Double the Trouble

You heard it right during our general membership meeting in New Orleans: my goal for the ACVPM is to double our active membership. Right now we have 578 active Diplomates as members. My goal is to have 1200.

Why double? For three reasons:

First, our recent job analysis validated the context of our profession. In other words, our examination covers the same knowledge areas that our Diplomates use in their daily employment (although we do need to make some changes in emphasis, please see the National Board of Medical Examiner’s powerpoint presentation posted on our website under the members-only section, http://www.acvpm.org). The bottom line is that in the face of all the changes in our world around us, HOW we practice our profession is not changing. We don’t need to learn new things; instead, the mandate of our times is to bring veterinary public health/preventive medicine to the table so that it can be used to help solve the public health and preventive medicine challenges of our nation and our world. And who should be doing that? Diplomates should; the certified subject matter experts who walk the talk with credibility and skill.

Second, it is a crying shame that veterinary health professionals with an academic board are not paid appropriately. Army, Air Force and Public Health Service veterinarians receive $300 to $500 additional pay per month for achieving ACVPM board certification; why don’t their federal counterparts? Given the increasing need for veterinary public health/preventive medicine input, I know that day will come, and when it does, we want there to be enough Diplomates to fill positions requiring board certification.

Third, and on a more pragmatic note, our college has been running on a shoestring too long. We need to pay our Executive Vice President a decent salary, we need better financial security, and we can’t tackle important projects such as creating new specialty boards such as Food Safety unless we have more membership to share the load. Right now 25% of our Epidemiology Diplomates are serving in leadership roles, an incredible commitment to their specialty. We will gain great economies of scale with just a few hundred more Diplomates; and so we must make them.

In New Orleans, our Executive Board agreed upon a plan to make this happen. First, we are asking every new Diplomate if they will be willing to help a candidate for the exam on a one-on-one basis. Then, we’re going to improve the pre-exam credentialing process so it’s not so darned confusing. And lastly, we’re going to help candidates study by preparing materials and lecture opportunities. We are not going to make the exam easier. We are going to make our candidates smarter, because that’s what our nation needs them to be.

And now my closing paragraph: and you’ve guessed it! I’m looking for your help. Please encourage veterinarians you know with public health/preventive medicine expertise to join us. If they are serious about challenging the examination, give me their name (peggycarterdvm@aol.com) and I’ll find them a mentor. If you are willing to help someone with their exam preparation, drop me a line. Heed the call of your profession, and make the way smooth for the new generation.

All the best,
Peggy Carter DVM, MS, MSS
President, ACVPM