Veterinary Medicine - August 2007 - (Page 504)

A Veterinary Medicine Interview how a profession, such as veterinary medicine, may be impacted in the future. Do you have a bad habit? No, I have several. But the one that’s most noteworthy is that I’m lazy. Whenever I step back and look at veterinary medicine today, I’m truly humbled by the remarkable accomplishments and contributions that my former students and other colleagues are making toward the advancement of veterinary medicine. What part of your work do you enjoy most? Teaching. That’s my passion and probably what I do best. It’s certainly the part of my professional career that I gain from the most. But it’s not just getting in front of an audience to convey what little bit of expertise I might have to anyone willing to listen that drives my enthusiasm for teaching, it’s also the incredibly steep learning curve that comes with teaching. Whether it’s teaching veterinary students, practicing veterinarians, or veterinary technicians, teaching has always rewarded me with more knowledge and insight than I’ve ever been able to deliver. What has been the greatest achievement of your career? What do you consider the greatest threat to the profession? Change. The tectonic plates, as I call them, of veterinary medicine are shifting in such a way that we will teach, learn, and practice the skills of our profession much differently in the future. For example, one of the plates is the gender shift in veterinary medicine. Are we becoming a part-time profession? Will sufficient numbers of graduates be available in the future to meet the needs of equine and food-animal practice? Another shifting plate is the migration of clinical faculty and residents from academia into private specialty practices. Who will teach in the future? What will the veterinary teaching hospital of tomorrow look like if there are insufficient numbers of faculty to support a teaching caseload? A number of other plates are shifting as well, but you get the drift. An overwhelming number of animals are underserved. all species, that are underserved by veterinary medicine. There’s an irony here. In clinical practice today, the very highest standards of care are expended on veterinary patients, but only on those animals belonging to individuals who can afford our services. A much larger proportion of the domestic animal population in the United States will never have access to even the most basic healthcare services our profession can offer. This is not an easy question. In fact, there may not even be an answer. But if there were, it would center on having had the opportunity to represent veterinary medicine within the department of defense, as a brigadier general, working directly with the Air Force surgeon general, dealing with high-threat human health issues such as anthrax immunization and bioterrorism surveillance and response. If that wasn’t my greatest achievement, the opportunity to work with the incredibly dedicated men and women in our armed forces was certainly my greatest reward. What makes a good veterinarian? A good person. As a veterinary faculty member who has taught for more than 25 years, I can say, with some authority, that this is a trait of our applicants, students, and graduates. Veterinary medicine is exceptionally fortunate to have an abundance of good veterinarians, and that’s not as much a reflection on how well we teach veterinary students as it is an indication of the integrity and professionalism of the individuals who seek to become veterinarians. O What changes do you hope will happen in the next 100 years? The globalization of veterinary healthcare. There are few countries in the world where a veterinarian can practice to the same standard of care offered in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. I hope in the next 100 years we will share our knowledge in such a way that practicing veterinarians throughout the world, and the patients they treat, will benefit from our knowledge and expertise. What animal health needs are currently unmet? One only has to open the door of what is now called shelter medicine to appreciate the overwhelming number of animals, of Is there a veterinary leader you’d like us to interview? If so, please e-mail or fax us the person’s name and affiliation: vm@advanstar.com; fax (913) 492-4157. 504 August 2007 VETERINARY MEDICINE

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - August 2007

Contents A Veterinary Medicine Interview Veterinary Voices Idea Exchange Diagnosis and Treatment of Solar Dermatitis in Dogs Diagnostic Imaging for Linear Foreign Bodies in Cats Overcoming the Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges of Canine Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia Ophthalmic drugs: What’s new? CE Form Product Preview Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - August 2007

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