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.
Sincerely,
Bob Larson, DVM
President, Academy of Veterinary Consultants
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