AVMA acts on spending, policy

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The AVMA Board of Directors voted for dozens of measures to plan and fund meetings, direct Association activities, and adopt, revise, or rescind policies.

AVMA Board of Directors
Members of the AVMA Board of Directors at work during a meeting in April (Photo by R. Scott Nolen)

In addition to acting on proposals involving animal welfare, vaccination, legislation, research, and specialty organizations (see previous pages), the Board took the following actions.

The AVMA will spend $5,000 each to sponsor the May 2018 International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine conference in Long Beach, California, and the September 2018 conference of the American Association of Fish Veterinarians in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

The Board edited an AVMA committee's description to recognize equivalence between the titles of veterinary nurse and veterinary technician. The description outlines the duties and membership of the AVMA–National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America leadership committee. NAVTA leaders are campaigning for legislative changes that would establish a registered veterinary nurse credential in all states.

The Board also revised a policy on safe handling of pet foods and treats to align recommendations with those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beyond votes, the Board members also heard reports from AVMA staff tasked with implementing directives from the Board and House of Delegates. Among those reports, they heard that the AVMA has a 2019 target of growing membership to 95,000, up from 91,000 at the start of this year.

Dr. Kevin Dajka, AVMA's chief of products and services, said in the meeting that AVMA staff members are working to increase retention of AVMA members in their first years of paying dues. To increase membership value for those veterinarians, the AVMA has made a priority of building career development, financial health, and well-being resources that he said are important to veterinarians early in their careers.