LISTENING SESSIONS

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October 6, 2005

What does UK need to do better to support your work as veterinary practitioners?

Need Extension veterinarian(s) to establish and maintain relationships with practicing vets and to facilitate communications

An Extension vet could be a point of contact between practitioners and researchers helping both share knowledge and expertise

I don't know what to say that you could be doing better because I don't know what UK is already doing in the area of horses - you don't communicate with us, there is no way for us to know what you are doing

There needs to be better communication

Basically there has been no communication on a regular with state vets from UK

At this point several UK participants described some of the research currently going on

Need to do a better job at seeking out the knowledge of practitioners who have extensive knowledge about what is going on in the field

Perhaps develop meetings on focused topics where researchers can talk about the science and what we know and vets can share their experiences from the field

Need to create a strong and functioning link between researchers and practitioners

Better communication between practicing vets and researchers will lead to more collaboration and this will lead to more funding

How about simply being sure that the vets in the state get the Ag Magazine so they know what is going on at the college

What form of communication is best for you?

E-Mails

E-mails are ok but if you have a hard copy of it you are going to look at when you get time

LDDC might/should develop a list serve that would notify those on it about breaking issues, trends, news, etc.

Would there be an interest among practitioners in partnering with UK researchers on research projects?

Yes - There needs to be more collaborative research between vets and UK researchers

But we vets can't say what we are willing to do or interested in doing in collaboration with the researchers if we don't know what research is being done here

Why can't we have a more formal or structured link between practitioners and UK - perhaps have those who have the interest and the qualifications be appointed as adjunct faculty at UK ? Would some of you be interested in this? Several indicate yes

But we always have to deal with the issue of how to fund research - especially research on horses - right now I have to go to NIH to find funding for my research

It's true, this is a problem. Especially because much of what we as practitioners see as problems in the field are difficult to fund for research because the problem is more applied than basic and basic research is more easily funded

But the past has shown that if there is a real crisis or issue that needs to be addressed, the funding will come forward - from the industry itself

You ( UK ) are more specialized and more knowledgeable at a scientific level and have more technology but you don't communicate even among yourselves

There's a disconnect between Gluck and LDDC so that what is found in diagnoses can't help drive research - but it needs to - this is how we discover what are the critical issues

Need to break down the barriers and integrate the researchers and faculty at LDDC, the CA, and Gluck so that they can share ideas and collaborate on research

Need to do a better job collecting information on what's happening in the equine industry in KY

Need to collect more data on livestock diagnoses that occur here and around the state - LDDC needs to be the place where all information about health risks or problems is collected and then shared with those in the industry

There needs to be a real person answering a phone that vets can call and report something that they encounter in the field and the data can be collected and shared

LDDC and the state vet's office are getting ready to announce plans for an electronic real-time information collecting system that will enable us to track outbreaks, incidents or situations that are occurring and then notify vets across the state. This will hopefully be done with a Dept of Homeland Security grant

But even if the grant doesn't come through, this is the kind of data collection we are saying that LDDC needs to be doing and can become the basis for new research

I don't want to be offensive but UK needs to show that it gives a damn about horses - you need to prove your interest today - for too long it has seemed that you didn't care

There needs to be a change in ATTITUDE at UK - need to overcome the attitude problem at UK - UK researchers need to value the knowledge of practitioners that they have gained through direct contact with many cases every day that allows them to see emerging trends and conditions

Need to establish an advisory group with veterinarians and others in the industry to encourage a sharing of information

I served on such a group at another University and we would meet once a year for two days and talk with faculty and staff and then make recommendations

Instruction
Need to do a better job teaching students how to use vet services appropriately rather than trying to teach them how to do what vets do

Invite veterinarians into your classes to share their knowledge of horses

UK - instead of creating a vet school should think about how to help vets develop specialized expertise with horses by establish a Residency Master's program at UK that builds on the expertise of the equine vet practices in the area

What can we at UK do to demonstrate our commitment to building stronger relationships with practicing veterinarians?

Researchers need to spend a day or two doing rounds with vet to see the issues from the field - not all the time but whenever

Then you get to know each other as persons, and share ideas and knowledge while driving around or afterwards over a beer

Demonstrate UK 's commitment to building stronger relationships with veterinarians by investing more in LDDC to create a critical mass of faculty who can do the kind of necropsy work and related research that needs to be done

Need to put LDDC and Gluck on equal footing

UK needs to seek more support for LDDC so that complete autopsies can be done and a research data base built - it's not that the staff here don't want to do a good job, it's just that there aren't enough of them

I know someone at similar facility in another state and their vets are limited to only 3 autopsies a day (general laughter in the room)

Right now we have secured funding for a new necropsy area and hope to get more funding for an expansion of LDDC but the problem is, it's always easier to get state funding for a project than to get recurring state funds for positions.

I know we don't like to do this, but maybe this is the time for us (the veterinarians) to start talking to our state legislators and let them know how important LDDC is to the entire animal industry in KY

Is there an interest in more continuing education and would this be a way to strengthen ties?

I just found out about the afternoon seminars - you need to make this opportunity more visible and let more people know about it - I will come - there are some interesting topics

It appears that there is enough research going on and enough issues of interest in common to support having one joint continuing education meeting each month

Support the professional associations (KAEP, KVMA) in delivering CEUs

Make connections with the professional associations (AAEP) and support what they are doing in continuing education - don't re-invent the wheel

It's not the same thing but there are a lot of horse magazines in this area and they are an important source of information for many people in the industry and this is an outlet for research-based information

Other issues

Does KY need a vet school?

A national report indicates an annual shortage of 700 vets a year which is equal to the graduates of 7 vet schools

KY simply can't afford the cost of a vet school - in many of our eastern KY counties, people can't afford to call a vet much less pay for a vet school

Even if KY did have a vet school, how many would stay in Kentucky to practice

We have a great relationship with Auburn - they train our vets and we train their dentists. This relationship has been working well for both states for years

Need to figure out how to gain the advantages of collaboration between practitioners and academics that happens in vet schools given our arrangement of LDDC, Gluck and CA

This would be a perfect region or geographic area to do genetic research