This has been a very busy September. Luckily Dr. Kuchevar and the rest of the crew is taking good care of everyone at the Animal Hospital of Chetek! Too bad the Packers lost to the Bears in the last second last night!!
I went to Baltimore to the American Association of Veterinary State Boards. This group represents the veterinary licensing boards in all 50 states. These boards not only license veterinarians and veterinary medical technicians, but also respond to complaints about veterinarians in case they are not following the medical practice act or if someone is upset with their veterinarian for some reason. However, the biggest concern was people (not veterinarians or technicians) that were treating pets without medical knowledge. The veterinary licensing boards are actually protecting the public from bad veterinarians (thank goodness that is rare!) and from people who treat animals and even charge animal owners for services without a license, and with no veterinary supervision. Animals can't make medical decisions for themselves, and depend on their owners for those decisions (if they have one!) who don't always understand how difficult it is to diagnose medical conditions in animals or how to treat them. Veterinarians are most concerned with the medical care and welfare of the animals, and for the people who own, care for, and love them. Before using medical supplements or having treatments on your pets, check with your pet's doctor. There are many horror stories!
I then went to Fort Worth, Texas for the Southwest Veterinary Symposium. I met with the veterinary boards from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The most pressing concerns were again having to do with people wanting to do medical care on animals, which is against the law. What would happen if I (a veterinarian) would want to do dentistry or surgery on a child or a person? And charge you for it?!?! I wouldn't even think of it! Why? Because I haven't studied dentistry or medicine in people and I would get in BIG trouble! So why do people think they can do the same on so many varieties of animals when they haven't studied dentistry or medicine in cats, dogs, horses, etc. It is amazing to me. Always ask yourselves.....would I do this if it was for my child? Animals are dependent on you for their medical decisions. Always ask a veterinarian first.
It is going to be a beautiful fall! My two dogs are picking up deer ticks galore again. Luckily they die shortly after hopping aboard because of Frontline Plus. The deer ticks are out again in full force from late September until Thanksgiving. Keep your pets safe!!
I am still seeing patients in between travel. Check the office for my schedule. Otherwise, I just run from airplane to airplane, and miss Chetek and home, but this is very important work. I will be influencing how veterinary medicine looks for the next several decades!! All very exciting! See you soon! And thank you for letting us take care of your pets.
Dr. Carlson
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Getting started at President-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Hi all. This is Dr. Rene' Carlson, owner and founder of the Animal Hospital of Chetek since August of 1996. I was honored to be elected in July at the AVMA Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, to be President-elect of the AVMA, representing over 80,000 veterinarians in this country, which is quite an amazing privilege. That means I will be President-Elect this year, and next July in St. Louis, will be inducted as the 3rd woman to become president of this organization in 147 years! I hope to give you a glimpse of what being in that position entails every day and week because I am very grateful for this opportunity and I want to share this experience with you, clients of the Animal Hospital of Chetek.
My first duty as President-Elect was to go to Mexico City in August to represent the AVMA in celebration of “Veterinarian’s Day in Mexico”, a national recognition of the services veterinary medicine provides for Mexican society. (We should have such a day of appreciation in this country!) It was attended by about 700 people. I met with their national veterinary medical association while I was there. Some people have asked me if I was nervous to go to Mexico City with the news reports of increased crime there, but I have been to Mexico City several times before. Mexico City is a beautiful city and I had no fears of going there for this trip. I was only there for about 36 hours and was well taken care of by a local veterinarian named Dr. Gabriel Hernandez, who works in the US Embassy there with our USDA. He works to be sure importation of products entering the United States from Mexico are safe and in good condition, and that the same is true for products from the US that are exported to Mexico.
Please visit the AVMA website at www.avma.org to see what AVMA does on behalf of animals and their welfare, as well as how veterinarians work to keep your food safe. There are many podcasts and avmaTV videos on a variety of subjects, including on pet care. I could not be more proud to be associated with the AVMA. I hope to highlight some of these issues and my trips as AVMA President-elect on this blog, answer your questions, and stimulate some dialogue on current issues and activities. Meanwhile, see you at the Animal Hospital of Chetek.
Rene' A. Carlson, DVM
AVMA President-Elect
Animal Hospital of Chetek, Ltd.
941 - 24 1/2 Street
Chetek, WI 54728
715-859-6650 (wk)
715-859-6460 (hm)
715-491-3540 (cell)
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