NewsNewsNewsNews

120 Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 83, No 3, March 2005

The AVA strategy for 2005-2007 hasbeen finalised. First and foremost, AVA isworking to advance veterinary science,including through continuing education.Seven members have gained 120 VetEdpoints and have now received theircertificate and the CMAVA pin, so theyare able to use the post nominalsCMAVA.

The numbers of members activelyinvolved in VetEd through provision ofmaterials that validate their claim forpoints is growing weekly. Our aim is toeventually have all members activelyinvolved in the scheme as registrationbodies may well move to makecontinuing education a condition ofongoing registration in the near future.

It is clear that most members doundertake continuing education, howevermany do not take the next step ofrecording it. AVA VetEd provides aneffective recording system and a valuablesupport service for all members.

The second AVA goal centres onprofessionalism and ethics. The revisedAVA Code of Professional Ethics is nowin circulation for member comment, andif you would like a copy so that you toocan provide input, please be in touch. Weplan to address comments and finalise theCode so Policy Advisory Council canconsider it in May 2005.

A strong community voiceThe third goal is to provide the best

scientific advice to members, thecommunity and decision-makers. TheAVJ distills the best scientific and clinicaloutput of members and their veterinarypeers while the Policy Advisory Councilworks on the development of policy thatcan be promoted to decision-makers andmembers when it is finalised.

The tools exist for the AVA to becomemore proactive in this area, and with thePolicy group now geographically co-located in Canberra the AVA will have astrong and cohesive voice in bothgovernment and the wider communityduring 2005.

Fourth, we want to enhance the valueof the Association to members.According to a recent survey, most ofAVA’s members join the Association forthe intangibles like ‘being part of theAustralian veterinary community’. At a

tangible level, support for benefits varieswidely in the same way that somemembers strongly supported Vetlife whileothers did not. Keeping everybody happyis not easy, but we try!

The fifth and final goal is tostrengthen association management andprofessionalism across the entireassociation, and to this end, the plannedtwo day training workshop for all stafftook place at the end of February, 2005.

New Scientific EditorMembers will also be aware that the

AVJ has a new Scientific Editor, Dr AnneJackson. Dr Jackson brings a breadth ofveterinary research experience to this role,and we are very happy that she hasaccepted the position. She commencedwork with AVA in time for the staff-training workshop, which provided anexcellent opportunity to meet with andwork with other key AVA staff.

Directors NominationsAnd a reminder: if any AVA member is

interested in nominating for either of thevacant Director positions on the AVABoard, I would be very happy to talk withyou regarding the required commitmentand work of the Board. A nominationform is enclosed in this issue of the AVJand the closing date is Friday March 18,2005.

AVA accredited microchipcentres

We often talk about turning policypositions into practice and this is exactlywhat has occured with the AVA policy on

Electronic Identification of Animals. Twovery practical outcomes of this policyhave been the protocol for AVAAccredited Microchip Centres and theProtocol for AVA Accredited MicrochipRegistries.

There are now 132 Accredited Centresacross Australia and two registries –Central Animal Records in Victoria andAustralasian Animal Records in NSW,that are AVA accredited following arigorous audit process by an externalauditor.

We will also be sending the AVA policyand protocols to wholesalers so that theytoo know about the scheme. If anymember that does not have access to thewebsite would like a copy of the policyand protocols with a view to becoming anaccredited Centre, please call Lyn Osmanat the Sydney office.

There has recently been some debateon AVAlist about the AVA protocol forAccredited Microchip Centres, just at thetime when a certificate of currency isbeing sent out to all the centres acrossAustralia.

So too those AVAlisters, thanks for thedebate – your suggestions will beforwarded to the AVA MicrochipAdvisory Committee for theirconsideration.

AVA CEO Margaret Conley

CommentClear directions for 2005