President's Message – Around The World in 80 Days

August 29, 2024

Aanii, Boozhoo and welcome to my first President’s Message. This forum was initiated for the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) President to communicate directly with the membership. In past issues, some messages were inspirational, others were informational, some were stories of personal growth and achievement, and others highlighted outstanding colleagues. I will start with 3 informational messages that highlight why CVMA maintains close contact with so many other global veterinary organizations. As you read these messages, keep in mind we learn by studying but also by watching others. As an organization representing the Canadian veterinary profession, CVMA does the same thing as part of its problem-solving strategy.

LET’S START IN MEXICO
I have had the pleasure of meeting with our Mexican colleagues on 2 occasions as part of the North American Veterinary Leadership meetings. Their organization is called the Federation of Colleges and Associations of Veterinary Doctors and Zootechnicians of Mexico (FedMVZ). They have a completely different approach towards representing veterinary medicine. The organization not only involves veterinarians but also people working in animal-based industries. Around their board table are national species groups, industry groups, and farm management associations; in my opinion, this has great advantages over our somewhat siloed system. 

Their relationship with the Mexican government is much closer than what we have, mainly because instead of hiring its own veterinarians, the Government contracts out services that FedMVZ designs and implements. At CVMA, we are envious because the Minister of Agriculture always attends the Day of the Veterinarian events in Mexico. In contrast, I have never seen a federal Minister of Agriculture at any Canadian veterinary event.

Currently, Mexico has 1 CVMA/American Veterinary Medical Association-Council on Education accredited veterinary school, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), in Mexico City. However, they are hopeful to eventually have more accredited schools. They are currently striving to improve veterinary education by conducting a mandated review of all their veterinary schools, recognizing some will not meet the new Mexican standards.

Their profession looks much like ours did 50 years ago. It is male dominated, especially at higher positions, and food production is seen as more important than companion animal medicine. That is changing. The current President of FedMVZ is the first woman elected to the position, and equal pay for equal work is her political call to arms. They are not experiencing a workforce shortage in any area of practice, the number of women is gradually increasing, and there is now a greater emphasis placed on companion animal medicine, even though it remains economically challenging.

The FedMVZ is pushing very hard for an updated National Animal Welfare Act and, with the assistance of their government, appears to be close to succeeding. 

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
The FedMVZ has a multi-tiered approach to veterinary medicine and a strong relationship with their government which seems to have prevented issues with the distribution of their veterinary workforce and has allowed them to advance animal welfare at the national level, something that CVMA has always supported. They are modernizing their approach to veterinary medicine by evaluating their education system and are being forced by society to focus on gender equality, much like we are working on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion).

NOW WE WILL CROSS THE RIO GRANDE AND VISIT WITH OUR AMERICAN NEIGHBORS.
I have had the pleasure of crossing paths with representatives of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) on many occasions. We meet at each other’s annual conferences, at their Veterinary Leadership Conference, at the International Veterinary Officers Coalition (IVOC), the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), and the World Veterinary Association (WVA). We share similar veterinary issues like mental health, DEI, and a workforce shortage. Their issues are similar to ours, with subtle differences. The AVMA is a huge, well-oiled and wellfunded organization. The CVMA and AVMA have a staff of approximately 20 and 175, respectively. Therefore, by analogy, although we are Canadian Tire talking to Walmart, the relationship is not big brother/little brother but rather the other half of the family that just happens to live in another country — a credit to them.

The AVMA has an office in Chicago and a separate branch in Washington, just across from Capitol Hill, that runs their lobbying efforts and directs their Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions. Unlike their Mexican counterparts, they must work very hard to get noticed by the government, but they have much experience.

The DEI issues of the AVMA are impacted by the historical lens of segregation and slavery but is otherwise similar to ours, though their management efforts are more advanced. They will soon host a DEI and Wellness summit in Atlanta to specifically address these issues. They also offer a program called “Journey for Teams” that supports DEI in the veterinary community. I invite you to look (it is free).

Like us, they have a shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and in production animal medicine. Like us, veterinary medicine is State run. However, unlike us, some States have proposed a mid-level veterinary practitioner college degree or a lay practitioner designation to address workforce issues. The AVMA is very worried about these proposals, but there are 12 to 15 new veterinary schools in various stages of development. One benefit of having both private and State schools is the ability to quickly respond to shortages in various sectors of their workforce.

Another division of the AVMA that we do not have is the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AMVF). It is the charitable arm of the AVMA and provides student scholarships, supports State organizations, provides disaster relief, and funds out-of-country projects, which lately included support for veterinarians in Ukraine.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
The AVMA and CVMA overlap in many ways, share many similarities and difficulties, and both are doing great work. Both the USA and Mexico have taught us that political connections are very important to our profession and the American approach is something we can adapt. In my opinion, having an institution in place to accept financial donations would be beneficial for the CVMA.

The FedMVZ and AVMA are amazing albeit vastly different organizations; we have learned a great deal from both and appreciate their unique differences. I look forward to sharing more remarkable veterinary organizations from around the world in my following President’s Messages.

Tim Arthur