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Welcome to your next
issue of E-Source An electronic
newsletter highlighting veterinary issues for |
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May 11, 2005 Volume II, Number 32 |
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In This Issue · Veterinary Students to help ISVMA members participate in NCVEI · Senator Allard introduces Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act · Please Assist ISVMA in Database Cleanup · Prairie States Animal Welfare Conference
· ISVMA Membership Application Contact Us peter@isvma.org |
ISVMA Organizing Effort with Veterinary Students to Increase NCVEI Participation
Improving your practice’s economic health will also enhance your patient care. To help you accomplish these goals, ISVMA recently approached the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) at the University of Illinois to determine their interest in developing a summer project that will help you become a more successful practice.
With support from the ISVMA, three veterinary student members of the VBMA will introduce to you an online practice management program that allows you to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your practice’s business. Offered by the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (www.ncvei.org), these tools provide a benchmarking comparison between practices across Illinois and the nation. For only $75 one of the students will come to your practice and train you and/or your practice manager on how to use these tools. This fee will help alleviate travel costs for the student representatives, in addition to providing you with CE credit for participation.
NCVEI tools will remain available and an asset to your practice for continuing years. In addition to the current small animal and equine tools, NCVEI will be releasing new benchmarking tools for food animal practitioners in mid-June.
Please contact ISVMA at
217-523-8387 and provide your contact information for the appropriate
regional student representative to reach you and schedule your training
session.
Significant Steps Taken to Protect Nation's Food Supply and Public Health Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) recently introduced S. 914, the Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act of 2005 (VWEA). The legislation would establish a grant program to expand capacity in veterinary medical schools, and increase the number of veterinarians working in public health practice and biomedical research. "Veterinarians play a critical role in protecting the health of our nation, yet there is a shortage of veterinarians working in public health and biomedical research," Senator Allard said. "Given the increasing dangers posed by public health threats like SARS, West Nile and monkeypox, it is critical that we address this shortage." "In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will be 28,000 openings for veterinarians by the year 2012, highlighting the need for new graduates. My legislation will help our veterinary medical schools meet the increasing demand for veterinary professionals," added Senator Allard. The VWEA would amend the Public Health Service Act to create a competitive grants program for schools and institutions to increase both their training capacity and their ability to research high-priority diseases. "Veterinarians are in a position to detect and respond early to emerging infectious diseases and potential bioterror threats," Senator Allard said. "By increasing the number of graduates and improving our research capabilities in veterinary medicine, we can make sure that our country is ready to face the public health challenges of the future." Senator Allard ran a veterinary practice for more than 20 years in Loveland, Colorado prior to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In order to track the progress of this bill click on http://thomas.loc.gov/ Once there, enter S 914 (Note:
you must enter a space between S and 914)
Please Assist ISVMA in Updating Your Membership Records
ISVMA has been calling veterinary practices for a week to update the roster of veterinarians in each practice. We're finding that most of the practices have had changes in veterinary staff that are not reflected in our database.
You can assist us tremendously if you will fax us a list that includes:
Please fax your information to ISVMA at (217) 523-7981.
Prairie States Animal Welfare Conference
Join the
Illinois Animal Welfare Federation June 6-8 at the Chateau Hotel and
Conference Center, Bloomington, IL for the 2005 Prairie States Animal
Welfare Conference!
Questions? Contact Lauren Malmberg at
Lmalmberg@ci.peoria.il.us
or at (309) 494-8911. Come join the fun!
ISVMA thanks you for your support and participation! If you know a colleague that isn't a member, ISVMA is offering an incentive for them to join now! If any prospective member joins now they will receive the remainder of this membership year (ends June 30, 2005) for free! Applicants will pre-pay their 2005-2006 membership year dues and their membership will be good through June 30, 2006.
Click on www.isvma.org/application.htm to fill out the ISVMA Membership Application Form.
Have you added a new associate? Are all the doctors in your practice currently members? Did your classmates remember to join their state association? Check their membership status by searching for them at www.isvma.org/findadoctor.htm. If they are not listed, they are not an ISVMA member!
Ruby-crowned Kinglets typically build their nests close to the trunk high in a conifer. The nests are suspended from twigs below a sheltering and concealing horizontal branch. Often deeper than they are wide, with constricted openings, they conceal the brooding adult so that only the tip of her tail can be seen.
In the eastern part of the range, the highest population densities occur in the black spruce bogs and muskegs of Canada, whereas in the West, spruce-fir, lodgepole pine, and Douglas fir forests are used. The breeding range encompasses most of Canada and Alaska, extending south in the east to Maine, northern New England, and the Adirondacks; in the West, the breeding range extends south throughout the Rocky Mountains and mountain ranges of California.
Although they breed farther north than the related Golden-crowned Kinglet (R. satrapa), they are apparently less hardy and so migrate earlier and winter farther south. Winter range is closely related to average temperature, and they avoid areas where the temperature frequently drops below 25 degrees. In the West there is an altitudinal as well as longitudinal migration as Rocky Mountain birds retreat from high-altitude breeding areas. Most western wintering birds are found west of the edge of the foothills of the mountains. Ruby-crowned Kinglet populations can fluctuate widely, declining in response to logging activities or fire, but severe winter weather appears to have the greatest affect on numbers.
Winter food sources are primarily spiders and insects and their eggs, as well as small amounts of weed seeds and fruits, including the berries of wax myrtle, poison ivy, and red cedar. During summer they scour branches high in conifers, bark surfaces, buds, and the bases of pine needle clusters to find small arthropods. Ants and other Hymenoptera are common prey. These kinglets also make use of sap wells made by sapsuckers. Their foraging niche overlaps that of both Golden-crowned Kinglets and chickadees. Ruby-crowned Kinglets often hover while searching the tips of small branches for food. Flight is jerky and undulating, with short bursts of wingbeats.
For such small birds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets produce remarkable outbursts of song. The song is loud and rich and can be heard over long distances. It consists of three parts: two to three high-pitched tsee notes, five to six lower churr notes, and a higher-pitched series of rollicking phrases such as tee-da-leet, tee-da-leet, tee-da-leet. The song is usually sung from the upper branches of a spruce tree by males defending their territory, but it is also heard during spring migration. Females will also sing, although theirs is a quieter version of the males' song without the last section. Males display their ruby crown during bouts of song and during confrontations.
Cool fact: Ruby-crowned Kinglets are one of our smallest birds, measuring only 4.25 inches and weighing about one-quarter of an ounce. For their size, they lay one of the largest clutches of eggs of any North American songbird, averaging nearly 8 eggs per clutch, with as many as 12 eggs recorded in a single nest. I photographed this Ruby-crowned Kinglet near Rochester, IL during the Spring of 2004.
Contact Us Please feel free to forward this issue of the E-SOURCE to veterinarians that are not receiving ISVMA’s electronic newsletter. Any ISVMA member may subscribe to the E-SOURCE for free: If you wish to add your name to the recipient list, send an e-mail to info@isvma.org and ask to receive the E-SOURCE newsletter. ISVMA values your membership and does not want to send you any unwanted email. If you would like to be removed from this member service, please email info@isvma.org
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