IVMA
Communiqué
"Serving veterinarians for the benefit of animal and human health."
May 19, 2020
IVMA Vice President Nomination Announced
The IVMA Nomination Committee has nominated  Dr. Shawn Nicholson  of Stuart for the position of Vice President of the IVMA. Dr. Nicholson is an owner/partner of the Stuart Veterinary Clinic and the Anita Veterinary Clinic. There are currently no other nominees. Learn more about Dr. Nicholson in the upcoming June IVMA Update.
 
Ballots will be distributed by email, fax or hard copy in early June. If you do not receive correspondence from the IVMA, please contact the IVMA office at 800-369-9564 or via email at ivma@iowavma.org . Ballots are due back to the IVMA office by June 20. 

If Dr. Nicholson is elected as IVMA Vice President, the IVMA Executive Board will be appointing a temporary replacement to fill his position as District 9 Director. This person will serve until the June 2021 Executive Board elections when all odd numbered Districts are up for election. If you are a resident of District 9 and interested in serving on the Executive Board, contact the IVMA office for more information.  
Swine Webinar on Current COVID Situation Tomorrow 7am
Many Iowa pig farmers are going to need your assistance as they work through euthanasia decisions and actions. IDALS is hosting a webinar for swine veterinarians and producers on Wednesday, May 20 at 7 am to discuss the current COVID -19 situation and inform producers and veterinarians of the resources that are available to help.

To participate you MUST REGISTER BEFORE THE WEBINAR.


Topics that will be covered are:
  • Iowa Resource Coordination Center – Dr. Jeff Kaisand and Jamee Eggers
  • Swine COVID-19 Market Disruption Policy Update – Drew Mogler
  • Q & A – to facilitate discussion, you may submit questions ahead of time to jeggers@iowapork.org
New Call Center Available to Help Struggling Farmers
IDALS FAD Training Program
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is offering a  free  continuing education program for veterinarians licensed in Iowa titled   IowaFADefense . The focus of  IowaFADefense  is to increase the state’s ability to rapidly detect, respond to, and contain foreign animal diseases.

Veterinarians completing the program will learn how to:
  • diagnose foreign animal diseases,
  • assist IDALS and USDA with foreign animal disease investigations,
  • educate and oversee farm staff on the proper way to collect surveillance samples during an outbreak,
  • work with their clients to enhance on-farm biosecurity,
  • enhance on-farm record keeping strategies to quickly facilitate investigations, and
  • conduct a small scale epidemiologic investigation on a farm.
 
The diseases covered in the program are: African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and Virulent Newcastle Disease.
The program is entirely online and taught through a combination of webinars, interactive activities/modules, and video demonstrations. Veterinarians completing the entire program will earn  19 hours of continuing education credits . See the  IowaFADefense  flyer for more details.

In order to assist IDALS during a foreign animal disease investigation or outbreak, a veterinarian will need to have their  USDA category 2 accreditation  this program is open to  all veterinarians in Iowa !

Register by June 5, 2020 with the following steps:
  1. Visit http://www.iowafadresponse.com.
  2. Follow the registration instructions on the main login screen..
  3. Once registered, watch the IFAD Certification Program Welcome Video on the program homepage!

For more information view the IFAD Certification Program flier .
Required CE Hours Reduced for Current License Renewal
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine has reduced the required continuing education hours for license renewal for veterinarians in the current license period ending 6/30/2020 from 60 to 50.

Governor Reynolds issued a Disaster Proclamation on April 27 which temporarily suspends rules relating to continuing education requirements for license renewals for a number of professions including veterinary medicine. The Board issued guidance at its April 30 meeting reducing the number hours to 50. Read the entire proclamation here.

Earlier this year, the Board also lifted the 20-hour limit on distance (online) learning for the 6/30/20 license renewal deadline. Read the proclamation here.

Credits in excess of 50 hours for the current license renewal period may still be carried over to the next license period with a maximum of 20 hours.

The veterinary technician continuing education reporting hours remains at 30 hours. The Board is lifting the 10-hour credit limit on online continuing education courses for those registrants who will renew by December 31, 2020.

Please contact Dr. Jeff Kaisand at 515/281-0866 or Ginny Eason at 515/281-8617 with questions.

If you need CE hours, visit the Online Continuing Education page on the IVMA website for opportunities.
IVMA Featured in JAVMAnews article about Iowa Veterinary Clinics' Response During COVID-19
A May 13th article in JAVMA News by Kaitlyn Mattson featured five states, including Iowa, that have not had shelter-in place orders during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the article, Veterinary clinics take precautions even without statewide orders, IVMA Executive Director Dr. Randy Wheeler explained how Iowa veterinary clinics have adjusted their practice of veterinary medicine during this time. Dr. Wheeler also shared the results of the IVMA's April survey of members asking about how clinics are adjusting to help keep staff and clients safe.

Start Your Career Off on the Right Track
Join the IVMA's Power of Ten Leadership Class!

A new class of POTL is beginning this fall and we want YOU to be part of it! POTL is a leadership opportunity for veterinarians who have been out of school seven years or less.  

POTL participants will attend a series of leadership development sessions from the fall of 2020 until spring 2021. The IVMA will provide topic experts and meeting expenses at no charge for participants. Some CE credits may be available. 

To get more information and to hear what former participants have to say about the program, visit the  IVMA website.
Need PC Supplies?
During the COVID-19 crisis we may be shipping out preconditioning supplies slightly less frequently. The best option to order PC supplies is to email your order to ivma@iowavma.org .

Be sure to include:

  1. The number of tags/certificates needed (a box is 100 tags; a case is 1000 tags). Certificates can be ordered in any amount (no minimum).
  2. The color of tags or certificates needed (green or gold)
  3. The shipping address.
  4. A phone number for the IVMA staff to call if they they have questions.

The IVMA staff will do its best to ship the PC certificates and tags as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
How You Can Reach Us

To do our part in helping to protect public health, some of the IVMA staff will be working remotely until further notice. But, we're not far away!

Email:   ivma@iowavma.org
Call:  515-965-9237 (if we can't answer, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call if we miss you)
Emergency cell: Call Dr. Randy Wheeler at 515-975-5270.
The IVMA Communiqué is published bi-monthly by the
Iowa Veterinary Medical Association
1605 N. Ankeny Blvd Suite 110, Ankeny, IA 50023
515-965-9237 or 800-369-9564
ivma@iowavma.org |www.iowavma.org
FOLLOW US