Donald G. Low-CVMA Practitioner Fellowship

The Don Low Fellowship is a collaboration between the CVMA and the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital faculty designed to provide qualified California practitioners with an experience not available within residencies or other current programs.

The fellowship provides opportunities for practitioners to learn in the clinical setting of the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and other UC Davis veterinary programs, laboratories, and centers. The fellowship provides intellectual stimulation, interaction, and discussion between the practitioner, faculty, and students within an area of interest to the practitioner. Fellowships are awarded based on competitive merit, with preference given to CVMA members.

“Overall, this program met my goals of improving my clinical skills and becoming more efficient in working up complex cases, managing chronic illnesses, and diagnosing and treating young and adult diseases. It gave me the opportunity to work with students in the early stages of their clinical career and discuss the challenges and rewards available in a private practice setting. ”

Joseph Tumang, DVM 2018–2019 Don Low Fellow

For more information about the Don Low Fellowship, visit the Learning tab at cvma.net.

advocating for you at the Capitol and in front of regulatory boards!

The CVMA has a dedicated legislative team that continually monitors and analyzes proposed legislation and advocates on your behalf. This team includes CVMA staff, a legislative committee, the CVMA’s Board of Governors, and the CVMA’s lobbyists.

It is no exaggeration to say that the landscape of today’s veterinary practice would be vastly different if the CVMA had not been there to be the voice for the profession. Some examples of how the CVMA has protected the profession through advocacy include:

Preserving and Protecting Scope of Practice

Through the years, various human health provider groups like chiropractors and physical therapists, and laypersons like nonanesthetic dental providers, have attempted to expand their professions to encroach upon the defined practice of veterinary medicine. The CVMA has successfully established that these providers lack the appropriate animal-focused education and expertise to properly treat animals without veterinarian supervision. Simply put, the CVMA has defended veterinary practice to ensure that both animals and the profession are protected.

Separating Laws Pertaining to Human vs. Veterinary Medicine

Oftentimes, proposed laws intended to govern human medicine unintentionally include veterinary medicine, with detrimental effects. Some examples include proposals regulating drug compounding, electronic prescriptions, patient disclosures, health care licensee reporting requirements, fees, and many more. Where appropriate, the CVMA brings this phenomenon to lawmakers’ attention, ensuring that veterinary practitioners are not saddled with legal requirements that have no meaningful application to veterinary medicine.

Responding to Proposed Animal Welfare Laws

Proposed animal welfare laws, while often laudable, can fail to give adequate consideration to the unique clinical circumstances encountered in veterinary practice. As examples, laws that address animal confinement, enrichment, freedoms, and rights are wellmeaning, but may not account for medical situations actually being faced in practice. Similarly, laws seeking to institute reporting requirements can impose obligations on practitioners that fall well outside of the scope of veterinary medicine. In these instances and many others, the CVMA serves as a voice for the veterinary profession to ensure that your interests are considered.

To track CVMA-monitored bills through the legislative process, visit the CVMA’s online Legislative Action Center, found under the Government tab at cvma.net.

The CVMA keeps you informed about current legislative issues through the California Veterinarian magazine, our Weekly newsletter, Action Alerts, and on the CVMA website.