The AAVMC's Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) Working Group has completed work on the third major component of the CBVE program. " Competency-Based Veterinary Education: Milestones" is a 48-page booklet that provides structural guidance on assessing student development and progress as part of the program. The milestones enable educators to "operationalize" the CBVE taxonomy and classify where students are as they progress along a continuum of professional skill levels and core competencies. The publication of the Milestones represents the completion of three major components of a massive four-year project undertaken by the CBVE Working Group under the auspices of the AAVMC. Learn more.

Progress continues on a new strategic planning program that will guide AAVMC programs and operations over the next three years (2020-2023). The year-long project is engaging the board of directors, staff members and volunteers in a series of exercises designed to assess the operating environment for academic veterinary medicine and chart a pathway for the strategic success of the organization. As part of the process, seven working groups have been created and tasked with the creation of producing concept papers that will explore challenges and opportunities in key areas of academic veterinary medicine. Click here to review those areas.

When recruiting and nurturing applicants to veterinary medical school, information is key. Thanks to a new analytics component of the Veterinary Medical Application Service (VMCAS), member institutions now have a powerful tool they can use to track and analyze applicant characteristics. The feature enables admissions personnel to view a graphical representation of VMCAS data in real time, compare cohorts against national applicant data, compare current data against former cycle data, and examine graphical heat maps of where applicants are coming from on an international basis. Learn more.

AAVMC member institution faculty and staff interested in participating in the Purdue University Center of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine's professional certificate program can receive funding support from the AAVMC. The AAVMC will match one combined $500 registration fee for one faculty member and one staff member at each AAVMC member institution, thereby doubling the number of personnel from each school or college that can participate in the program. For more information about the certificate program and how to register and obtain funding support, please click here or contact Dr. Greenhill at lgreenhill@aavmc.org.

About 30 stakeholders and organizational leaders representing universities, associations and institutes involved with the antimicrobial resistance issue (AMR) attended a major developmental meeting for the National Institute of Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education (NIAMRRE) in Ames, Iowa from May 14-16. The goal of the meeting was to build understanding and consensus for NIAMRRE's mission, vision, strategy, goals, organizational structure, and membership. NIAMRRE was established at Iowa State University as the result of a joint Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance in Production Agriculture that AAVMC and APLU created in 2014. Learn more.

The communications program at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, led by Director of Communications Joe Montgomery, has been recognized with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' (AAVMC) 2019 Communications Excellence Award. Kansas State's program was praised by judges for comprehensive program excellence that advanced the college's strategic plan. The award will be formally presented during the annual meeting of the Association of Veterinary Advancement Professionals (AVAP) on Thursday, August 1 at 8 a.m. at the Courtyard Washington/Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Learn more.

Thousands of new graduates stepped forward from AAVMC member institutions this semester to begin their DVM careers. And there's an amazing success story behind every one. But perhaps few members of the Class of '19 have had to summon the grit, determination and resolve to do what Dr. Mary Beth Davis did at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. Inspired by a life-changing talk with OSU grad and veteran corporate veterinarian Dr. Rocky Bigbe ('81), and with the help of many colleagues and friends, Davis rose above a tragic setback to earn her DVM and is pursuing her goal of becoming a veterinary ophthalmologist. Said Bigbe of Davis: "She is a beautiful shining beacon of determination and self-reliance." Read more and see a video here.   

 

Pictured right: Dr. Bigbe (left) and Dr. Davis (right)

 

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act (VMLRPEA) has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) and Ted Yoho (R-Florida). This legislation is companion to the Senate bill (S.1163) introduced in April, which seeks to help relieve the shortage of veterinarians serving in rural areas of the nation by eliminating a 37% income tax provision and increasing the impact of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). Learn more.   

Dr. Bonnie Rush has been selected as the new dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Dr. Rush as been serving as interim dean since 2017. Her appointment begins June 16.

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