The Michigan Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) is a not-for-profit association representing more than 2300

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

s working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, educational institutions, and uniformed services. One of the primary sources of

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

for veterinarians located in the State of Michigan, the MVMA develops and maintains educational programming for DVMs. As Michigan is one of the few remaining states without mandatory continuing education, the MVMA works with the Michigan Board of Veterinary Medicine, part of the

Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), originally the Department of Commerce among other names, is a principal department in the Michigan executive branch that oversees employment, professional licensing, constr ...

, to develop program guidelines and standards. In addition to providing information resources and discounts on personal and professional services, the MVMA

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

s for veterinary and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

. The MVMA publishes ''The Michigan Veterinarian'' and distributes a monthly educational e-newsletter.

History

Founded in 1883, the association, through a variety of educational, outreach and advocacy activities, works to advance member development; promote the professional and scientific standards or veterinary medicine; improve the business and work environment for veterinarians; and to serve as the public voice for veterinary medicine in Michigan. MVMA is at the forefront of the effort to educate veterinarians to serve as front-line defenders of the public against

zoonotic diseases A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (b ...

, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, in order to play a role in maintaining public health and safety.

Involvement in Public Health & Safety

Due to the increased importance society has placed on the human-animal bond, the MVMA plays an important role in maintaining a network of experts skilled in public health and food animal monitoring and protection. The MVMA has developed the Michigan State Animal Response Team (MSART); charged with facilitating animal evacuation and care in emergency situations, this is statewide collaborative effort involving a diverse group of qualified veterinarians and other animal welfare experts.

References

External links

{{Official website, https://michvma.org/ Health care-related professional associations based in the United States Veterinary medicine-related professional associations Organizations based in Michigan Veterinary medicine in the United States