As I look back, it is difficult to believe that I have been on the CVMA Council for 8 years. Over that time, I have had much time to think about why it is important that we belong to a national veterinary association.
As a private, mixed-animal practitioner since 1983, I must admit that in the earlier years of my career, I was somewhat oblivious to what my associations were doing for me — it was where I obtained my license and continuing education but I was not conscious of all the other aspects of my associations’ work. As I became involved first at a provincial and then at a national level, I became more aware of the importance of the work being done by our associations at the local, national and international levels.
Our profession is a small one and working together, in my opinion, is the most efficient way to promote veterinary medicine; who better to speak on behalf of veterinarians and the issues that arise within our profession, than veterinarians.
Unfortunately, most of the main reasons for belonging to a national association are relatively intangible, such as government lobbying, veterinary school accreditation, discussions on labor mobility to name but a few. Whenever the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) participates in any issue it is on behalf of all veterinarians in Canada whether they are members of the CVMA or not. Although there are regional concerns that have a greater impact on certain provinces, as a profession, we all face similar problems. It is important that we work together on these issues to provide the best solutions for everyone.
It is somewhat difficult to answer the question “What is in it for me?” in direct dollars and cents when we talk about the work of our associations. Increasingly, however, national and international matters are affecting us in our day-to-day practices whether we are in private practice, industry, government, or in a University setting. There are many concerns that lend themselves to a national viewpoint and, from my perspective, we all should participate in this discussion.
Having attended the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) meeting in May on behalf of the CVMA, I was reminded of how cooperation among stakeholders leads to success. As most of you are aware, over the past few years, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stewardship has become an important issue for the CVMA. This past March, the CVMA was invited to participate in a Ministerial roundtable on AMR with the Health Minister and many other human and animal health stakeholders including the CAHI. By working together with other stakeholders we are getting our message heard and we must continue to be heard with regard to these various issues for the profession.
Other topics such as active product ingredient (API) and own use importation (OUI) are examples of matters that need to be dealt with at the national level as they have the potential to affect all of us in our practices.
We are a small profession indeed, and as individual veterinarians we can certainly work independently, but as the world gets smaller, we need to continue working together on national and international issues that may affect our practices, our food supply, and the public’s perception of our food supply.
Membership in both provincial and national veterinary associations is essential in order to have a voice in our profession. We should encourage all of our colleagues to become engaged and have their voices heard.
Footnotes
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