January 01, 2021

Typically, the AVMA president can be found throughout the year at meetings of state VMAs or other AVMA-allied organizations; at meetings at the AVMA headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois; or abroad at international veterinary conferences. A pandemic, however, has those plans on hold. Still wanting to speak directly with AVMA members, 2020-21 AVMA President Dr. Douglas Kratt came up with a solution: A first-ever virtual chat.

He hosted the event on the last day of the annual AVMA Economic Summit, held virtually Oct. 26-28, 2020, fielding questions from participants as well as Matthew J. Salois, PhD, AVMA chief economist, about everything from how he’s keeping productive at his practice to how the AVMA is addressing educational debt to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession.

“Having AVMA leadership directly interact with members is very important. I am very blessed to be part of this team and have the support that I have,” Dr. Kratt said. “We want to hear from you. That’s what this is about.”

Making a transformation

Dr. Kratt and his wife, Dr. Kimberly Kratt, own Central Animal Hospital in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Dr. Salois asked how they’ve been able to make practice management easier or more efficient in the time of COVID-19. Dr. Kratt said they’ve started leaning on one of his veterinary technicians to take on more practice management duties. They’ve also become more efficient by using AVMA Direct Connect to automate some of the ordering for the clinic. Not to mention, they’ve embraced e-commerce to better serve clients.

One participant asked how much of a transformation the practice has seen since COVID-19 hit.

Dr. Kratt said he had gone to sessions on telehealth at AVMA conventions before the pandemic, but he didn’t formally implement telehealth at his clinic until March 2020, with the help of colleagues to guide him on what platform to use, how to integrate telehealth into management records, and how to collect payment. The AVMA also offers telehealth resources at Telehealth & telemedicine in veterinary practice.

Telemedicine was always coming, Dr. Kratt said, “but it got moved into hyper gear.” With the new normal, he asked, how do veterinarians make sure to meet regulatory requirements and the needs of patients while avoiding liability?

As a next step, his clinic is looking at contactless payment and training the veterinary technicians in telehealth triaging.

Looking to the future, he says the mental health transition in the eventual post-COVID-19 world will be important, not just in his clinic, but for all.

He mentioned the AVMA’s Workplace Wellbeing Certificate Program as an important resource and, in particular, its module on QPR—which stands for question, persuade, and refer, the three steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. The certificate program can be found at AVMA Axon, and the AVMA offers other well-being resources.

We talk about getting people into veterinary school and making workplaces more diverse, which is one thing. Having people at the table—a diverse group of people, making people welcome and feel like they’re part of the team and belong at the table—is a whole other aspect. We have to make people feel included.

Dr. Douglas Kratt, 2020-21 AVMA president

Dr. Kratt added that Jen Brandt, PhD, AVMA director of well-being and diversity, is continuing to develop programs in this area. Plus, the AVMA is looking to expand its cyberbullying hotline, which allows members to consult with crisis management experts at Bernstein Crisis Management for free.

Addressing debt and diversity

Another participant in the chat asked about the progress being made by the AVMA and other veterinary organizations on educational loan debt.

There is not going to be a single answer to the problem, Dr. Kratt said. Collectively, it will require various approaches.

First, he said, states need to provide more funding for their higher education systems and, specifically, veterinary colleges. He’d also like to see more work on minimizing the amount of time it takes to get through the undergraduate years so veterinarians can get in the workforce quicker.

“In Washington, D.C., we’re doing a lot with the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program—and also making sure higher education is a priority,” Dr. Kratt said. More information on these efforts is available at Student debt advocacy. Dr. Kratt also noted the importance of institutions creating more scholarship opportunities for students.

Dr. Kratt addressed efforts in making the profession more diverse, inclusive, and equitable after a participant asked what the AVMA was doing in this area. He said that while it’s not just a veterinary problem, veterinary medicine is one of the least diverse professions in terms of race and ethnicity.

“We have done things in the past that haven’t worked as well,” he said, but the AVMA has hired an outside specialist to evaluate the Association’s programs to see exactly what has worked well and what hasn’t. That includes not only training the staff on DEI but also training volunteers across the AVMA. More information is available at Diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine.

The AVMA plans to announce a commission, too, alongside the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and other organizations, to address DEI at a professionwide level. Dr. Kratt said the commission will aim to develop best practices in how to become more diverse, including addressing the pipeline of veterinary students, but that’s not all.

“We talk about getting people into veterinary school and making workplaces more diverse, which is one thing. Having people at the table—a diverse group of people, making people welcome and feel like they’re part of the team and belong at the table—is a whole other aspect. We have to make people feel included. That may be some of the biggest things the commission comes out with,” Dr. Kratt said.

He said he and his counterpart at the AAVMC, Dr. Mark Markel, are the kind of people who want to see action taken sooner than later.

“It’s not my way of the world to waste people’s time,” Dr. Kratt said.

He looks forward to hosting more virtual chats in the future and said, in the meantime, he could be reached at presidentchatavma [dot] org (presidentchat[at]avma[dot]org) if AVMA members had more questions.

“All of your delegates, alternate delegates, Board members … we’re here to serve you,” he said. “Please reach out to us.”