President’s message from Dr Alistair Webb – June 2023

30 Jun 2023

 

When I joined the AVA as a final year vet student, I had no idea how involved I could become with the Association and how I would come to rely on it for support and guidance.  

I have personally found that the more you give to the Association and the profession the more you get back. Over many years, the AVA has been my number one source for veterinary skills and knowledge upgrade, quality connections and profession development. 

It is now membership renewal time and I strongly encourage you to continue to belong and be a part of the AVA. It is only through the strength of members like you, we can represent the profession on matters that impact it.   

Our AVA mission statement is not just a glib marketing statement – the AVA is your professional partner aiming to champion and empower the veterinary profession to thrive. And I think we do that extremely well. Here are just a few immediate examples of our achievements against the AVA’s 4 pillars – Voice, Education, Community and Support:  

  • Voice – representing the profession at the NSW parliamentary enquiry into Veterinary workforce shortages  
  • Education – amazing SIG conferences coming up in the next few months and piloting the AVA Chartered Veterinary Practitioner accreditation program 
  • Community – fabulous collegiality at recent AVA Annual Conference in Adelaide 
  • Support – launching the much anticipated THRIVE wellbeing program 

You can also of course also take advantage of the many tangible member benefits, including discounts for events that build your CPD points. Other AVA services that I think are particularly valuable are our 24-hour telephone counselling service, HR advisory service, Mental Health First Aid Training, Graduate Mentoring  and the Employer of Choice program.  

I understand that not everyone can – or wants to be – as involved in the Association as I am or our other board and committee members are, and you don’t need to be. Just by being a member, you are adding your weight to what we do and that makes the AVA stronger and better placed to deliver for you and the sector as a whole.  

Thanks for being part of the AVA. I hope you stay with us well into the future! 

Alistair Webb

AVA President