European Veterinarians in Education, Research and Industry EVERI Strategy paper 2013-2015 Members to contribute to Improving the health and well-being of animals and people Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Denmark ESLAV Finland France Germany Ireland Italy 1. EVERI President s welcome 2. About EVERI - Our projects 3. 2013-2015: Our three pillars of focus - Education - Industry - Research 4. Way forward IVSA Latvia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine 1. EVERI President s note It is my pleasure to introduce the first EVERI three-year strategy 2013-2015. EVERI is one of the FVE sections, founded in 2005, with a view to embrace and represent all the veterinarians being active in the fields of education, research and industry. Although EVERI is still very young, it has grown up a lot during these years. EVERI now counts 24 members from 22 European countries and represents the interests and of a large amount of veterinarians working in those fields. EVERI Board acknowledges the special challenges that all these highly specialized veterinarians face in their everyday practice and aims to stand by them and speak for their particular needs. For this purpose we closely collaborate with FVE and we look into strengthening our collaboration with the other three sections of FVE as well. EVERI President Ljiljana Markus-Cizelj Past-President Richard Weilemann Communication Sabine Schüller Treasurer Timo Wahlroos European Veterinarians in Education, Research and Industry Section of Federation of Veterinarians of Europe AISBL Rue Defacqz, 1 B 1000 Brussels Bank Account No: 8435771695/2600 Citibank CZ EBAN code: CZ07 2600 0000 0084 3577 1695 SWIFT code: CITI CZPX Tel: +32.2.533.70.20 - Fax: +32.2.537.28.28 E-mail: info@fve.org - Internet: www.fve.org
Moreover, EVERI strongly supports veterinary students and invests in them. Through our close collaboration with IVSA 1 we strive to open veterinarians horizons and show them alternative and equally fascinating fields of practicing, besides the traditional ones. In addition, EVERI is exploring new fields, for veterinarians to be involved in, and tries to familiarize veterinary students with these new areas. Our vision for the future is laid down in the next pages. I would like to thank everyone involved in the development of this paper and I invite all colleagues to collectively prepare ourselves to meet future challenges in the demanding field of veterinary science. Lijljana Markus- Cizelj EVERI president 2. About EVERI EVERI is an umbrella organization of national and European associations of veterinarians employed in the sectors of Education, Research and/or Industry, founded in 2005. The constituent organization has members employed by academia, profit and non-profit research, pharmaceutical or commercial organizations, or acting as consultants in these fields. Veterinarians employed in research at universities, colleges, governmental agencies or in industry are dedicated to finding new ways to prevent and treat animal and human health disorders. Moreover, veterinarians are also involved in management, technical sales and services, and other positions in agribusinesses, pet food companies, food-chain and pharmaceutical companies. The objectives of EVERI are: to advocate profession s interests to the EU Institutions and also provide high expertise and sound scientific advice on matters related to research practices, in connection to animal health and welfare to provide members with up-to-date information on Council of Europe and EU policies and legislation related to education, professional qualifications, medicines and welfare of laboratory animals to build a strong network, through close collaboration with other European organisations, like EAEVE 2, ESLAV 3, ECLAM 4, etc to provide a platform for veterinarians working in those fields, 1 IVSA: International Veterinary Students Association 2 EAEVE: European Association of Establishments of Veterinary Education 3 ESLAV: European Society of Laboratory Animal Veterinarians 4 ECLAM: European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine 2
to promote professional representation at the level of European decision making bodies, and to be a coordinator between the different members and FVE. 2005-2011: Our journey EVERI projects Since its very first steps, EVERI has tried to practically contribute in advancing veterinary science and has been supporting projects that will enhance reliability of the veterinary profession. Veterinary education is considered the cornerstone and this is why EVERI has been focused on such projects. EVERI has supported the following projects: Ongoing: Extramural studies (EMS ) EVERI has put a lot of energy and passion on EMS project. In this concept, students take the opportunity to explore and experience less common areas of veterinary practice. EVERI has set up an information hub to facilitate contact between students, the various colleges of specialization and private enterprises on a European and international level. In the first instance the project focuses on addressing the position of Laboratory Animal medicine. However, other areas are currently under consideration, like veterinary medicine in aquaculture and minor species. Acknowledged Veterinarian EVERI strongly supports the establishment of a middle tier of education, which will give veterinary practitioners the opportunity to gain extra experience and qualification that is necessary for efficient practicing in the field. EVERI, through its network with other European organisations (like ESLAV and ECLAM) and its members, can significantly contribute to the development of minimum standards for practitioners working with laboratory animals. Accreditation of Veterinary Education Establishments EVERI strives along with FVE and EAEVE and strongly promotes the implementation of the accreditation system of veterinary education establishments, which can guarantee the delivery of high quality qualification of veterinarians throughout Europe. Previous: PILGRIM Project Preventing community and nosocomial spread and Infection with MRSA ST 398 - instruments for accelerated control and integrated RIsk Management of antimicrobial resistance, was the idea behind the PILGRIM project (http://www.fp7-pilgrim.eu/). 3
EVERI supported this project and eagerly assisted by providing its expertise and knowledge and further disseminating the information among its members. Swine disease management In the past few years lecturers of swine diseases from different European veterinary faculties discussed how current limitations in the national veterinary education could be overcome and how the curricula of the undergraduate subject of swine diseases could be modified to accomplish this. Different models of swine disease teaching and contemporary requirements on undergraduate swine disease management were compared in order to come to recommendations for a modern curriculum, meeting the changing role of the swine veterinarian. The role of the swine veterinarian has changed significantly in the last 30 years. Instead of being an emergency fire fighter and trouble shooter, veterinarians are today advisors and consultants in many questions going beyond core animal health issues such as production management, disease eradication, biosecurity, animal welfare, food safety and also research trials. EVERI encourages experts from other European faculties teaching on similar areas to join the discussion, share ideas and finally help facilitating veterinary students and graduates moving across Europe. Veterinary History Curriculum EVERI is supporting moves to raise the prominence of veterinary history within the veterinary curriculum throughout Europe. Its support followed a recent declaration (2011) from the Spanish Veterinary History Experts proposing that veterinary history should be a compulsory core subject in the veterinary curriculum. The declaration aims to garner backing from members of the Federation of European Veterinarians to allow consideration of the proposal by the European Commission. Although EVERI recognizes the importance of veterinary history, following discussions with various representatives of veterinary faculties, the FVE Education group and the OIE 5 ad hoc group on Veterinary Education, EVERI has to realize that the challenges of the modern curriculum probably make it too difficult to establish veterinary history as a formal subject matter. Nevertheless, EVERI is encouraging teachers to incorporate aspects about the history of veterinary medicine within the remit of their subject matter. 5 OIE: World Organisation for Animal Health 4
EVERI position paper on Veterinary History and Veterinary curriculum http://www.fve.org/members/everi/pdf/working_documents/veterinary%20histo ry%20and%20the%20veterinay%20curriculum_documento.pdf Except for the above mentioned projects EVERI contribute by providing its scientific expertise, whenever it is necessary. 3. 2013-2015: Three pillars of focus EVERI is a multidisciplinary section of FVE. It represents the interests of veterinarians practicing in very different fields. Veterinarians working in these minor sectors, often face special and different problems. EVERI acknowledges these needs and aims at tackling them efficiently by taking certain actions in each one of the following domains. Education EVERI aims to: Invest more on EMS programmes and extend the fields of its implementation. Promote CPD 6 programmes and support the establishment of a framework for CPD accreditation. Support a unified European system for certification of Universities. Strengthen collaboration on education. Strengthen collaboration with IVSA. Create opportunities to involve more members from each country in EVERI projects. Industry EVERI strives to: Enforcing collaboration with FVE, with a view to promote the added value of veterinarians for the Industry. Identifying more Industry sectors that can benefit from veterinarian expertise. Building a relationship with IFAH 7 -Europe and advocating the value for the animal health industry to recruit veterinarians. Identifying the specific qualifications required for veterinarians working in Industry and supporting relevant EMS programmes and/or other collaborative projects. Closely collaborating with and supporting FVE on Animal Health issues, also related to Industry, and within the framework of the development of the new EU Animal Health Law. 6 CPD: Continuous Professional Development 7 IFAH: International Federation Animal Health 5
Tackling specific sector problems for the veterinarians working in Industry, such as requirements for vet specific pension systems or lack of appropriate CPD courses for veterinarians working in sales sector in Industry. Research EVERI supports and addresses: The different kinds of Industry, Academic or Governmental related research and their coordination. The challenges that veterinarians in research face, relating to matters as resources, collaborative funding, young researchers, ethics, job security, etc. Stimulation of innovation and availability of veterinary medicines both in regard with public and private animal health industry. Developing a strong EVERI network. Developing a pool of EVERI experts, in order to make their expertise available to research projects within the framework programmes of the EU Commission. Advocating for good health and welfare in laboratory animals. EVERI statement about veterinarians and Experimental animals http://www.fve.org/about_fve/sections/everi.html 4. Way forward Priority of EVERI Section is to motivate all the veterinary professionals it represents to work collaboratively for strengthening our presence in the EU landscape and advocating for our interests. In order to proceed with our vision we will especially focus on: Actively involving all EVERI members to achieve optimal result, Enforcing communication to our members, EU stakeholders and EU Institutions, with the goal to increase visibility, in order to become a key player in EU matters. Building up strong alliances, especially with FVE and its sections UEVP-EASVO- UEVH, with the goal to collectively promote veterinarians interests, Advance organisation of tasks and coordination of future projects by improving EVERI administration as well. Special thanks, to the EVERI Board and to Despoina Iatridou, from the FVE Office, for the effort and contribution in preparing the draft of the strategy. 6