President's Message
Colleagues,
I think late fall is my favorite time of year. The leaves are off the trees, bugs are hiding, the pale yellowish-beige of dead grass mixes with the remnants of fiery red and bright orange leaf litter. Thanksgiving! As a kid I spent a memorable share of my formative years in northwest Minnesota. Where the great plains from North Dakota mingle with a blend of conifers and deciduous hardwoods among lakes and wetlands. 4th grade holds particular memories of dark winter mornings and 5am half mile walks to the Northern Lights Church, with my older sister, where we met the first of our 3 busses to get us to school. We carried big sticks that we’d hide in the ditch for the journey home to fend off the other cabin on our lake’s dog, Bull, a nasty German Shepherd. But some of my fondest thoughts from there lie with the Black Lab, Chassé (like the dance), and Golden Retriever, Rufus I lived with and the long weekends we spent in the wild. Growing up my mom had read to us “Where the Red Fern Grows”. No spoilers (as if anyone doesn’t already know) but the power of that book still has a hold on me today. Back then, as we roamed the woods around the lakes, and across the fields, there was no doubt in my mind I was the 1991 version of the boy in that book. One day Rufus fell and couldn’t get up. I watched him be taken away and I never saw him again. Thankfully Chassé didn’t die of a broken heart otherwise I may have succumbed as well. Our adventures continued until I moved away from her the next year. She went on to have a litter of puppies that I got to visit once. Shortly thereafter she was stolen. No doubt she was the best bird dog for the undeserving creature who claimed her. Certainly, my time there played a role in my pursuit to become a veterinarian.
There are around 133,000 veterinarians in the United States today, just enough to fill the largest college football stadium. With 342.6 million people to serve and their estimated 565 million pets and livestock; we’ve got work to do! The veterinary shortage is felt everywhere, and it’s been a focus of the IVMA to alleviate that strain in our state. Programs like the Rural Veterinary Loan Repayment Program and the Production Animal – Veterinary Early Acceptance Program continue to succeed with applicants beyond their capacities. We need to look for additional ways to alleviate our professions’ strain. As I mentioned in my first address, credentialed veterinary technicians have identified themselves as underutilized leading to a decline in job satisfaction and reduced revenue for the practice. This is an obvious place to expand veterinarians’ reach which in turn increases access to veterinary services. This also addresses technician retention problems as work satisfaction increases and so should their income opportunities when the practice revenue goes up. Recently the IVMA helped clarify the legal roles of credentialed technicians, veterinary students, and veterinary assistants. Specific tasks are classified under indirect supervision, direct supervision, and immediate supervision. You can find a summary of those tasks on pages 18-19. Techs and Vets, please review where you might be able to do more for the betterment of us all.
Never forget you can change the world,
Dr. Preston Ayers
The Black Capped Chickadee might just be my favorite bird. This tough little thing weighs about as much as 3 paperclips and survives the harshest climates the Midwest can throw at it, skipping migration. To survive the winter it will cache and remember the location of 80,000 seeds or more! Meanwhile you forget what you just walked upstairs to do!
I think late fall is my favorite time of year. The leaves are off the trees, bugs are hiding, the pale yellowish-beige of dead grass mixes with the remnants of fiery red and bright orange leaf litter. Thanksgiving! As a kid I spent a memorable share of my formative years in northwest Minnesota. Where the great plains from North Dakota mingle with a blend of conifers and deciduous hardwoods among lakes and wetlands. 4th grade holds particular memories of dark winter mornings and 5am half mile walks to the Northern Lights Church, with my older sister, where we met the first of our 3 busses to get us to school. We carried big sticks that we’d hide in the ditch for the journey home to fend off the other cabin on our lake’s dog, Bull, a nasty German Shepherd. But some of my fondest thoughts from there lie with the Black Lab, Chassé (like the dance), and Golden Retriever, Rufus I lived with and the long weekends we spent in the wild. Growing up my mom had read to us “Where the Red Fern Grows”. No spoilers (as if anyone doesn’t already know) but the power of that book still has a hold on me today. Back then, as we roamed the woods around the lakes, and across the fields, there was no doubt in my mind I was the 1991 version of the boy in that book. One day Rufus fell and couldn’t get up. I watched him be taken away and I never saw him again. Thankfully Chassé didn’t die of a broken heart otherwise I may have succumbed as well. Our adventures continued until I moved away from her the next year. She went on to have a litter of puppies that I got to visit once. Shortly thereafter she was stolen. No doubt she was the best bird dog for the undeserving creature who claimed her. Certainly, my time there played a role in my pursuit to become a veterinarian.
There are around 133,000 veterinarians in the United States today, just enough to fill the largest college football stadium. With 342.6 million people to serve and their estimated 565 million pets and livestock; we’ve got work to do! The veterinary shortage is felt everywhere, and it’s been a focus of the IVMA to alleviate that strain in our state. Programs like the Rural Veterinary Loan Repayment Program and the Production Animal – Veterinary Early Acceptance Program continue to succeed with applicants beyond their capacities. We need to look for additional ways to alleviate our professions’ strain. As I mentioned in my first address, credentialed veterinary technicians have identified themselves as underutilized leading to a decline in job satisfaction and reduced revenue for the practice. This is an obvious place to expand veterinarians’ reach which in turn increases access to veterinary services. This also addresses technician retention problems as work satisfaction increases and so should their income opportunities when the practice revenue goes up. Recently the IVMA helped clarify the legal roles of credentialed technicians, veterinary students, and veterinary assistants. Specific tasks are classified under indirect supervision, direct supervision, and immediate supervision. You can find a summary of those tasks on pages 18-19. Techs and Vets, please review where you might be able to do more for the betterment of us all.
Never forget you can change the world,
Dr. Preston Ayers
The Black Capped Chickadee might just be my favorite bird. This tough little thing weighs about as much as 3 paperclips and survives the harshest climates the Midwest can throw at it, skipping migration. To survive the winter it will cache and remember the location of 80,000 seeds or more! Meanwhile you forget what you just walked upstairs to do!