A VIN News Service article by Jennifer Fiala published on July 30, Meet the lawyer working to reshape the veterinary landscape, highlights the role of Mark Cushing in a number of initiatives affecting the profession. Cushing is a lawyer and lobbyist hired by several large corporations that collectively own a large share of the veterinary clinics in North America and other pet-related businesses. In my view, many of the initiatives Cushing takes on degrade the value of a veterinary degree and the quality of care offered to pets and their owners.
These include the introduction of midlevel veterinary practitioners, relaxing rules around telemedicine and opening new veterinary schools, potentially flooding the market in the future.
According to the article, "Many of the causes Cushing champions have a common theme: easing access to veterinary care by increasing the supply of practitioners or redefining how they do their jobs."
I suggest that none of the changes highlighted by the article that Mr. Cushing is promoting improve access to high-quality veterinary care. As an example, one proposal for midlevel veterinary practitioners would enable individuals after two years of training to perform spay and castration surgeries. In human medicine, nurse practitioners generally do not perform surgery.
What the initiatives championed by Mr. Cushing do accomplish is to make veterinarians less vital to the operation of a veterinary practice while increasing billable contact with clients — effective methods for increasing profits while diminishing the role of the veterinarian and quality of care for pets.
The activities of Mr. Cushing and the consultancy he established, Animal Policy Group, should be of great concern to the public and the veterinary profession. These corporate-backed initiatives are in their infancy, but the fragmented nature of state veterinary boards and state legislatures in the United States means that a determined lobbyist can find cracks in the system and then work to make them bigger.
Although Mr. Cushing is in the U.S., his actions are of global significance. The world is an integrated place, and what happens in the U.S. will naturally impact the profession and the pet-owning public beyond its borders. Veterinary professional associations outside the U.S. need to be aware of and proactive about challenges, no matter how distant their origin appears.
The AVMA has been a world leader in setting standards for veterinary practice and education for decades. I call on the AVMA, in whose jurisdiction these attacks against the fundamental role of veterinarians are taking place, to combat the initiatives promoted by Mr. Cushing and his corporate backers through aggressive public education campaigns and support for innovations in the delivery of veterinary medicine that don't degrade quality of care or reduce the importance of veterinary license holders.
As someone who attended an AVMA-accredited school overseas and practices in Canada, I also believe it is essential for other national veterinary associations, including the Canadian Veterinary Medicine Association, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Australian Veterinary Association and the New Zealand Veterinary Association, to learn from the challenges faced by the AVMA and be proactive in efforts to protect and educate their communities and the public.
Veterinary medicine is a tiny profession with limited financial resources or political clout, but it is full of individuals whose intelligence, resourcefulness and passion for the noble goals of our profession are unparalleled. Working together, we can protect the animals entrusted to our care and the people who love them.
Dr. Uri Burstyn is a multipractice owner, internship supervisor and public educator based in Vancouver, British Columbia. His YouTube channel, Helpful Vancouver Vet, has 486,000 subscribers and is used internationally for professional training and as a consult-room education tool.