Partners for Healthy Pets Update: Increasing Your Employment Prospects

Part 3: Presenting Preventive Healthcare Recommendations to Maximize Client Acceptance

As stated in Part  2 of this “Increasing Your Employment Prospects” series, there is a lot of competition for the best jobs, especially if you are limited in geographic locations.

Employers are looking for good clinical skills along with good communications and interpersonal skills. With the quality of education in veterinary colleges today, most of the 1,500 new entrants to the market have these skills. Given that, what else can you bring to a practice that will differentiate yourself from other applicants?

This article, from the Partners for Healthy Pets, is the last in a three part series aimed at introducing you to the tools and resources available at www.partnersforhealthypets.org that you can use to increase your marketable skills and increase your odds of landing that perfect job. All the tools are available at no cost. The tools we will review in this article relate to helping the entire practice team present preventive healthcare recommendations to pet owners in a way that they are most likely to be accepted.

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New tool for managing student debt

Tuition.io is making it easier for students to empower themselves on the intimidating subject of student loans. Their website boasts a helpful personalized organizer and blog with updates on loans. Here's what Tuition.io has to say about their management software: "Not sure who you owe or how much you owe them? Get the whole picture with your loan overview, a simple tool that tells you the basics of your situation with just a glance."

Another Great tool for managing your debt: https://www.bankrate.com/loans/refinance-student-loans/#introduction

Partners for Healthy Pets Leads Drive to Remind Pet Owners of the Importance of Preventive Healthcare

Press release

CHICAGO (October 7, 2013) – America’s veterinarians are taking aim at reducing the rate of preventable diseases among cats and dogs by urging pet owners to schedule veterinary checkups at least once per year. Many practicing veterinarians are seeing increases in pet obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis, and heart disease among America’s pets – conditions that can shorten our pets’ lives. That is why pet health experts have partnered in a comprehensive effort to convince pet owners that annual checkups can help ensure that their pets live happier, healthier lives.

“Annual veterinary checkups are as important as food and love to a pet’s health and well-being,” said Ron DeHaven, DVM and Chairman for Partners for Healthy Pets. “Many pet owners are either too busy or just skip annual checkups. That’s why we are campaigning to urge pet owners to make annual checkups a habit and schedule at least one per year,” said DeHaven. He explained that only veterinarians have the training to identify and treat preventable diseases and conditions that can lead to better, less costly outcomes for pets.

According to DeHaven, Partners for Healthy Pets is a collaboration of industry leaders with a shared interest in the health of our nation’s pets. Formed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association and more than 100 other pet health organizations; the purpose of the Partnership is to help pet owners understand the importance of preventive healthcare for their pets.

Call for Pet Owners to be Vigilant

“None of us want harm to come to our animals,” said DeHaven. “That’s why we’re urging pet owners to take the simple step of scheduling regular veterinary checkups for each of their pets. A checkup at least once a year is as important as food and love for your pet. Don’t miss the opportunity to do one of the most important things you can do for them.”

For more information on Partners for Healthy Pets or for help scheduling an annual checkup for your pet, visit HealthyPetCheckUp.org.

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About Partners for Healthy Pets
Partners for Healthy Pets is a committee of the non-profit American Veterinary Medical Foundation created to ensure that pets receive the preventive healthcare they deserve through regular veterinary visits. The organization actively works to communicate the value and benefit of preventive pet healthcare and has launched an advertising campaign to promote the importance of annual veterinary checkups. For more information, visit www.partnersforhealthypets.org

About the AVMA
The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 84,000 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine.

About AAHA
Founded by seven leaders in the veterinary industry, AAHA has been committed to excellence, promoting high-quality standards, improving pet care and supporting small animal practices since 1933. AAHA serves approximately 5,500 practice teams in the U.S. and Canada, comprised of more than 50,000 veterinary care providers. AAHA is dedicated to professional development, hospital accreditation standards, and excellent education programs.

New blog announcement

Editor's note: Check out a new blog composed of rich stories, considered "a national veterinary treasure," written by Dr. Donald F. Smith. The blog, Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, also has contributions from others, including vet students. Read Veritas' below announcement for more.

Anna, the experimental dog used to develop the corrective surgery for blue baby syndrome. Check out this story and more in the new blog.Veritas is pleased to announce Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine, a growing collection of stories written in celebration of AVMA’s 150^th anniversary.   These stories explore years of progress in veterinary medicine, offer thoughts on what the future holds, and share insights anticipating the path forward in this dynamic and fascinating profession. 

Perspectives  stories are written by Donald F. Smith, Dean Emeritus and professor of large animal surgery at Cornell University and can be found at www.veritasdvmblog.com.  In addition to the stories’ appeal to all members of the veterinary profession and others who find animal and human health fascinating, there are often stories that have particular appeal to students.  These include ones such as:

• ·      A Veterinary Student’s Summer Experience with Mountain Gorillas in Africa (posted 6/10/13)
• ·      AVMA 150th Anniversary Student Summit Symposium: Understanding our Past to Transform our Future (posted 6/9/13)
• ·      The Veterinary Class of 2013 (posted 6/4/13)
• ·      Advice to New Veterinary Students: Class of 2017 (posted 8/11/13)
• ·      Letters of Recommendation for Application to Veterinary College (posted 8/22/13)
• ·      Writing a Better Essay for Your Veterinary College Application (posted 8/28/13)

Perspectives is a part of the Veritas web site created through the public/private partnership between Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Zoetis.  Veritas provides online learning opportunities through peer-reviewed continuing education, informative pet owner information, and features such as Perspectives in Veterinary Medicine.  Check it out!

AVMA alliance invests in future with new student program

Editor's note: please read the below press release on how EACH vet school's SCAVMA will be receiving up tp $7,000 from the AVMA and SAVMA! In this time of decreased funding, we at SAVMA are so excited be able to give back to our members in this way.

(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) September 26, 2013—The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the AVMA Professional Liability Insurance Trust (PLIT), and the Student AVMA (SAVMA) are launching a two-year pilot program to help fund local student chapter activities. The new pilot program—ALL for Students (ALL standing for Achieving, Leading and Learning)—will provide up to $7,000 annually for activities at each student chapter. First-year payments of $7,000 were distributed to student leaders during the Student Chapters of the AVMA (SCAVMA) Leadership Conference at AVMA Headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill. on Sept. 20.

“The students who make up SAVMA are absolutely essential in shaping the future of the profession and this association. It would be impossible to find a more worthy cause in which to invest, because today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders and visionaries,” explains Dr. Walter R. Threlfall, vice president of the AVMA. “Unfortunately, during the recent economic downturn, it’s become harder for our student organizations to raise the funding needed to support all of their worthwhile programs and projects. ALL for Students will help ensure each SAVMA organization will be able to continue the activities that provide the foundation for the success of their members.”

ALL for Students is supported this year by AVMA and the AVMA PLIT, which each contributed $100,000 to the program, and SAVMA, which committed $33,000.

“ALL for Students provides a unified message of support to our student members. This financial contribution will go toward developing student leadership skills, community outreach events and other programs. These programs will help make them better veterinarians and more successful leaders,” explains Dr. Janet D. Donlin, CEO of AVMA PLIT.

In addition to the funding, the AVMA will provide guidelines on the most effective ways that each student organization might use this financial support. This may include a specific example of a successful program already being developed and implemented by another student chapter that works well within the ALL for Students mission.

SAVMA programs that will be supported with ALL for Students funding include events focused on community outreach, leadership training, professional development, and wellness.

Leaders of the student organizations must submit annual reports detailing how the funding is spent. The two-year pilot program could be extended into a multi-year program after an evaluation of its success.

For more information about the AVMA, please visit www.avma.org.