[ACVM] Vet micro education

[Wilkes, Rebecca Penrose]

Hi All,
Just thinking about a few things lately. We are always asking ourselves in the BOG meetings how we can make ourselves more relevant. I am concerned about what I am seeing in the vet schools. It seems we are seeing more education geared toward small animal specialties, even in general vet education, at the expense of some more basic vet micro training. Addition of more and more internal med specialties and residencies but no addition of vet micro residencies. Also, I have observed a shift in the focus of research at vet schools toward animal models for human diseases for NIH funding. So, I ask, where does this leave us? How are we going to replace ourselves with the current direction things are heading? How do we get US veterinarians interested in vet micro if we continue to reduce vet micro classes/lectures in U.S. Vet schools and don't offer Vet micro residency programs? If we don't continue to value research for veterinary diseases, who will? Is this the impression others are getting too? Other than WSU and CSU, are any schools supporting vet micro training? Maybe I am wrong about all this? Does anyone have an opinion?

Thanks,
Becky Wilkes