Proposal would focus AVMA mission statement on members

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The AVMA House of Delegates will consider an amendment to the AVMA Bylaws that would revise the Association’s mission statement to focus on the membership of the Association.

The current mission statement is as follows: “The mission of the Association is to improve animal and human health and advance the veterinary medical profession.”

The proposed mission statement is: “The Mission of the AVMA is to serve, support, and advocate on behalf of its members, in order to advance the veterinary medical profession and, thereby, improve both animal and human health.”

The Vermont VMA submitted the proposed bylaws amendment along with the Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin VMAs and the American Animal Hospital Association, American Association of Feline Practitioners, and American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners.

“Our profession is facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty and turbulence,” according to the statement about the proposal. The statement continues later: “Our members and our profession need and demand a very strong association focused on their concerns, their issues, and their future. We need an association that makes the members its primary focus and not just an implied suggestion.”

The proposed bylaws amendment also would revise the objective of the AVMA. The current objective is “to advance the science and art of veterinary medicine, including its relationship to public health, biological science, and agriculture.”

The proposed objective of the AVMA is “to advance, promote, and represent the profession, science, and practice of veterinary medicine in the United States. By strengthening and supporting the education, research, and practice of veterinary medicine, the AVMA shall improve public health, animal health and welfare, biological sciences, and the lives of the veterinarians that compose its membership.”

The House of Delegates will consider the proposed bylaws amendment during its regular winter session, Jan. 11, 2014, in Chicago. Proposals going to the delegates are available here. AVMA members can find contact information for their delegates by visiting here.”