President's Message

Renee Rucinsky, DVM, DABVP (Feline), President

I’ve been doing a lot of speaking and teaching lately, in addition to my regular day jobs, and all of the ABVP things. It’s a lot of fried brain. It’s a lot of complicated balancing of things. Have you ever seen any footage about how Amazon organizes its warehouses? It’s not all of one thing in one place, it’s more of a tetris of fitting all sorts of things in all sorts of spaces. You know, to be efficient. I don’t know if I’d even want to see what the Amazon version of organizing my brain looks like.

One of my more recent lectures was on managing complicated comorbidities in cats. For whatever reason I struggled figuring out how to start the lecture other than just jumping into how to manage the cat who presents with 7 different problems at once. And then I thought, well...this is just kind of how all of us live our lives, right? We manage work, family, pets, health, friends, hobbies, plus plus plus all of the time. What would it look like if we could just stop and design
our perfect situation? How unrealistic does that perfect situation even look? Which led me to thinking about personal ads. Don’t even ask how I got to that point. Anyway, personal ads are the ultimate in oversimplification and ridiculous expectations. So I made a personal ad for me as a cat doctor. May we all receive the veterinary personal ad of our own creation.

ABVP Celebrates Women's History Month

Brita Kiffney, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline), DEI Chair

This March, the ABVP celebrates Women's History Month and recognizes the
achievements of women in veterinary medicine, both past and present. Female
veterinarians today have benefitted from the work of those who have paved the way for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession, and who have recognized the valuable contribution of women in this field.

Thank you to the women who have broken barriers and paved the way for all of us. These influential women have contributed immensely as clinicians, specialists, researchers, educators, public health officials, and business owners for many women. I am constantly inspired by all my colleagues in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners - from our current President, Renee Rucinsky, who is juggling practice ownership and our organization, Lori Teller, AVMA Past President and currently one of two Canine & Feline Regents, to Jordan Gagne who is double boarded and volunteering as Exam Chair. These women are volunteering their time to help make our organization better - along with many others that I have not named - THANK YOU!

Lecturing Opportunity for Newly Minted ABVP Diplomates

Mike Dutton, DVM, MS, DABVP (Avian, Reptile & Amphibian, Exotic Companion Mammal, Canine & Feline), CVPP, CertAqV, CE Chair

ABVP has partnered with VIN to host monthly VIN Rounds! ABVP's goal is to offer this as an opportunity for newly minted ABVP Diplomates interested in lecturing to try it on for size.

VIN asked that we prioritize Avian and Large Animal (Dairy, Beef, Food Animal, Equine, and Swine Health Management) lectures. We will do the occasional Canine & Feline, Feline, ECM, and Reptile & Amphibian lectures also over the next 12 months. Each lecture is about 50 minutes long and you will need to keep an eye on your lecture's message board after the lecture for a couple of weeks.

VIN will pay you for your lecture. ABVP will help you with your lecture by assigning you a mentor, if you would like. These start in June 2024. Rounds are open to VIN members and ABVP Diplomates. Those who attend the live sessions earn 1 hour of CE credit (watching recordings afterward does not earn CE credit).

If you are interested in this opportunity, please email Mike Dutton. If there is a current Diplomate who would like to assist managing this, please let Mike know. This volunteerism would be eligible for MOC points.

AVMA Updated Clinical Trials Database

Craig Datz, MS, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP (Canine & Feline, Feline),VSOC Rep

AVMA asked for help identifying curators for various species/disciplines of veterinary medicine as listed below. Curators are asked to review study submissions to the registry to help make sure the listings look accurate and are clear (ie, they are not doing scientific reviews of the listing). Most discipline areas other than oncology and internal medicine are not very time-consuming. Curators also serve as subject matter experts for me regarding the development/direction of the site. 

Anyone that you can help recruit that might be interested in volunteering for one (or more) of the areas below would be most appreciated, thanks! 

• Anesthesia/ Analgesia
• Internal Medicine
• Dermatology
• Equine Medicine
• Behavior
• Preventive Medicine
• Cardiology
• Dentistry
• Agricultural Animal Medicine & Surgery
• Equine Surgery
• Orthopedics
• Soft Tissue
• Oncology
• Imaging Studies
• Reproductive/ Mammary
• Neurology/ Neurosurgery
• Ophthalmology
• Exotics/Wildlife Medicine & Surgery
• Genetics

They are also looking for subject matter experts to help look at submissions. If you or someone you know wants to volunteer, email Ed Murphey at EMurphey@avma.org. 

In Memoriam: Dr. Daryl "Sam" Backos  

It is with sadness we report that we lost a pillar within the veterinary community. Dr. Daryl "Sam" Backos became ill with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and passed away this past January. Dr. Backos was a dedicated individual to his practice of Avain medicine. He became an ABVP Diplomate in 1994. His passing has been devastating to his clients and employees. 

To learn more about Dr. Backos and his impact within the Avian and veterinary community, please read his obituary. 

Your March MOC Update

Sonnya Dennis, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline), MOC Chair

• Quick links: MOC webpage, Journal Club, add me to the Google Group/Listserv!

• Important!: While it is important to upload as you go, remember that after you complete your MOC, you need to wait until your next cycle begins for items to count in the next cycle. You can't get credit for things you did in your last cycle for your next cycle! https://abvp.com/maintenance-certification-plan/ 

  • Find your cycle start and end dates under Credentials >> My Certifications, then use the pull-down menus under Conferral Cycle (see image below). 

  • This is NOT a change in the rules; it was this way under the previous MOC plan. The difference is that we now can upload throughout the year instead of waiting until the eighth year, but everything must still occur within the same cycle. This also applies to Journal Club. You are always welcome to read them and take the quiz, but only upload those that are in the correct cycle.

ABVP Symposium Registration

Spots are filling up quickly! Don't forget to review the offerings and book your spot before they are gone!

New Orleans Marriott - Hotel Rooms SOLD OUT

As of March, 21 hotel rooms at the New Orleans Marriott are completely sold out on Friday, April 26. For nearby hotel options, please see the following.

Feline Boot Camp Workshop

Craig Datz, MS, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP (Canine & Feline, Feline),VSOC Rep

A Feline Boot Camp Workshop for early-career veterinarians will be held in conjunction with the upcoming ABVP Symposium. This CE event is sponsored by Royal Canin at no cost to attendees. The speakers are all ABVP Diplomates who have extensive experience and knowledge about cats. The topics are geared toward general practitioners who would like to go deeper into feline medicine or are thinking about becoming ABVP board-certified in feline practice. Feel free to forward this information and link to any veterinarians who are approximately 1-3 years out from graduation.

Registration is required before March 31. More details and instructions can be found here. 

If anyone has questions, they can email Craig Datz. Thanks for helping publicize this event!

Residency and Job Postings

Don’t forget that ABVP has classified listings for open positions all over the world!

April 25-28, 2024

• ABVP Symposium, New Orleans, Louisiana

July 1, 2024

• 2024-2025 Diplomate and Emeritus Diplomate fees payable

July 15, 2024 

• Semi-Annual Residency Logs deadline. Logs must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time

December 31, 2024

• Final date to be called a Diplomate for those who failed to MOC on time

January 15, 2025

• Credentials deadline for both Initial Applications and Re-Applications. All documentation must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time

• Swine Health Management Entry Exam registration and fee deadline. Registration must be completed online account by 11:59 PM Central Time

• Semi-Annual Residency Logs deadline. Logs must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time

March 27-30, 2025

• ABVP Symposium, San Antonio, Texas