Are you a veterinarian member of AASV who resides in Canada, Mexico, or the United States? If so, it is time to exercise your “civic duty” to elect your association leaders. Here’s how:
Vice president and president-elect
Balloting for the vice President and president-elect begins in January. Dr Locke Karriker of Ames, Iowa is this year’s candidate for vice president, and his candidate’s message appears in this issue. The current AASV Vice President Dr Angela Baysinger is on the ballot to ascend to the president-elect position. Both are unopposed. All balloting is conducted electronically. Voting members may access their ballot by logging into their member account at aasv.org/members. Friday, February 24 is the last day to submit or change a vote.
District directors
Voting members in 4 AASV districts may nominate in January and vote in February for their district’s representative on the AASV Board of Directors. Nominations are being sought for candidates in Districts 2 (southeastern US), 5 (Illinois and Wisconsin), 9 (Minnesota and North Dakota), and 11 (Canada). Current directors Drs Sara Hough (District 2), Attila Farkas (District 5), and Susan Detmer (District 11) have each served one, 3-year term of office and are eligible to serve a second term if nominated and re-elected. In District #9, Dr Chase Stahl is not eligible for re-election.
Nominations must be submitted electronically. Members in districts 2, 5, 9, and 11 can log into aasv.org/members to nominate a candidate in their district. Potential candidates must be Active (veterinarian) AASV members residing in the district to be represented. Affiliate, Associate, and Student Members are not eligible to hold office or vote. In each district, the 2 nominees receiving the most nominations will be placed on the ballot, subject to their consent to serve. Friday, January 20 is the last day to submit or change a nomination.
Electronic balloting will open for the district director positions after the candidates have been confirmed. District members can access their ballot by logging into aasv.org/members. Friday, February 24 is the last day to submit or change a vote.
The election results will be announced during the AASV Annual Meeting in Aurora, Colorado.
AASV committees to meet virtually before Annual Meeting
The AASV’s membership and issue-based committees will meet virtually this year during the winter months before the Annual Meeting, in addition to meeting in person in Aurora, Colorado. 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.
AVMA Committee and Council positions open
The AASV designates representatives for several committees of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Current representatives are listed at aasv.org/members/only/AVMAreps. Visit avma.org/membership/volunteering-avma/avma-volunteer-opportunities-vacancies for more details and descriptions of each committee. Some committees have openings; please contact the AASV office if you are interested in representing AASV.
AASV Board of Directors meet
The AASV Board of Directors met on October 6 to conduct official business. The following are highlights from the meeting.
The Board took the following actions:
- Amended the AASV Bylaws to appoint the AASV president-elect as chair of the Budget Committee and continue to include the vice president on the committee.
- Established a Telemedicine Task Force to draft a position on telemedicine for consideration by the board.
- Renamed the AASV Practice Tips seminar in honor of Dr Max Rodibaugh.
- Allowed tracking/collection of aggregate e-Letter click-through information to facilitate reporting of metrics to e-Letter sponsors.
- Approved a request from the Early Career Committee for $2995 to provide 5 scholarships for AASV-member, early-career veterinarians (2018-2022 DVMs) to participate in the spring 2023 cohort of the MentorVet program.
- Approved an increase in nonmember veterinarian registration fee for the Annual Meeting to $875.
- Selected Las Vegas (2026) and Orlando (2027) as Annual Meeting locations.
Dr Harry Snelson presented the financial report. The AASV had to pay nearly $24,000 in hotel attrition fees (negotiated down from over $40,000) as a result of AASV’s failure to fill the contracted room block during the 2022 Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis. He emphasized the need for attendees to stay at the conference hotel to avoid these additional fees in the future. The AASV depends upon a profitable meeting as one of its primary sources of operating funds.
The program for the 2023 AASV Annual Meeting, Be There, chaired by Dr Bill Hollis, is available online at aasv.org/annmtg. Planning continues for an in-person Annual Meeting in Aurora, Colorado March 4-7, 2023.
Dr Snelson anticipates the 2023 Annual Meeting will be expensive to conduct for several reasons, including the loss of the Monday luncheon sponsorship. To help offset the cost of the luncheon and provide greater visibility to the AASV Foundation, the foundation board will cosponsor (50%) the Monday luncheon with AASV in lieu of holding a separate foundation luncheon on Sunday. The announcement of foundation grants and recognitions will take place during the Monday luncheon, along with the usual student scholarship awards.
Dr Locke Karriker was nominated to run for the office of AASV vice president.
Read the complete minutes of the Board meeting at aasv.org/members/only/board/board_f22.php.
Salary Survey 2023
The AASV plans to conduct its 8th survey of swine-veterinarian income and benefits in 2023. Active members of AASV (nonretired veterinarians) in the United States and Canada are asked to watch for information regarding the 2023 survey in the AASV e-Letter, and to participate by using the electronic survey form on the AASV website.
Similar surveys have been conducted every 3 years since 2002. Members have found the resulting salary and benefit summary useful when seeking employment or preparing to hire veterinary professionals in the swine industry. The survey results have also been used to inform veterinary students about the career opportunities available in swine medicine.
Members of AASV are divided into 2 survey groups according to their employment type. The practitioner survey should be completed by members engaged in private practice, as well as those who oversee pig health for a production or genetics company. Members who work for a university, corporation, or government and are engaged in education, research, technical services, public health, or regulatory work should complete the survey for public/corporate veterinarians.
In addition to 2022 income and benefits, the survey requests information about education and training, employment type, and hours worked. Responses are confidential and the results are reported in a manner to assure participant anonymity.
The overall results of the salary and compensation survey will be published and distributed for use by AASV members and students. Previous survey results are available for members to access on the AASV website.
New resource directory for early-career veterinarians
The Early Career Committee has compiled a list of veterinarians and others who may be able to offer expertise, knowledge, or serve as a resource for early-career veterinarians should they have questions about a specific topic. Example topics include diseases, diagnostics, ventilation, finances, and leadership. This resource directory is available to all AASV members at aasv.org/members/only/committee/EarlyCareer.php. Contact information for AASV members on the resource list can be found in the AASV Member Directory at aasv.org/directory/.
AASV Early Career Committee launches partnership with MentorVet
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians and MentorVet will be collaborating to launch a new mentorship program for young swine veterinarians in 2023. For this partnership, AASV will be awarding 5 full scholarships to early-career swine veterinarians within AASV to participate in the spring 2023 MentorVet Program.
The MentorVet Program is a 6-month, virtual, evidence-based, mentorship and professional development program that aims to promote well-being and decrease burnout during the transition into veterinary practice. The mentorship program has been adapted to meet the needs of early-career swine veterinarians including swine-specific case examples and paired mentorship with a more experienced swine veterinarian.
Dr Megan Inskeep, AASV District 4 Director, has been a MentorVet Mentor for over a year and shared, “The training and support that MentorVet provides to both mentees and mentors is very beneficial. This program has given me the opportunity to give back to the profession by providing formal structures for mentoring that are based in evidence. Burnout is an issue in all areas of veterinary medicine, including swine medicine, and we are excited about this partnership with MentorVet so AASV can continue to grow our support structures for swine veterinarians in their early careers.”
In addition to paired mentorship, the program provides holistic support to veterinarians through a combination of professional skills training, financial and mental health coaching, and peer mentorship. Mentees engage in a self-paced online curriculum then meet monthly with other early-career veterinarians to discuss shared challenges and share perspectives on how to create a sustainable career path.
Dr Abbey Canon, AASV director of public health and communications, commented “Part of AASV’s mission is to mentor students, encouraging life-long careers as swine veterinarians. The AASV Early Career Committee identified the need for a mentorship program to continue supporting swine veterinarians in those first few years after graduation to ensure a high retention of talented colleagues in the profession. We are excited to pilot a partnership with MentorVet to provide professional development and well-being resources to swine veterinarians early in their careers.”
“Research shows that our youngest professionals are at the highest risk for experiencing burnout or other mental health challenges,” stated Addie Rein-hard, DVM, MS, founder and CEO of MentorVet. “We are so excited to be collaborating with AASV to provide additional resources, community, and support to swine veterinarians starting out their careers. Promoting career sustainability in the swine industry is vital for ensuring we have a safe and healthy food supply.”
AASV members who have graduated from veterinary school in the past 5 years (classes of 2018-2022) can apply for a scholarship to participate in the MentorVet Program by visiting mentorvet.net/scholarships.
The deadline to apply for the spring 2023 scholarship is February 3, 2023.
For more information visit mentorvet.net.