The AASV Board of Directors and committee chairpersons met virtually on October 1, 2020 for a review of AASV committee activities followed by a strategic planning session and update on African swine fever preparedness activities. The AASV Board of Directors met virtually on October 2 to conduct official business. The following are highlights from the meetings:
• Each committee now has a board liaison to represent the AASV Board of Directors in an official capacity at each committee meeting.
• The AASV’s representatives to the AVMA are listed at aasv.org/members/only/AVMAreps.php.
• At the request of the Early Career Committee, the board approved funding to establish an unmoderated early career veterinarian peer listserv and funding for speakers to participate in an early career veterinarian webinar/podcast series.
• The board approved revisions to the AASV Basic Guidelines of Judicious Therapeutic Use of Antimicrobials in Swine, available at aasv.org/documents/JUG.php.
• The AASV COVID-19 webpage, available at aasv.org/resources/publichealth/covid19, hosts numerous crisis response and depopulation resources developed for veterinarians in response to the processing disruption due to COVID-19.
• The AASV well-being webpage, available at aasv.org/resources/wellbeing, is dedicated to providing members with well-being resources.
• The board approved an increase in annual meeting registration fees by $30. There is no change to AASV membership dues for 2021.
• After receiving updates from Drs Snelson and Canon regarding hotel negotiations and current COVID-19 regulations in San Francisco, the board reviewed options for holding the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting. After considerable discussion, the board voted to hold the 2021 conference virtually, pending successful negotiation with the San Francisco Marriott to rescind the 2021 contract without penalty and meet there in 2025 instead. Those negotiations have since been completed, and the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting will be held virtually. Future AASV meetings are scheduled for Indianapolis (2022), Denver (2023), Nashville (2024), and San Francisco (2025).
• The board accepted Dr Angela Baysinger and Dr Bill Hollis as nominees for AASV vice president. Ballots will be distributed electronically in January.
• Nominations will be sought for expiring terms of office in districts 1 (northeastern United States), 4 (Indiana and Michigan), and 6 (Iowa). Drs Melissa Billing (district 1) and Darryl Ragland (district 4) have each served one term and are eligible for reelection. Dr Locke Karriker (district 6) has served two terms and is not eligible for reelection. Nominations will open in these districts in late 2020.
Read the complete minutes of the Board meeting on the AASV website at aasv.org/aasv/board.
Join us for the first-ever virtual AASV Annual Meeting!
When Program Chair Dr Mary Battrell selected the theme for the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting, little did she know just how appropriate “Navigating the Future … Together” would be. With the COVID-19 pandemic looming on the horizon, the AASV Board of Directors voted to change course and steer towards the safe harbor of an online meeting.
While we won’t be gathering “together” in the usual, in-person sense of the word, the Program Committee and AASV staff are working hard to ensure plenty of opportunities for conference participants to connect and interact with other attendees, speakers, and exhibitors during the usual exceptional meeting of continuing education for swine veterinarians. As AASV’s Executive Director Dr Harry Snelson is fond of saying, “It’s going to be the best virtual meeting we’ve ever had!”
In addition to hearing from Howard Dunne and Alex Hogg Lecturers Drs Jerome Geiger and Jeremy Pittman, conference attendees will be navigating current topics that include pig welfare, the threat of African swine fever, lessons learned from COVID-19, and new tools for that familiar nemesis, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. As in the past, preconference seminars provide opportunities to gain in-depth information on a variety of additional subjects. Check out the full program at aasv.org/annmtg, and register before February 5. “See” you soon!
AASV committees to meet virtually before annual meeting
The AASV’s issue-based committees will meet virtually this year during the winter months before the annual meeting. Meeting times are posted on the AASV committee webpage at aasv.org/aasv/committee.php. Agendas will be posted on each committee page as they become available.
Learn about each committee, read their reports and workplans, and review committee guidelines on the AASV committee webpage. All AASV members and student members are welcome to attend any committee meeting, but only committee members are eligible to vote. If you are interested in joining a committee, please contact the committee chair or Dr Abbey Canon. Not sure which to join? The AASV staff can help you fill an open seat!
The AASV Board of Directors relies on the committees as topic experts and seeks their input regarding issues of importance to swine veterinarians. Committees are called upon to examine an issue and advise the board on official positions the association should take or to develop additional resources to educate membership.
AASV publishes 2020 Salary Survey results
The AASV’s 7th triennial Salary Survey results are now available for members to view and download at aasv.org/members/only/SalarySurvey2020.pdf. The survey requested 2019 salary and employment information from AASV active members in the United States and Canada, and a record-high 49% of the association’s 966 eligible members participated. As in past survey efforts, the membership was classified into two categories: practitioners and public/corporate veterinarians, with each category completing a slightly different survey. The published report follows the customary format for presenting information, with the addition of several new tables and figures that present information not shared in previous surveys. A few highlights from the 2020 Salary Survey are:
• Additional information about benefits is provided in this report, including who pays for health insurance (80% of public/corporate veterinarians receive most or all of their health insurance paid by the employer while only 50% of practitioners do), average days of paid vacation and sick leave (higher for public/corporate veterinarians than practitioners), and information about parental leave, a new question on this year’s survey.
• New charts provide average salaries based on work activities (clinical medicine, consulting, administration, research, tech/sales support, etc). Salaries for those engaged in management/administration are significantly higher than others.
• Age distribution of respondents shows a peak at 30 to 40 years of age and another slightly lower peak of respondents at around 60 years of age.
• Gender comparisons show that respondents in the older age groups are predominantly male, while the respondents in the younger age groups are more evenly split, with a trend towards more females than males.
• Comparisons show that salaries for females continue to lag behind the salaries of their male counterparts in the same age and employment category, with the sole exception of those less than 30 years of age in the public/corporate category.
• In comparison with previous surveys, the mean and median salaries for public/corporate respondents continued a downward trend since 2013 compared to their price-index adjusted counterparts. The mean and median salaries for practitioner respondents increased over the adjusted values since the 2016 survey but are still less than the adjusted mean and median salaries reported in 2013 (mean) and 2010 (median).