AVMA recaps 2024, celebrates record membership growth

AVMA staff and officers recently provided the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) with a summary of the Association’s activities over the past year, such as the AVMA-led campaign to defeat Colorado’s ballot initiative creating a midlevel position called a “veterinary professional associate (VPA) and a preview of several initiatives planned for 2025.

Midlevel veterinary practitioners

AVMA President Dr. Sandra Faeh was the first of several speakers to address delegates during the plenary session of the HOD’s regular winter session on January 9 in Chicago. Dr. Faeh’s presentation centered around Colorado’s Proposition 129 and a proposed master’s degree program at Colorado State University (CSU), both aimed at creating this new role.

Despite strong opposition from the AVMA and the Colorado VMA (CVMA), the measure narrowly passed with 52.7% of the vote this past November.

Dr. Faeh highlighted the AVMA’s efforts to combat the proposal through the “Keep Our Pets Safe” campaign, which united nearly 200 organizations and individuals. The campaign focused on raising awareness about the potential dangers of VPAs, including risk to animal health and safety, the national’s food supply and public health, increased liability for veterinarians and the redundancy of creating a new role that overlaps with existing veterinary professionals.

These efforts made a substantial impact in educating the public, Dr. Faeh said. Over 16 million media impressions were recorded, multiple Colorado newspapers published editorials opposing the proposition, and veterinarians statewide engaged in grassroots advocacy.

Despite the close loss in Colorado, Dr. Faeh stressed that the fight is far from over. The AVMA and its partners have developed resources to aid advocacy efforts, and now turn their focus to upcoming legislative sessions and regulatory processes to shape how VPAs may operate. Dr. Faeh urged veterinarians nationwide to stay engaged, emphasizing that their collective efforts can make a profound difference in preserving the integrity of veterinary medicine.

Record membership

The AVMA has reached a historic milestone in membership growth while continuing its mission to protect, promote, and advance the veterinary profession, according to AVMA CEO Dr. Janet Donlin.

As of the end of 2024, membership has surged to 108,016, Dr. Donlin said.

Dr. Donlin attributed this growth to the AVMA’s ability to provide meaningful benefits and support to veterinary professionals. Looking ahead, the AVMA has set an ambitious target of 110,600 members for 2025, with a continued focus on delivering value.

Retention rates remain high, with the AVMA maintaining a 95% retention rate and a 74% market share—unmatched by any other professional veterinary association. The Student AVMA also saw impressive growth, with membership surpassing 20,200, which reflects both increases to class sizes and a handful of new veterinary schools. It also highlights the impact of higher participation rates, now at 91%.

The AVMA’s continued success, Dr. Donlin noted, is a direct result of teamwork and collaboration among AVMA members, staff, and leadership.

Legislative priorities

Dr. Kent McClure, AVMA’s chief advocacy officer, provided an overview of the AVMA’s legislative strategies, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a presence on Capitol Hill and engaging in coalition work on key policy issues.

Passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in late 2024 included provisions benefiting the Army Veterinary Corps and the National Detector Dog Training Center, which trains its Beagle Brigade to identify animal-disease risks at ports of entry.

Looking ahead at the state level, telemedicine and maintaining the in-person veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) requirement remain critical issues, with new regulations and bills emerging in multiple states, Dr. McClure said. Colorado recently passed a bill reinforcing traditional VCPR standards, while the District of Columbia is currently undergoing rule-making activities affecting health care licensing boards.

Veterinary technician regulation was another focal point, as Dr. McClure noted that many states introduced legislation in 2024 to clarify task delegation for veterinary technicians. He anticipates this will continue to be an active issue in 2025.

Dr. McClure also addressed growing concerns surrounding xylazine, emphasizing that the increase of state-level regulatory efforts to limit access to the veterinary tranquilizer has made a federal resolution necessary.

With a new legislative session underway, congressional priorities are shifting toward taxes, immigration, and federal funding, according to Dr. McClure. Almost $5 trillion in tax policy is set to expire at the end of 2025, which could have significant implications for veterinary practices, particularly those taxed as pass-through entities, which are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and S-corporations. As Congress considers new tax legislation, the AVMA is urging lawmakers to preserve and include favorable tax provisions that benefit the profession.

AVMA policies and activities

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, more specifically avian influenza type A H5N1) continued to circulate in wild birds and cause outbreaks in poultry flocks in 2024. Then came the discovery that it could infect dairy cattle as well. In response, one of AVMA’s most impactful actions in 2024 was its leadership in convening a roundtable on the topic, said Dr. Gail Golab, AVMA’s chief veterinary officer.

The roundtable brought together representatives from the White House, federal and state agencies, and the scientific community to address challenges in surveillance and control. Building on this success, the AVMA plans to host additional roundtables this year: one reviewing the Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act and another on employment opportunities for veterinarians in global food security.

Dr. Golab provided an update on Association activities related to policy, emphasizing the crucial role of AVMA policies in guiding veterinary professionals. She highlighted the dedication of over 450 subject matter expert volunteers who contribute to shaping and refining AVMA’s policies.

One of the newest volunteer entities is the AVMA’s Task Force on Emerging Technologies and Innovation. This multidisciplinary body has experts in veterinary and human medicine, engineering, informatics, computer science, and law. The task force will identify and assess new technologies with the potential to enhance veterinary practice, draft policies for responsible use, and explore the creation of a standing committee for long-term oversight. A separate advisory committee composed of industry advisers will provide additional insights.

To support attending veterinarians at commercial breeding facilities, whose involvement is required by federal regulations under the Animal Welfare Act, the AVMA developed new educational resources to assist with developing programs of care, site visits, record-keeping, and viability considerations. These resources, supported by an educational grant from Spring Point Partners, have been well received by professionals in the field, Dr. Golab said.

Finally, she expressed sympathy for California veterinarians impacted by recent wildfires and highlighted AVMA’s role in providing resources and financial assistance to those in need. The Veterinary First Responder Certificate Program continues to grow, with nearly 1,000 participants. And the Association recently introduced a state administrator portal, allowing authorized individuals to connect with these certificate holders to improve disaster preparation and response efforts.

AVMA-supported research

The AVMA also continues to develop research and resources aimed at supporting veterinary professionals.

This year, the Association is launching a new longitudinal study that will follow the Class of 2025 to track career retention and decision making over time. Dr. Paula Parker, AVMA’s chief partnerships and strategic initiatives officer, urged practice owners and new veterinary graduates to engage with this survey, as sustained participation will generate valuable long-term insights for the profession.

During her talk, Dr. Parker also noted two ongoing research projects. The first is the veterinary technician utilization survey, led by researchers at Cornell University. It aims to identify barriers to effective teamwork. The preliminary findings were unveiled at the 2024 AVMA Business and Economic Forum and compiled into an insight-to-action guide.

The second is an organizational intervention program designed by Cornell researchers, and supported by Zoetis, addressing burnout in veterinary practice. Enrollment for the first cohort begins in February, and the program aims to provide evidence-based solutions to mitigate burnout and improve workplace conditions.

Economic reports remain a key resource for AVMA members, with three major reports published in 2024, including a collaboration with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The AVMA released the 2025 Economic State of the Profession Report in January, offering the latest workforce and economic data to inform discussions on veterinary business practices.

The AVMA journals also offer the Veterinary Business and Economics Collection, a curated, open-access resource featuring critical articles on veterinary economics and industry trends.

AVMA journals

The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR) had a banner year, according to Dr. Lisa Fortier, editor-in-chief of AVMA’s journals. She emphasized the continued preference for print over online access, the impact of open-access publishing, and the expansion of supplemental journal issues and digital content.

A recent internal survey revealed that 95% of respondents read JAVMA more than any other veterinary journal, preferring the print publication for general reading while using online resources for topic-specific searches, results showed.

The shift to a monthly publication schedule for JAVMA has also led to the introduction of supplemental issues, which have covered topics including regenerative medicine, ophthalmology, and clinical pathology.

For this year, an upcoming supplemental issue will be exclusively authored by veterinary technicians. Additionally, AJVR’s first-ever special issue on artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine is slated for release in March.

JAVMA has also expanded into digital content with the introduction of technical tutorial video manuscripts. These peer-reviewed video articles offer academic credit and have gained significant traction, with one video on cooperative care for canine irrigation receiving 40,000 views in a single weekend.

Meanwhile, both journals have transitioned to an open-access model, allowing authors to retain copyright while making research freely available to the public. Another major improvement has been the reduction of submission-to-publication time to under 100 days, positioning AJVR and JAVMA among the fastest veterinary research journals with rigorous scientific review available, Dr. Fortier said.

Lastly, to support emerging leaders in veterinary medicine, both journals have launched a program to train veterinary students as manuscript reviewers and associate editors, equipping them with the skills needed to provide constructive feedback. This initiative, which has already trained 22 students, aims to foster a new generation of professionals involved in veterinary publishing, she said.

AVMA president encourages vigilance against midlevel practitioner efforts

Dr. Sandra Faeh, 2024-25 AVMA president, briefed the House of Delegates in January on the AVMA's work to oppose proposals for a veterinary midlevel practitioner, pointing to significant progress despite Colorado’s recent election result approving creation of such a position there. (Video by Matt Zingale)