Academy of Veterinary Consultants

Letter from the President, Bob Larson

AVC Members:

Of all the changes facing veterinary practice today, I think one of the most important to recognize is that our clients have increasingly higher expectations. The only thing that appears to grow faster than the volume of knowledge within veterinary medicine is the speed that information moves via the internet. Clients expect their veterinarian to provide a higher level of awareness and understanding of health and production issues than they, the producer, can readily obtain from internet resources. Veterinary practice has always required strong relationships and good communication with clients; and as information has become increasingly available, those attributes are even more important today.

The Academy of Veterinary Consultants was founded on the belief that excellent continuing education is crucial to provide high-quality service and consulting. The AVC continues to operate with the same belief and we are exploring new ways to expand the quantity and quality of continuing education for our members. In addition to providing excellent speakers, closed-door sessions, and personal contacts at the three meetings each year, AVC members can now see and hear the presentations on their computers or download them to a portable device to listen to while traveling down the road. Because of the expanding volume of information pertaining to beef production, marketing, and consumer demand, veterinarians are challenged to continually add to their body of knowledge. Reading, listening to, and evaluating new information as it becomes available through many different continuing education sources will likely require even more time within a busy daily schedule. Finding ways to deliver high-quality continuing education in an efficient manner is an important role for the AVC. I encourage you to go to the “Proceedings” area of the web page and find that not only are the written proceedings available, audiovisual formats are available as well.

Dr. Lechtenberg and the Program Committee recognize that with the information explosion that has accompanied the rise of the computer, high-quality continuing education is more important than ever; and they have responded by organizing a great set of topics and speakers. In addition to the education topics, another highlight of the Winter Meeting will be the presentation of the AVC Consultant of the Year sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health. And, we will also begin the transition to a new Executive Secretary as Dr. Robert Sprowls winds up his last meeting in the position and a new Executive Secretary will be introduced.

I hope everyone has a great fall and I look forward to seeing you in Denver.