AVMA policies open for year-round comment

The AVMA recently opened its policies on professional issues for year-round member comment, creating new opportunities for members to communicate with the Association.

“The AVMA has an important leadership role in developing advisory policies that offer guidance and direction to our members, the veterinary profession, and the public. These policies range from the treatment of livestock and laboratory animals to the veterinary care that our pets receive,” said Dr. Douglas G. Aspros, AVMA president.

“We don’t develop these policies in a vacuum. In fact, we work very hard to collect input from all interested parties before we adopt new policies, and then strive to do this again when these policies come up for regular review.

“Now, with a new AVMA website that we launched in 2012, we are going to make it even easier for our members to communicate with us and offer feedback that will be used to help inform our decisions and AVMA policies.”

Since 2010, the Association has accepted member comments on policies being developed or reviewed by the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. The Association also has solicited comment from members recently on other policies and subjects, such as its model veterinary practice act and its strategic plan.

With this new change, members of the AVMA and the Student AVMA can now comment on any of the Association’s current professional policies by visiting the policies Web page at avma.org/KB/Policies. This page highlights policies currently under review, but also allows members to comment on any policy throughout the year. Each policy has a “Comment on this policy” link.