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ASLAP News

June Newsletter is here!

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2017 AVMA Comparative Medicine Program

The joint ACLAM/ASLAP Program Committee has lined up a great program for the 2017 AVMA convention, and I’d like to encourage any members of the lab animal medicine community who will be attending the meeting to check it out by clicking here

2017 ASLAP AALAS Travel Award Program

The ASLAP Travel Award Program has been revised, so please read the nomination eligibility and application process below carefully.  Laboratory animal medicine residents/trainees are now eligible as well, so please consider nominating your deserving students/residents now!

Applications are now being accepted for the 2017 ASLAP AALAS Travel Award Program.  This program is intended to highlight the practice of laboratory animal medicine by providing support for veterinary students and laboratory animal medicine residents/trainees who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field to attend the National AALAS meeting.  The national meeting will be held in Austin, Texas October 15-19, 2017.  Nominations from the national ASLAP membership, including self-nominations, must be received by June 1, 2017. Nomination packets must be submitted electronically to tvemulapalli@cvm.tamu.edu. Nominees must be members of either their local student chapter or national ASLAP, a member of the student AVMA or national AVMA and be a veterinary student in good standing who is currently enrolled in a North American AVMA-accredited College or School of Veterinary Medicine or a post-graduate veterinarian currently completing an ACLAM recognized training program in laboratory animal medicine.  Incomplete or late applications will not be evaluated. Recipients must be a current veterinary student or resident/trainee at the time of the National AALAS conference and cannot have been previous recipients of the ASLAP AALAS Travel Award.

To be eligible, an applicant must meet the following criteria:

  1. Applicants must be members of the Student Chapter of ASLAP at their respective college or school or a current member of the national ASLAP organization. 
  2. Applicants must be a Student AVMA or AVMA member.
  3. Applicants must be in good standing with their College or School of Veterinary Medicine or affiliated residency institution.
  4. A student/resident may receive the award once.
  5. The following individuals are not eligible to receive an ASLAP Veterinary Student Award:
    1. Immediate family members  of current members of the ASLAP Veterinary Student Liaison Committee (VSLC)
    2. Immediate family members of current members of the ASLAP Board of Directors
    3. Substantial (greater than $500) contributors to the ASLAP Foundation, or immediate family members of substantial contributors.

Nomination packets must include:

  1. ASLAP AALAS Travel Award Nomination form (here)
  2. A current CV including contact information
  3. An essay of up to 500 words describing their interest in laboratory animal medicine, participation in activities related to laboratory animal medicine, and how attendance at the meeting will benefit their future career goals.  Applicants should include information on poster/presentation potential if applicable.
  4. A letter of support from the liaison or residency/training program director
  5. A detailed estimate of expenses not to exceed $1,500

2017 ASLAP Summer Fellows

To see who the 2017 Summer Fellow Winners are please click here

AVMA Launches Clinical Studies Database

The AVMA has recently developed and launched a searchable database available that can be searched by anyone interested in determining if opportunities exist to help their pet, or to contribute to background knowledge, with respect to certain diseases.   Several years ago, the AVMA Council on Research made the recommendation for this undertaking to the AVMA Executive Board.  After a great deal of effort by many, the database has come to fruition and investigators can post requests for animal study participants, while animal owners and veterinarians can search for opportunities to participate in studies.  The database includes randomized clinical trials, as well as, prospective clinical studies and survey and epidemiological studies.  Previously, the Veterinary Cancer Society ran a database, Veterinary Cancer Trials; however, those studies have now all been transferred to the AVMA Clinical Studies Database which will include studies related to potentially any clinical disease affecting animals, including cancer.  This new database tool will significantly elevate veterinary clinical trials and, ultimately, the advancement of veterinary medicine.

To learn more click here

ASLAP, the AVMA and why we need each other.

Learn how ASLAP and AVMA work together to support the practice of laboratory animal medicine and why it is critical for all ASLAP members to maintain AVMA membership status, here

Animal Research is Necessary

An article in The Hill written by Hollis Cline and Mar Sanchez outlines the importance of animal models in biomedical research.  In addition to being a neuroscientist with affiliations with Scripps, Emory and Yerkes,  Dr. Cline is President of the Society for Neuroscience and Chair of its Committee on Animals in Research.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/263922-animal-research-is-necessary

Planning to shop on Amazon?

How about donating to ASLAP Foundation at the same time!  How you ask?  Well it is easy. Simply shop at smile.amazon.com and select ASLAP Foundation as your charity of choice!

AVMA

In case you’ve missed the big announcement in July, 2015, the AVMA has re-branded itself.  The new AVMA focuses on “Our Passion. Our Profession” as it protects, promotes and advances the profession and advocates for its members.  Watch this short video to learn about these exciting changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQcORR0ozXw

2014 Salary Survey is here!

The 2014 Salary Survey is now available in the members-only section under the "Member News" heading.

The purpose of this economic survey is to assess the total annual professional income of laboratory animal veterinarians working in the United States, reflecting also the details and differences between types of employment, job specifics, and levels of experience and responsibility of professionals working in this field. It is repeated every three years under joint sponsorship of ACLAM and ASLAP. The results of this work have been used for a variety of purposes, including peer-comparisons of salary for recruitment and retention efforts by employers and for indirect indications of market place employment conditions of the laboratory animal veterinary medical specialty. 

Click here to see the 2014 Salary Survey

AVMA Wellness Website!

     As professional care providers, unfortunately many of us wait until we are emotionally fatigued before we turn inward to reflect and address our own care needs.   The stresses of workplace management and financial burdens, combined with placing the needs of clients and patients first, can lead quickly to burn out and/or compassion fatigue.  Unfortunately poor personal wellness is common in the veterinary profession and all too often support resources are not available or openly discussed.  

     This year the AVMA felt it was imperative to being having an open and honest conversation about personal and workplace wellness, as the devastating repercussions are indiscriminate in their impact.  The 2014-2015 AVMA Future Leaders class developed a comprehensive wellness website that begins with the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) assessment.  The ProQOL is a widely validated, self-scored assessment tool that measures the positive and negative effects of helping others and provides a point of introspection to focus on one’s own self-care needs.  Individuals are then directed to a comprehensive self-care tool kits with topics ranging from understanding our own vulnerabilities to stress management practices.  

     Take a moment to complete the self-assessment and explore the toolkit http://www.avma.org/wellness to begin your own wellness journey.

ASLAP is now on Facebook and LinkedIn

ASLAP members can now visit ASLAP Facebook and LinkedIn. On each service you can find ASLAP groups listed under the full name of the organization, American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners. Each site is private and access is allowed only by permission.

To visit either our Facebook or LinkedIn site, follow the links above to the respective sites and follow the instructions on the page to request access. Since the sites are private, membership in Facebook or LinkedIn is required. Once your membership in ASLAP has been confirmed, you will be granted access. If you participate in these services, we would very much appreciate your leaving comments and suggestions at each site.

U.S. Certificate Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine

Applications are currently being accepted for enrollment in the U.S. Certificate Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine. This academic program of study provides continuing education and applied training for licensed U.S. veterinarians working in the field of Laboratory Animal Medicine.