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Almost 200 Stakeholders
Attend Final NAVMEC Meeting
The final of three national meetings
to discuss the future of veterinary medical education concluded
Friday after three days of presentations and discussions about
licensing, testing, accreditation and implementation. The North
American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium, or NAVMEC, was
launched by the Association of American Veterinary Medical
Colleges (AAVMC) in collaboration with its partners in 2009 to
ensure that veterinary medical education meets the changing
needs of society.
During the first two national
meetings, participants discussed changing societal needs and
professional competencies and developed nine different
veterinary medical education models. The third and final
national meeting last week synthesized the information from the
first two meetings in the context of moving forward with
recommendations to AAVMC for an implementation phase of NAVMEC.
The NAVMEC Board of Directors will
be taking the discussions and findings from all three meetings
to produce a roadmap for veterinary medical education that is
flexible and that builds on the strengths of U.S. and Canadian
Colleges of Veterinary Medicine. They will write a report that
concludes with key recommendations based on the discussions at
the three meetings. This report will be submitted to the AAVMC
Board of Directors later this year and will be shared with the
leadership of veterinary medical accreditation and
testing/licensing associations. The report/roadmap will also
include a summary of ideas from NAVMEC participants on how best
to implement the findings of the Consortium.
“We understand that implementation
of the recommendations in the final NAVMEC report is critical
for the NAVMEC initiative to bring about the comprehensive
change needed in veterinary medical education,‖ said Dean Bennie
Osburn, DVM, Ph.D, University of California, Davis School of
Veterinary Medicine and Chairman of the NAVMEC Board of
Directors. ―Our third meeting brought us one step closer to
making this change possible.”
The third meeting included two days
of stimulus presentations on competencies in veterinary medical
education developed by participants at the first NAVMEC meeting,
educational presentations on licensing, testing and
accreditation and innovation break-outs where participants
developed their own ideas on how to best modify accreditation
standards and licensing and testing processes to address
changing societal needs and core competencies. The final half
day included a question and answer session with world-renowned
author of Leading Change, John P. Kotter, D.B.A., followed by an
interactive brainstorming session on how to best implement the
recommendations developed through NAVMEC.
“The Consortium has brought together
more than 200 stakeholder entities and educational institutions
in veterinary medicine to not only discuss the challenges faced
in our industry, but to act towards developing a plan for
tackling these challenges head-on,‖ said Dean Willie Reed, DVM,
Ph.D., Purdue University, School of Veterinary Medicine, AAVMC
president-elect and Member of the NAVMEC Board of Directors.
―Dr. Kotter’s presentation on how to implement change acted as a
catalyst for discussion about moving the NAVMEC initiative
forward, an urgent task that we recognize as difficult but
absolutely necessary.”
The comprehensive outcomes report
and executive summary from the final meeting will be available
upon review and approval by the NAVMEC Board of Directors and
will be available at
www.navmec.org. The outcomes reports and executive summaries
from the first and second meetings are already available on the
site.
Who Is Part of NAVMEC?
In order to produce as comprehensive an outcome as possible,
AAVMC invited the participation of close to 400 groups and
organizations with an interest in veterinary medical education.
A total of approximately 200 groups and individuals have joined
the Consortium, including co-sponsors who have made some
financial contribution to help underwrite NAVMEC infrastructure
and other groups and individuals wishing to participate in
discussions. Both co-sponsors and partner organizations are
invited to send a representative to the three national meetings.
Those groups and individuals making
a financial contribution are designated ―co-sponsors.‖ All
co-sponsors have been invited to name a representative who would
not only participate at the national meetings, but are also
invited to be part of an Advisory Panel that will help plan the
national meetings, make recommendations concerning the
organization of Consortium meetings, regularly review the
progress of the Consortium, and make recommendations to the
Consortium Board of Directors as the final ―national report‖ is
being drafted for submission to the AAVMC Board of Directors.
The participants include AAVMC
national and international member institutions; accreditation,
licensure and testing groups; national veterinary associations
from the U.S., Canada and Brazil; state veterinary medical
associations; veterinary industry; veterinary species and
specialty organizations; animal welfare/activist groups;
ancillary veterinary entities; and individuals interested in
veterinary medical education.
How is NAVMEC Governed?
AAVMC launched NAVMEC in 2009 and is providing the leadership
for this initiative. The NAVMEC Board of Directors, representing
the three pillars of NAVMEC—education, accreditation and
testing/licensure—will make final decisions concerning NAVMEC
policies, procedures and outcomes that will be recommended to
the AAVMC Board of Directors.
The nine person NAVMEC Board is
designed to support significant and meaningful advances in
veterinary medical education. It’s the first Board ever
comprised equally of representatives of licensure/testing,
education and accreditation—the entities most responsible for
addressing societal needs that veterinarians will face.
About NAVMEC
NAVMEC is the most comprehensive effort ever undertaken to
create a workforce of next generation veterinarians who are
ready to address some of society’s greatest needs, taking into
account educational models, accreditation, testing and
licensing. On the Web:
www.navmec.org.
About AAVMC
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC)
is a non-profit membership organization working to protect and
improve the health and welfare of animals, people and the
environment by generating new knowledge and preparing the high
quality veterinary workforce needed to meet continually changing
societal demands for veterinary expertise. AAVMC provides
leadership for and promotes excellence in academic veterinary
medicine to prepare the veterinary workforce with the scientific
knowledge and skills required to meet societal needs through the
protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the
conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health
and the advancement of medical knowledge. On the Web:
www.aavmc.org. |
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Important
Links from this article
North American Veterinary
Medical Education Consortium
Association of American
Veterinary Medical Colleges
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