Vote for AVFP Elections

Hello everyone,

We have 4 excellent candidates for the 3 open positions on the AVFP Board of Directors. Their bios follow. Please vote for 3. The individuals receiving the highest number of votes will join the Board of Directors. Please vote by July 22nd. Send votes to jen@animaldoc.org.

Thanks.

Jen



Robert Blaylock, DVM

Before attending veterinary school, Dr. Blaylock conducted award-winning research on monoclonal antibodies at Vanderbilt University as well as publishing research on growth factors and apoptosis at the University of Tennessee.

At the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Blaylock conducted research in oncology, the rural sociology of veterinary medicine, and computer-aided medical diagnostic systems. He represented UTCVM as the student delegate to the Plum Island Foreign Animal Disease Laboratory and at the Veterinary Medical Education Symposium. He was also an active member of Christian Veterinary Mission and president of the Cat Club.

After a short stint in mixed practice, Dr. Blaylock has been practicing companion animal medicine and surgery since 1994. He has been a practice owner since 1999 developing his practice into the only AAHA-accredited practice in his community with 5 veterinarians and nearly 40 staff members (before the economic downturn in 2008). He has special interests in wellness, staff development, geriatrics, and integrative medicine. Currently he serves on the Education Committee of the Association of Veterinary Family Practice.

Dr. Blaylock is very active in his church and community. In the community he has completed his community’s Leadership Rutherford program, coordinated the veterinary community’s United Way response, and served on the County’s Rabies Board. In his church he has served as a Ministry Leader of the Parenting Ministry and as a member of the Missions Committee for more than a decade. He has helped develop curriculum for the Adult Education Program as well as teaching extensively at home and abroad including a recent trip to China to teach on Creativity and the Purpose of Life. He is currently co-authoring a book on the same subject.

Dr. Blaylock has been happily married for 20 years and has two children ages 14 and 11.



Deborah Miller, DVM, Dipl.ABVP (Canine & Feline)

Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Deborah Miller and I am a 1990 graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation I completed an Internship in small animal medicine and surgery at West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group in California, then practiced emergency and critical care medicine in several large referral practices in California for the next 9 years. I returned to Florida in 1999 where I joined a 3-doctor general practice and established a referral ultrasound service. The eight years I spent in general practice were wonderful and really made it clear how important practicing exceptional preventive medicine and involving the entire family in their pet’s care through education and partnership can make a real difference. For the past two years I have resided in Portland Oregon, where I am a Medical Advisor with Banfield Pet Hospital, providing medical support and education for over 2400 veterinarians in 800 hospitals. The education and professional development of our doctors and hospital teams is a very high priority for us at this time. I feel groups like AVFP provide a wonderful opportunity for doctors and technicians throughout our profession and would like the opportunity to become more involved with your group and the development of a family practice credentialing program.


Jennifer Clay, DVM

Dr. Jen Clay is a 2003 graduate of UC Davis. After graduating from UC Davis, Dr. Clay did a one-year rotating internship at the VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center in San Diego, California, where she was Intern of the Year. Her internship included rotations in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care, and Exotic Animal Medicine. During her internship, Dr. Clay was drawn to the specialties of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, but neither was quite the right fit. Dr. Clay moved to Memphis in 2004. After being an associate veterinarian for several years, she opened Utopia Animal Hospital in the fall of 2008. Dr. Clay became one of the first veterinarians to complete a Credential in Veterinary Family Practice in 2009.
Dr. Clay has been serving on the AVFP Board of Directors since 2007, serving as both Secretary/Treasurer and President. She is currently the Chair of the Academy of Veterinary Family Practice, continuing development of the Family Practice Credential Course and, ultimately, a Family Practice Board Certification process. Dr. Clay also currently serves on Board of the Memphis-Shelby County VMA and the Memphis Animal Shelter Advisory Board. She has had previous experience on the Board of a national non-profit organization through her church.
Dr. Clay has a wonderful husband named Chip and an (almost) 2 year old son named James. They share their house with a black cat named Beau and the clinic with a tabby cat named Marty.


Robin Sturtz, DVM

Robin Sturtz is a 2004 graduate of the University of Georgia. She returned to her native New York after school, and joined a feline practice on Long Island. (She is thus always readily identifiable as the one with the clumps of cat hair on her clothing) In 2007 she became the Director of the Veterinary Technology Program at LaGuardia Community College (City University of New York). She divides her time between teaching and continuing feline practice.

Dr. Sturtz joined the Board of Directors of AVFP in 2009. She has been the President of the organization since July, 2010, and has had the great good fortune to work with the amazing members of the Board and the Academy. She has been interviewed regarding the AVFP for web publication. She has published three articles regarding teamwork, and communication in the veterinary clinical setting, for "Exceptional Veterinary Team" (a peer-reviewed journal). She has also published an article on assessing the teaching of the Human-Animal Bond to veterinary technology students in "In Transit" magazine.
Dr. Sturtz is working with the Association for the Safety of Animals and People (ASAP) in New York City. This is a group devoted to the drive to establish an animal-friendly shelter for victims of domestic violence in New York. In addition, she is a member of the Committee for Leadership Advancement of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society.

Dr. Sturtz is convinced that one of our most important tasks is to educate general practitioners as to the importance of their "non-hardware" skills. We all have them; it is a question of studying and refining those intangibles like communication skills, compassion, and community involvement. The family practitioner as gatekeeper is the mainstay of today's veterinary practice. We need to emphasize and support those skills, and get our colleagues to help us make the importance of the generalists' role more prominent. Dr. Sturtz is proud of her association with AVFP, and would love to continue that association.