President’s message from Dr Sally Colgan – August 2024 

The IV fluid shortage continues to make headlines for both the animal and human health sectors in Australia. Earlier this week I was at Parliament House in Canberra where AVA met with several members of Parliament and their senior advisers. We stressed the impact of the fluids supply crisis on the veterinary profession and advocated for better supply chain management and increased transparency on supply issues. Their portfolios covered health, education and agriculture so we were able to address a range of issues, including workforce shortage, veterinary mental health, extending the Commonwealth Prac Placement Scheme to veterinary students and the essential nature of vets in all animal industries.  

Canberra was brimming with veterinary stakeholders this week as a large contingent descended on the city to talk data. This topic may not provide the catchy media sound bites that a therapeutics shortage does, however a centralised national data source will provide essential evidence for the solutions, investment, policies and advocacy needed to overcome the veterinary workforce challenges we face. Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, recently provided some excellent context on this topic and on Monday her office hosted the National Veterinary Workforce Data and Governance Roundtable in Canberra.

^{Dr Mark Schipp, Dr Bronwyn Orr, Dr Sally Colgan, Graham Pratt}

The roundtable involved 66 attendees from across the profession, including representatives from commonwealth and state/territory governments, veterinary schools, veterinary practitioner boards, ANZCVS and private businesses and corporations. The AVA was strongly represented by Directors Dr Mark Schipp and Dr Gemma Chuck, Dr Bronwyn Orr, Senior Government Relations Manager, Graham Pratt, National Advocacy Manager and myself.

The AVA workforce survey has been one of the few sources of data on the profession and at the roundtable the AVA was able to share robust insight and leadership on this issue, resulting in some very positive outcomes and plans to progress this project.

Last month I attended the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) 2024 Zoonoses Conference ‘Crossroads of Contagion’, which highlighted the importance of the intersection of human and animal interactions and health.

There was a strong sense of collegiality and collaboration over the 2 days, with a joint presentation by Dr Paul Kelly, Chief Medical Officer, and Dr Beth Cookson, Chief Veterinary Officer, to open proceedings.

^{Dr Kendall Crocker - Acting Director of One Health at The Interim Australian Centre for Disease Control for Disease Control (CDC), Dr Sarah Britton - incoming Director of One Health at the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control, Dr Paul Kelly - Chief Medical Officer, Dr Beth Cookson – Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Sally Colgan – President, Australian Veterinary Association.}

Joined by AVA CEO Melissa King, I was delighted to meet recently with Dr Isao Kurauchi, President of the Japan Veterinary Medical Association (JVMA) and Federation of Asian Veterinary Associations (FAVA), during his visit to Sydney. We shared a very productive discussion covering a wide range of regional issues, with a particular focus on One Health and the vital role of the veterinary profession in advancing both regional and global One Health objectives.

It was a valuable opportunity to gain insights into the Japanese Veterinary Medical Association and Dr Kurauchi's dedicated efforts to promote One Health throughout Asia and Oceania. We look forward to collaborating with the extensive network of veterinarians and veterinary associations represented by FAVA to address shared challenges and explore solutions together.

^{Dr Sally Colgan, Dr Isao Kurauchi, Melissa King}

There’s only one week until the AVA Feedback Survey closes on Monday 2 September. Make sure we hear you!

Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NMNL25G

If you like what your association is doing - let us know. If we can do things better - let us know. If there are things we aren’t doing at all, and you’d like us to do them - let us know. Be sure to pass the survey on to all your colleagues so we can better understand what our members want from their association.

Our voices are stronger together and your input will help us better serve the veterinary profession into the future.

^{Dr Sally Colgan with Dr Nick Kannegieter at the 2024 Bain Fallon Memorial Lectures. Nick was Sally’s clinical instructor and mentor during her equine internship in 1991.}

Dr Sally Colgan
AVA President