President's Message

Gary Thompson, DVM, DABVP (Canine and Feline), President

As the holiday season approaches, I hope that all of you have time away from work to spend with family and friends. For our colleagues whose talents are needed during these times, I thank you for all you do for our profession and your patients. We often take for granted the people on call or working while everyone is home opening presents and spending time with loved ones.

For me this is a time where I transition from my four-legged patients to attending to two-legged patients on the ski slopes. The week from Christmas to New Year’s is the busiest week of the ski season, so I will be working ski patrol Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the week between the holidays on the snow. And for the record, I use the term “work” loosely since any day on the snow is usually a good day.

Behind the scenes ABVP is still working to get a new crop of applicant credentials processed and evaluated. The Symposium committee is finishing the final touches for our Symposium on Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor. We have a great slate of wet labs for hands-on learning and our usual top-notch schedule of speakers. Early Bird registration is open so you can use up any allocated CE funds from 2022 for your registration in 2023!

Also, as our interest in Fellowships continues to expand, Dr. Dan Cardosa is seeking Canine/Feline Diplomates who have a strong background and caseload in orthopedic practice to serve as part of the organizing committee to create a new Fellowship in Orthopedic Practice. You can email Dr. Cardosa at dcardosa@aol.com for the eligibility criteria and if you are interested in helping to move this forward.

Here is wishing you a safe and joyous holiday season.

Welcome the Newest ABVP Diplomates

Avian Practice

Rachel Baden
Susan Baley
Alison Cummings
Nicholas Kirk
Salina Locke
Silvia Tovar Lopez

Beef Cattle Practice

Sydney Crosby
Daniel Cummings

Canine and Feline Practice

Nathaniel Chaudoin
Erez Cohen Mivtach
Nicola Council
Karen Ebersole
Lauren Gealow
Christian Hansen-Jones
Jerrod Johnson
Tara Kasmarik
Sarah Kaufman
James Kidwell
Heather Lee
Wendy Mandese
Megan McGlinn
Justine Mumaw
Krista Nelson
Amber Parks
Rodrigo Rosa
Abedin Shaban Zadeh
John Strickland
Amy Thorud
Eva Ulery

Dairy Practice

Michael Capel

Exotic Companion Mammal Practice

Dominique Peel

Equine Practice

Samantha Parkinson

Feline Practice

Kaitlin Bahlmann

Food Animal Practice

Rachel Friedrich

Shelter Medicine Practice

Emily Ferrell
Victry Fredley
Jessica Thiele

Join Us in Baltimore

We look forward to welcoming many of you to Baltimore this April for the ABVP Symposium. Consider investing in yourself this holiday season and use any remaining CE dollars you may have! 

Early Bird/Regular Rate

General Registration Veterinarian, $615/$740
ABVP Diplomate/Applicant/Candidate, $555/$670
Resident, $350/$400
Veterinary Student, $250/$275
Technician, $490/$594
One-Day All Types, $380/$460

The Early-Bird Rate ends Friday, March 10, 2023, at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Update

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

How to get to the MOC Portal:

• Start at ABVP.com, “DIPLOMATE LOGIN” (top bar), then “log in'' (top right).
• Links to everything you need are on the left under “My Member Actions.”
• Link to MOC webpage with SHORT how-to videos!

🐘 Don’t forget! To save yourself time, you can start an application, leave it “IN PROGRESS” then add attachments to it. Find your IN PROGRESS applications by the new sort feature.

• For example, you can start a Journal Club application and add your journal club screenshots through the year, then just submit them all together yearly.
• This is easier on you and your RVS vice chair since all the screenshots are attached to a single application. Just enter the total number attached to receive the correct number of credits.
• The same can be done for all those little “1-pointer” CEs that all of us do throughout the year!

Be sure that all your point bars are “filled” (see screenshot above) before submitting your renewal! Currently the system may allow you to start a renewal if you only meet the total points, and not the Category points, so check with your RVS vice chair if you have questions. They are there to help!

Did you just pass your exam and certify as a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners? If you had a mentor who helped you, please identify them here!

🕊️This is the last update from MOC for the year!  The MOC Committee wishes all of you happy and peaceful holidays! 

~ Anthony Pilny, Wendela Wapenaar, Ellen Olson, JoLynne Grant, Dana Reeder, Hilary Stern, Heather Bjornebo, Uri Donnett, Lisa Tokach, and Sonnya Dennis

Vice-Chair for ABVP Mentor Program Needed

Volunteer Position Available! Earn MOC points!!

The Vice-Chair for the ABVP Mentor Program is responsible for supervising the mentor program, vetting applicants, recruiting mentors, pairing applicants with mentors, answering questions from both applicants and mentors and maintaining a database documenting the program.

Responsibilities include:

• Maintain list of mentor volunteers
• Receive and validate mentor requests (i.e. ensure requestor is eligible and committed to actually pursuing application at that time)
• Ensure pairing of applicant with a mentor in their chosen RVS (can utilize RVS assistance for making pairings)
• Maintain (or ensure the maintenance of) list of applicant/mentor pair
• Answer questions about process from applicants and/or mentors as needed
• Communicate important updates/reminders to mentors when needed (deadlines, application results reported, exam, changes in process)
• Verify applicants are still active
• Report status of program to Outreach Chair on request
• Time commitment: 1-2 hours per week

Please reach out to Sarah Eaton, Outreach Committee Chair (outreach@abvp.com) with questions or to volunteer.

We are aiming to fill this position by April, so request contact be made by March 1, 2023.

Avian Mentors Needed

Hello, Avian colleagues!

ABVP has a mentoring program for veterinarians working toward submitting a credentials application. The mentors aren’t responsible for developing the applicants practice knowledge or skills…rather, they are there to help the applicant navigate the application process, choose good cases to write up, answer questions, be a contact, and generally encourage the applicant to keep going. It’s a somewhat informal way of helping them make it through the process while still requiring the stand on their own skills.

“What kind of questions?” you ask…The most common questions I answer as a mentor for canine/feline applicants are:

• Would this make a good case to write up?
• Should I set up my Prolydian account now or wait until I have all my materials together
• How should I study for the exam?

Besides giving back and helping the next generation of ABVP, there are additional benefits to being a mentor. You can get 125 MOC points (one time per cycle) for successfully mentoring an applicant who becomes a diplomate. After passing their exam, the new diplomate simply sends you an email documenting that they want to award you the points.

If any of you are interested in joining the ranks of Avian mentors, please contact me at Ed.Loebach@boehringer-ingelheim.com.

Review Your Regents & Committee Chairs

ABVP's Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is tasked with a variety of functions. One is to review current volunteers to determine strengths and weaknesses. Based on that review, we hope to to make our volunteers better at their jobs.

Responses are anonymous and the surveys will close January 22, 2023. 

Depending on your position you may get multiple copies of these surveys (e.g., your Committee Chair may send you the same link as in this newsletter). Please fill out the survey ONCE for each position you hold.

Self Review:

If you currently serve as a volunteer, please use this survey to review yourself.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/360_Review_Self

Chair and Vice-Chair (VC) review:

If you currently serve on a committee, please use this survey to review your Chair or VC. If you are currently a VC, please use this survey to review your Chair. If you serve in more than one position, please take the survey again for your other position(s).
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/360_Review_Chairs_Vicechairs

Regent Review:

This a survey for any Diplomate to review their Regent.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/360_Review_Survey_Regents

Thank you,

Mike Dutton (LDC Chair) 

ATTN: Credentials Applicants 

If you need immediate support with the online credentials application during the upcoming holiday while our Executive Director is out (see story below), the Prolydian support team is available to assist!

You can email their amazing support team directly at support+abvp@prolydian.com OR chat live with them! Take a look at the screenshot below to see how you can chat with them live from your Prolydian account.

Executive Director Out of Office 

We would like to make everyone aware, in advance, that our Executive Director will be out starting on Thursday, December 22 and returning to the office on Monday, January 2, 2023. If you need immediate assistance during that time, please consider reaching out to our Board of Directors and/or Advisory Council members using the link below. Happy Holidays!

Residency and Job Postings

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

Event Calendar 2023

January 15, 2023

• Credentials documentation 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

April 20-23, 2023

• ABVP Symposium, Baltimore, MD

July 1, 2023

• 2023-2024 Diplomate and Emeritus Diplomate fees payable

July 15, 2023 

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

September 1, 2023

• Exam registration must be completed by 11:59 PM Central Time

November 4, 2023

• Certification Exam