EXTERNS ON THE HILL

Submitted by Jacey Cerda, Colorado State University (AVMA Government Relations Division extern)

Where it Happens

Amid fire hose style didactic learning in the classroom that transitions to long days in the hospital, where even remembering to eat can be a challenge, few of us have time to think about policy and politics. However, as my month in Washington D.C. working with the AVMA’s government relations division (GRD) draws to a close, I reflect on how important it is for more of us veterinary students and veterinarians to be, as Hamilton told us, “in the room where it happens.” 

I recently attended a congressional committee “markup” wherein members of Congress debate the precise wording and amendments of proposed legislation. The specific bill under scrutiny pertained to the regulation of xylazine due to rising public health concerns over its illicit use as an additive agent in illegally trafficked fentanyl. The AVMA’s advocacy team has worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to make sure that any regulation of xylazine will still protect its use in veterinary medicine. They have done this by meeting with members of Congress and their staffs to educate them on the importance of xylazine across the veterinary field, creating documents on the topic for congressional offices to reference, and engaging veterinarians to speak with their representatives and during the annual AVMA Legislative Fly-In.

There are currently no veterinarians elected to Congress; therefore, the advocacy efforts of the AVMA and other veterinarians who have thus far participated in the legislative process are essential to amplifying the voice of the profession in Washington. For the first time ever, a bipartisan Veterinary Medicine Caucus was formed in the Senate to raise awareness of veterinarians’ contributions to society and help advance legislation that is critical to veterinary medicine. This represents another advocacy opportunity for the veterinary community and emphasizes to Congress that we need to be involved in the policy-making process. 

It may seem scary or outside our normal veterinary school training to be an advocate and speak with policymakers at the local, state, or federal level. This simply is not true, in fact, I would argue the opposite. To be a successful advocate you need to be able to break down a complex issue into easily understandable parts. We are already trained in and practice this skill set in veterinary school. We break down highly technical medical processes into easily understandable bits of information that our clients can use to make important decisions for their pets. We also need to be able to think about complex systems and how they interact in the minds of our policymakers and develop arguments that help policymakers navigate those complexities and yet help the veterinary field. Again, we are trained to think in complexity; we work with multiple species and understand how biological, social, and environmental factors affect our patients’ lives and health. Finally, we need to be well-respected experts in our field so that policymakers will find us credible. Luckily, we have that going for us too, we are experts in veterinary medicine and recent research suggests that society considers the veterinary field as one of the most respected professions out there. 

We have all the training and ability to be good advocates for the veterinary field; however, if we want the people in power to seek us out as resources when important legislation is before them, then they need to meet and hear from us. Thus, I encourage all veterinary students and veterinarians to take more time to understand policy and politics and get involved with the veterinary issues they care about. In that way, we can all make sure that veterinary medicine is represented in the room where policy happens.