(Editor’s Note: Sam Geiling from APG is a co-author of this article for Animal Health News and Views.) Considerable debate is underway this week in Washington, DC at the annual conference of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). This prestigious gathering of Veterinary school deans, faculty and consultants was presented recently with the Council on […]
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Mark Cushing
Recent Posts
I thought I’d cover a topic that won’t lead to nuclear debate like so many Veterinary issues, most recently the mid-level practitioner known as VPA that was officially approved by Colorado voters and in the process (awkwardly) of being implemented. What’s my topic? Removing barriers to pet ownership in the United States. Who wouldn’t support […]
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We’ve all jumped into 2025 as organizations execute plans carefully crafted over the past 6 months, a daunting but exiting conference schedule is about to kick off . . . and most of us wonder what issues will jump to the head of the line. The latter is my menu so let’s get started with […]
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NAVC convened another HIVE pop-up event in Phoenix November 11-12. This conference focused on educational issues and opportunities for both veterinarians and credentialed veterinary technicians. It was an unusual gathering of leaders across the sector…unusual in its focus on education from content to accreditation. HIVE events recently in Austin and Minneapolis, and Long Beach next […]
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Barely over a week ago the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a powerful opinion overturning the state of Texas ban on a telemedicine VCPR. This decision immediately impacts the three states under jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit: Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. But you should expect that the other 10 federal circuits will pay […]
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Three topics swirl around pet healthcare circles and conferences: (1) Access to care; (2) Veterinary shortages; and (3) Veterinary technician retention. No organization publicly challenges all three of these issues, or any one of these for that matter, as even the AVMA concedes at least a “temporary” shortage. Still, where is the common ground for […]
read moreThe Fountain Report’s August 9 edition presented a compelling article about pet adoptions declining, which should serve as a wake-up call for the pet industry. We owe a thanks to Hill’s Pet Nutrition for its 2024 State of Pet Health Adoption Report and Shelter Animals Count Mid-Year Analysis. Here are key takeaways: Strays and owner […]
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(Editor’s Note: Maggie Sullivan of the Animal Policy Group is a co-author of this article for Animal Health News and Views.) An impressive cadre of researchers, academicians and animal welfare leaders just published a peer-reviewed article in recent Frontiers in Veterinary Science. The authors hail from Colorado State University Animal-Human Policy Center, Colorado State University College […]
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(Editor’s Note: Samantha (“Sam”) Geiling, RVT is a co-author of this article for Animal Health News and Views. Samantha is Mark Cushing’s Chief of Staff and NAVTA Vet Tech of the Year.) Much discussion these days swirls around the broad topic of Veterinary team members, which breaks down into three categories: (1) Veterinary Technicians/Nurses, (2) Veterinary […]
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How many ways can America address the acute shortage of Veterinary professionals? I count five (5), and while we list these, let’s explore what it takes to make this happen. #1—Increase class sizes of current accredited Veterinary schools. We have 33 accredited Veterinary programs in the United States, plus two large accredited Caribbean schools with […]
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There aren’t many issues where Florida and California agree, especially when legislatures in both states pass similar laws unanimously. Now we have one: virtual care and a telemedicine VCPR. That’s right, despite opposition from trade associations, on March 6, Florida joined the ranks of states opening up the privilege for pet owners to start a […]
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If you permit, I’d like to share some news about a new employee of my Animal Policy Group, Samantha (“Sam”) Geiling, RVT, of Burnsville, Minnesota. Sam was just awarded Vet Tech of the Year by the national association, NAVTA. She became my Chief of Staff last June and earned this award, so let me tell […]
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2023 ends in a few weeks. Was this the greatest year ever for Veterinary medicine? Probably not, still not the worst for sure. Let’s call it a mixed bag. The dynamics of pet healthcare are stable, but the future isn’t blooming with clarity. Let’s list the dynamics: Millennials and Generation Zs own half of America’s […]
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Veterinary conversations today center around the impact of chronic and acute shortages. Some challenge whether or not the United States faces this problem but, candidly, veterinarians in the field know the situation. And it isn’t encouraging. So if you understand that shortages of veterinarians are real then keep reading. There are three ways to produce […]
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Veterinary telemedicine and the VCPR entered a new phase when Arizona and California legislatures overwhelmingly passed VVCA-sponsored bills. At the same time, the warnings of doom and gloom ring hollow because no complaints have been filed anywhere claiming that telemedicine visits harmed a pet. What I want to focus on today is the refusal of […]
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My first column for this exciting new publication dove into the challenge of trying to solve the shortages of veterinarians in the United States, highlighting what we can learn from human healthcare’s 50-year battle with shortages. Unlike human medicine, we face an additional challenge in Veterinary healthcare: many leaders still question whether or not we […]
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Animal healthcare has a long list of learnings over the years from what works, and doesn’t work, in human healthcare. If you think about it veterinary medicine has rung up quite a debt to human medicine. And it’s pretty much been a one-way street. It’s hard to think of any facet of pet healthcare that […]
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