Business View Oceania - May 2024

in digital and print. Members also enjoy access to exclusive internal forums and social media groups. As an Australian leader in organising CPD events, the AVA was required to shift their perspective during the pandemic to focus more on online learning and development. Dr. Vale explains, “We usually hold major conferences, workshops, and seminars at face-to-face gatherings each year, but we were obviously unable to do so during COVID, so that was a unique challenge for us. We have run online CPD in the past, but on a much smaller basis. Now we have member forums via zoom that have seen over a thousand registrants, so we are really happy with the uptake from our members. With that being said, we would like to see more of our profession join us as members overall- we have a little over half of the approximately 14,000 vets in Australia as part of our organisation. The last two years have given us the opportunity to look at our values, see where we can improve, and what we can offer to attract those remaining vets.” There are a number of challenges currently facing the industry that require the associations attention, Dr. Vale says, the most serious of which being major workforce shortages in clinics across the country. “ Our membership is primarily involved in delivering companion animal medicine. Thanks to COVID, demand has increased for those services by up to 30%, and we simply don’t have a workforce that can cope with that. Another effect of COVID is our inability to effectively bring in international vets to supplement our local workforce- the combination of those two factors has meant we are at a critical point where our vets don’t feel supported, they can’t find staff, and in some cases, they are even having to close their emergency centres as a result.” The AVA’s 2021 Veterinary Wellness Strategy Report noted growing evidence from research and industry bodies that the veterinary professional in currently in a state of mental health crisis, including increases in the risk of suicide. Dr. Vale shares, “We lose an Australian veterinarian to suicide nearly every 12 weeks. That’s four times more likely than the general population, and twice as likely as any other healthcare profession. We are seeing rising rates of stress and fatigue, and our vets, who have world 52 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05