FAQs
What is the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM), and what is its vision?
What is the current status of the IVAPM?
What role do you envision the Academy playing in veterinary medicine?
Will the Academy be inclusive or exclusive?
Who are the Academy's target audiences?
Will the Academy be a certifying group?
What are the benefits and value of membership?
What variety of animal species will the Academy represent?
Why should I be interested in the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management?
What is the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (apd), and what is its vision?
The Mission Statement of the IVAPM best articulates a description of the organization as well as its vision at this time:
"The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management is a multi-disciplinary organization that seeks to promote the acquisition and dissemination of cross-species knowledge related to the biology and clinical treatment of pain in animals. Stakeholders in this process include a wide cross-section of individuals. The Academy seeks to: provide forums for communication among all interested parties of knowledge concerning the biology and treatment of animal pain, provide continuing education in the area of pain recognition and treatment, and establish a process whereby veterinarians with a special interest in the area of animal pain management can meet a set of prescribed objectives that will ultimately lead to certification as a specialist in the management of animal pain. Finally, the Academy seeks to promote humane, scientific investigation into the biology of animal pain and the assessment of the efficacy of defined treatment modalities."
The makeup of the organization as articulated in the mission statement emphasizes the diversity of the stakeholders, including veterinarians, research scientists, veterinary nurses, veterinary industry partners, and allied professionals. This purposefully broad "casting of the net" identifies the many arenas within which animal pain is relevant and must be addressed in more meaningful ways than presently.
What is the current status of the IVAPM?
The current status of the program is one of infancy - - a loose amalgam of individuals from many different disciplines including but not limited to: anaesthesiology, surgery, private veterinary practice, veterinary practice consultants, industry, lab animal medicine, and academic practitioners. We currently rely on an electronic list-serve administered at Cornell University for communication among participants. There are subsets of the larger list of participants who comprise the necessary committees and are working on various fundamental aspects of the IVAPM.
What role do you envision the Academy playing in veterinary medicine?
The IVAPM will serve to articulate specific standards of care in the arena of animal pain management. This will be a dynamic role with ongoing activity, as new information becomes available. Furthermore, the IVAPM will take a proactive role in coordinating and disseminating information and research results. Ultimately, it may be appropriate for the IVAPM to take an active role in guiding new research in relevant areas.he apd will serve to articulate specific standards of care in the arena of animal pain management. This will be a dynamic role with ongoing activity, as new information becomes available. Furthermore, the apd will take a proactive role in coordinating and disseminating information and research results. Ultimately, it may be appropriate for the apd to take an active role in guiding new research in relevant areas.
Will the Academy be inclusive or exclusive?
The IVAPM is definitely an inclusive organization. As the organization matures, there may develop branches or subsets within the IVAPM to accommodate the different needs of various constituencies. For instance, there will eventually be standards that must be met in order to achieve certification in the specialty of animal pain management - - ideally for veterinarians as well as for other stakeholders like veterinary nurses.
Who are the Academy's target audiences?
Primary care veterinarians and their veterinary nurses will prove to be a critical component of Academy membership. Other targets include scientific researchers in the area of animal pain management as well as participants in laboratory animal medicine, for example. In short, anyone involved in animal care with an interest in pain management are encouraged to join and participate.
Will the Academy be a certifying group?
Ultimately, the IVAPM will be a certifying body. Due to the practical, clinical focus of the IVAPM, initial certification will most likely resemble that of the Canine Rehabilitation and Acupuncture certification programs. There will eventually be opportunity for advanced credentialing as our programs unfold. Our inaugural certification exam will be administered at our annual meeting in Kansas City in August of 2009.
What are the benefits and value of membership?
Some of the benefits and values of membership and participation in the IVAPM include:
- Participation in excellence in animal care.
- Establishing and raising standards of care in the arena of pain management.
- Ethical and practical debate with people from a variety of backgrounds on the subject of animal pain and its management
- Access to information/research/data that reflects the most updated recommendations.
What variety of animal species will the Academy represent?
The actual variety of animal species served by the apd will ultimately be driven by the membership. Obvious examples of appropriate species include but are not limited to:
- Dogs
- Cats
- Laboratory animals
- Horses
- Food animals
- Exotic species
- Birds
Why should I be interested in the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management?
You are well aware of society's increased concern for the ethical and compassionate care of humans and animals suffering from pain and distress. In veterinary medicine, research findings and clinical experience are rapidly expanding our understanding of pain in animals. Through a variety of educational modalities, veterinarians have the opportunity to improve their understanding of pain, and to incorporate this new found knowledge into their day to day practice. The goal of the IVAPM is to facilitate this process. Cutting-edge practitioners are already changing the face of veterinary medicine with an ethic that includes the consideration and treatment of pain in every patient. This ethic recognizes that treating pain is a fundamental part of practicing good medicine. The paradigm with respect to pain in animals has already begun to shift. This group needs to be on the forefront of this change.
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