Last November, 16 persons received a Credential in Veterinary Family Practice from UC Davis. From that group, 11 have come together to form the Academy of Veterinary Family Practice. Since UCD can no longer fund the program due to budget cuts, our primary goal at this time is to help that program continue. We hope to have the first on-line module ready to go by the Spring of 2011. Please keep your fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly!

As for loftier goals, ultimately we want to establish an ABVS (American Board of Veterinary Specialists) Recognized Specialty in Veterinary Family Practice. We must establish the knowledge base necessary for becoming a Family Practice Specialist. We must also establish examination standards and procedures. That goal is years in the making, but we are committed!

You can help us by encouraging your colleagues to joining AVFP. The more members we have, the more likely we will be to get funding for the Credential Program. Once the Credential Program is up and running again, please sign up and complete the modules. Also, please give us any feedback throughout this process. We have a great deal of excitement about the prospect of being recognized as Specialists in Family Practice when the day comes.

The founding Academy Members are:

Dr. Pat Arrington (Louisville, KY) , Joan Byard (Woodland, CA), Dr. Jen Clay (Memphis, TN), Dr. Warren Fleming (Plymouth, MA), Dr. Genevieve Manchester-Johnson (Greenbrae, CA) , Dr. Bonnie Markoff (San Luis Obispo, CA) , Kathy Marsh (Gilroy, CA), Dr. KaLee Pasek (Channel Islands, CA), Dr. Rich Bennett (Sacramento, CA), Dr. Tamsen Taylor (Rocklin, CA) and Dr. Nancy Fischer (Gilroy, CA)