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Become Active in the MVMA
and Help Yourself
by Brendan
Anders, DVM, DACVS
“I’m too busy” is a thought I
commonly have. In fact, the words have occasionally been formed
and spoken before I heard the complete request. It was
commonplace during my internship and residency to be overwhelmed
with thoughts of things that needed to be done yesterday.
Having been in private practice now
for 12 years, I have improved my ability to manage time but
still recognize that “downtime” is rare. These past 12 years
have also identified some shortcomings in my veterinary
education. They didn’t teach me about the many legal issues a
veterinarian is exposed to or how our careers are dependent on
the economy and legislation driven decisions which can quickly
disrupt our routines/lifestyles. This awareness came gradually
through some personal mistakes, journal review (that first 20
pages of JAVMA that I used to skip), media sources (TV and
newspapers articles) and peer discussions of the tribulations
associated with ownership and management of a business.
For years, like many recent
graduates, I avoided these topics and, frankly, wasn’t certain
that their concerns were my concerns. I assumed it was enough to
faithfully join the appropriate state veterinary agencies and
larger groups, like the AVMA and ACVS, with the understanding
that someone else would be doing the leg work in a manner that
represented my best interests. What I now know is that there is
plenty of work to be done. In fact, given the exponential
advances in medicine, increases in consumer advocacy
organizations and owner education (or lack thereof) our
extracurricular responsibilities are increasing and the number
of people accepting that responsibility is decreasing.
Skip forward to today and my recent appointment to a committee
with the MVMA. I, like a few others I suspect, showed up to the
first meeting as a result of a guilty conscience and an innate
inability to refuse a free meal. Once I arrived I was shocked by
the number of people being asked to represent the profession
while also working the same hours as the rest of us. With my
conscience egging me on, I decided to become a voice and
contributor to the process. Okay, I’m just going to say it. I
decided to become part of the solution not part of the problem.
With over 2,500 licensed
veterinarians in the state of Maryland, the knowledge that we
are relying on so few to accurately represent our interests,
educate the public, warn us of developing legal and medical
issues and set up programs for continuing education was
concerning to me. In such an altruistic profession, I suspect
the shortage of volunteers to be due to a lack of awareness
about how to get involved. In thinking back, I myself had no
idea of how to get involved or what role the MVMA played in our
industry. I would suspect this to be true, not only among new
vets, but among many in our profession. This editorial is both
an admission of my own lack of knowledge and a plea to our
community to use the initiative we have all previously shown
necessary to become veterinarians and channel that towards
addressing the issues that impact our profession.
Taking that first step to volunteer
is the hard part; the jobs and deadlines are the easy part as we
are a profession of list-makers, achievers and leaders. Give it
some thought and contact one of the MVMA officers if you are
interested in volunteering:
Dr. Kris Evans; Dr. Jan
Ginsky; or
Dr. Eric Boshoven. We could certainly use your help. And the
best part is you’ll also be helping yourself! |
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