications and competency of graduates of veterinary schools. [17] [18]

Two bodies within AVMA are responsible for veterinary education accreditation: the AVMA Council on Education (COE) and the Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA). The former is responsible for accreditation of veterinary colleges and the latter veterinary technology programs. [19]

AVMA-accredited Veterinary Colleges

As of 2021, the following colleges were accredited by the AVMA. [20]

AVMA-accredited Veterinary Technology Programs

As of 2021, the AVMA accredits veterinary technician programs in all but three U.S. states, one program in Canada, and a number of distance learning programs. [21]

Specialists in veterinary medicine

According to the AVMA, a board-certified veterinary specialist is "a veterinarian who has completed additional training in a specific area of veterinary medicine and has passed an examination that evaluates their knowledge and skills in that specialty area." [22]

As of 2021, the AVMA recognizes 22 veterinary specialty organizations, including American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, and American College of Zoological Medicine. [23] The AVMA recognizes 41 distinct veterinary specialties, including anesthesia, behavior, dentistry, parasitology, pathology, pharmacology, and surgery. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterinarian</span> Health professional who treats non-human animals

A veterinarian (vet) is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal reproduction, health management, conservation, husbandry and breeding and preventive medicine like nutrition, vaccination and parasitic control as well as biosecurity and zoonotic disease surveillance and prevention.

The Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is the veterinary school Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland, College Park - both of which are public research universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland, respectively.The college was created as a joint venture of the two universities and their respective state governments in order to fill the need for veterinary medicine education in both states. Students from both states are considered "in-state" students for admissions and tuition purposes.

A veterinary specialist is a veterinarian who specializes in a clinical field of veterinary medicine.

The Veterinarian's Oath was adopted by the American Veterinary Medical Association's House of Delegates July 1969, and amended by the AVMA Executive Board, November 1999 and December 2010.

Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

Zoological medicine refers to the specialty of veterinary medicine that addresses the care of captive zoo animals, free ranging wildlife species, aquatic animals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and includes non-domestic companion animals. Zoological medicine incorporates principles of ecology, wildlife conservation, and veterinary medicine, and applies them to wild animals in natural and artificial environments. As a specialty of veterinary medicine in the United States, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recognized the College of Zoological Medicine as the governing body of this specialty field since 1983. As such, zoological medicine is equivalent to other subspecialties of veterinary medicine, which are recognized and governed by their particular colleges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterinary education</span> Field of study

Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a degree in veterinary medicine Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Matthew's University</span> For-profit Cayman Islands university

St. Matthew's University (SMU) is a private for-profit offshore medical school located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. SMU has a School of Medicine and a School of Veterinary Medicine, which confer M.D. and D.V.M. degrees, respectively. St. Matthew's University is owned by R3 Education, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foie gras controversy</span> Status of legal issue concerning ethical food consumption and animal welfare

The production of foie gras involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat, deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some gastronomes.

The Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) is a national association of student chapters of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) at schools and colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. SAVMA acts as a single national voice for veterinary students in accordance with the policies and goals of the AVMA, coordinates AVMA student chapter activities, facilitates the exchange of information, and represents the interests of student veterinarians within AVMA, the veterinary profession and in the political and legislative arenas nationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Animal Hospital Association</span> Nonprofit organization devoted to Animal health

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is a non-profit organization for companion animal veterinary hospitals. Established in 1933, the association is the only accrediting body for small animal hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. The association develops standards for veterinary business practices, publications, and educational programs. Any veterinary hospital can join AAHA as a member, but must then pass an evaluation in order to receive AAHA accreditation.

The Bachelor of Veterinary Science, "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine" (BVetMed), or "Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery" is a degree for studies in veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom, Australia, and several other countries outside the United States and Canada. These degrees qualify one to practice as a veterinarian in the US if the degree is conferred from an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited school and the candidate passes the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE), just as any other US and Canada graduate. They are equivalent to DVM/VMD degrees; the main equalizer being licensure in the US. On 5 March 2015, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council made the decision to allow UK veterinarians to use the courtesy title "doctor", to align with international practices. The RCVS president said of the change: “Whether one regards the decision as correcting a historical anomaly or simply providing greater clarity at home and abroad, there is no doubt that the issue has generated huge interest".

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM), founded in 1982, is a university offering the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. As of 2014, RUSVM began offering Master of Science and PhD degrees in public health, global animal health, conservation medicine, and other research areas supported by the school. The school is located in St. Kitts. Administrative offices are located in Downers Grove, IL. RUSVM is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.

Veterinary ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgements to the practice of veterinary medicine. As a scholarly discipline, veterinary ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology. Veterinary ethics combines veterinary professional ethics and the subject of animal ethics. The subject of veterinary ethics can be interpreted as an extension of critical thinking skills necessary to make the decisions in veterinary care in order to support the profession's responsibilities to animal kind and mankind. There are five main topics that construct the physical usage of Veterinary Ethics. The first being history which describes how these ethics came to be, and how they have changed in the modernization of the veterinary industry. The second is the relation veterinary ethics has with human medical ethics, which together share many values. Third, the principles of these ethics which are updated regularly by the AVMA. Fourth are the key topics of veterinary ethics, which describe what these ethics cover. Last, how these ethics are incorporated into everyday practice and also how they affect those employed in the industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraveterinary worker</span> Professional in veterinary medicine

A paraveterinary worker is a professional of veterinary medicine who performs procedures autonomously or semi-autonomously, as part of a veterinary assistance system. The job role varies throughout the world, and common titles include veterinary nurse, veterinary technician, and veterinary assistant, and variants with the prefix of "animal health".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American College of Veterinary Surgeons</span> Professional association

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) is the specialty board that defines the standards of surgical excellence for the field of veterinary medicine, promotes advancements in veterinary surgery, and provides the latest in veterinary surgical educational programs. The ACVS is responsible for overseeing the training, examination, and certification of board-certified veterinary surgeons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterinary medicine in the United States</span> Medical treatment of animals in the United States

Veterinary medicine in the United States is the performance of veterinary medicine in the United States, normally performed by licensed medical professionals, and subject to provisions of statute law which vary by state. Veterinary medicine is normally led by veterinary physicians, termed veterinarians or vets, but also by paraveterinary workers, such as veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants. This can be augmented by other paraprofessionals with specific specialties, such as animal physiotherapy or dentistry, and species-relevant roles such as farriers.

Suzanne Saueressig was the first practicing female veterinarian in Missouri. She was the Humane Society of Missouri's chief of staff for 55 years. She was born in Nuremberg, Germany and graduated from the University of Munich Veterinary College, in 1953. She was the only woman in her class. She came to St. Louis, MO and was hired as a veterinarian for the Humane Society of Missouri. She insisted on raising the standards at her clinic, ensuring surgical instruments were sanitized properly, increasing cleanliness standards for the animals, and insisting on modern x-ray equipment. She was named their chief of staff ten years later in 1965. She is accredited with playing a major role in the Humane Society of Missouri's success. It is one of the largest operating practices in the Midwest today. She campaigned for spaying and neutering animals and had a column in the local newspaper to help educate and improve the local community. In 1972, she claimed the award of "Woman Veterinarian of the Year" by the national organization American Veterinary Medical Association.

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) represents colleges and schools of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It advocates for issues related to veterinary medical education, oversees the accreditation process for veterinary medical schools and colleges along with the American Veterinary Medical Association, and manages the Veterinary Medical College Application Service.

The American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (ACVAA) is one of 22 veterinary specialist organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Ventilation shutdown (VSD) is a means to kill livestock by suffocation and heat stroke in which airways to the building in which the livestock are kept are cut off. It is used for mass killing — usually to prevent the spread of diseases such as avian influenza. Animal rights organizations have called the practice unethical. The addition of carbon dioxide or additional heat to the enclosure is known as ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+).

References

  1. 1 2 "About us - We are AVMA". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  2. "AVMA Animal Welfare Policy Statements". American Veterinary Medical Association. Archived from the original on November 4, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  3. "AVMA Journals". American Veterinary Medical Association.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of the AVMA". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  5. "AVMA Animal Welfare Policies". American Veterinary Medical Association. Archived from the original on May 13, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  6. "AVMA policy on pregnant sow housing". American Veterinary Medical Association. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  7. "A comprehensive review of housing for pregnant sows" (PDF). American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  8. "Welfare implications for foie gras production". American Veterinary Medical Association. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  9. Bolotnikova, Marina (January 4, 2023). "The bitter civil war dividing American veterinarians". Vox. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  10. "AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals: 2019 Edition" (PDF). 2019.
  11. Liss, Cathy (October 2021). "Reference: Classification of Ventilation Shutdown Methods in the AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals" (PDF). Letter to American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  12. Bolotnikova, Marina (April 14, 2022). "Amid Bird Flu Outbreak, Meat Producers Seek "Ventilation Shutdown" for Mass Chicken Killing". The Intercept. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  13. "H.R. 1528 - Summary". United States Congress . Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  14. "CBO - H.R. 1528". Congressional Budget Office . April 18, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  15. "Tell Congress to Pass the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act". American Veterinary Medical Association. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  16. "AAVMC Programs & Initiatives". Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges . Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  17. "College Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 4". United States Department of Education . July 29, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  18. "COE Accreditation Policies and Procedures: AVMA". American Veterinary Medical Association. December 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  19. "AVMA Center for Veterinary Education Accreditation". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  20. "Accredited veterinary colleges". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  21. "Programs accredited by the AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA)". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  22. 1 2 "What do board-certified veterinary specialists do?". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  23. "Veterinary specialties". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved August 22, 2021.