AAVN Newsletter December 2020 |
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A Holiday Message from the
Newsletter Editor
This editor’s desk is actually a comfortable chair in a room with many windows looking out onto a wooded ravine. The daily comings and goings of squirrels, chipmunks, deer, turkey, hawks and various birds at our bird feeders has become more than a moment of observation in an otherwise preoccupied day. I’ve always enjoyed watching the trees dance and sway in the wind and now with the onset of cold weather and regular filling of the bird feeders, monitoring the activity of wildlife in our little patch of woods has become an enjoyable focal point during the last two months. In a small way, filling a bird feeder is an act of hope (just like voting!).
It took about 3 days of watching and waiting for the first birds to arrive.
In her pursuit of a squirrel-proof feeder, my mother found the Squirrel Buster. She and I have spent many hours sitting 6 feet apart at her kitchen table and wearing masks (when we weren’t drinking tea) as we watch the show at her feeder. I was both envious and inspired to see all the different species drawn daily to her feeder. Just as I decided to invest in my own Squirrel Buster, my mother gave me one of her unused feeders, so I had one to hang on a shepherd’s hook and a smaller one that my husband mounted just under the eaves at the corner of our ‘sun-room’. In full transparency, I receive no honorarium or incentive from the Squirrel Buster company—but I am glad to report that their product works perfectly at preventing squirrels from eating the seed you intended for the birds.
In addition to drawing nuthatch, chickadee, tufted titmouse, cardinals, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker and sparrows, my mother also gets lots of different kinds of finches. She had a mesh bag with some finch seed that had been sitting in her garage for over a year, so I asked if I could hang it in my yard to see if I might attract some finch. She said yes and we both agreed that if it hung for all of December without any “action”, that I would get fresh thistle (Nyjer) seed and try again in January.
Well, friends, it only took a few days but then—seemingly out of nowhere—several finches showed up and over the next 10 days they made short work of that old seed! A fresh bag has been purchased and the mesh sock is refilled. It’s really exciting to see a new species show up—a few days ago the first brown-eyed junco arrived (they winter over in mid-Michigan from farther north in Ontario). Nothing was more thrilling, however, than the day in early December when I was driving down my quiet country road and I saw a big bald eagle! When I was a kid, bald eagles were put on the ‘endangered’ list. It wasn’t until several decades later—after laws were enacted to clean up the Great Lakes—that eagles returned and no longer are a rare sighting.
If you have gotten this far, you are clearly wondering (as I am, dear reader) about where this is all leading? What is my purpose here? Well, it’s simple—this piece was intended to divert your attention for a few moments. Perhaps some of you feel like I do—I must admit it has been difficult to “get into the holiday spirit” when so much suffering in the world is happening—on both a small and large scale. The year of 2020 has been one in which I’ve continually tried to practice “thinking globally and acting locally”. In this way and in this moment, I am thinking of all of you—our AAVN members—hoping that you are safe and healthy—hoping that you can find joy and share joy in one small way with others—hoping you’ll do what you can to improve your world for the better. Stay vigilant and seek peace.
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During the holiday season we often reach for our tried-and-true traditional recipes. The AAVN Executive Board has shared a few of their favorites. Click here to take a look... and be sure to report back if you give one a try!
Many people spent time during 2020 engaged in culinary pursuits -- devoting time to learning how to bake bread, make pastry or try new recipes from different cultures. If you were a traveler on one of these culinary adventures, we would love to hear about your experience! And, for sure, we want you to share the "best of the best" recipes, too.
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Save the Dates!
AAVN 2021 Webinar Series
February 16, 2021, 7 pm EST
Foal Nutrition
Sarah Stoneham, BVSc Cert ESM MRCVS
August 18, 2021, 8 pm EST
Utilizing Veterinary Technicians for Nutritional Management
Ashley Self, BS, LVMT, VTS (Nutrition)
November (date & speaker TBD)
Nutritional Management of Working Dogs
Webinars will be free for AAVN members but registration will be required. More information coming soon!
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AAVN 2021 Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium
New Dates
Please Save the Date! The AAVN 2021 Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium will take place on Wednesday, June 2nd and Thursday, June 3rd.
Call for Abstracts
The AAVN is now accepting abstracts for the 21st Annual Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium, scheduled for June 2nd-3rd, 2021.
We are going virtual again! Further details to follow.
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Congratulations New Life Member
Sarah Ralston, VMD, PhD, DACVN
Dr. Sarah Ralston has been a member of the AAVN since January 1, 1994. She served as Professor Emerita, Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University from 1989-2017. Dr. Ralston is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications on equine nutrition. Her research focused on effects of diet on metabolism, behavior, and the development of orthopedic disease in young horses. She has served as a mentor to more than 120 students who continued on to veterinary school. In 1999, Dr. Ralston helped to establish the Rutgers University Young Horse Teaching & Research Program. She has been honored as “Educator of the Year” (2017) by the New Jersey Foundation
and received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant (2013-2014).
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AAVN Life Member Nomination Process
A Life Member is defined as someone who has been a dues paying member of the AAVN for at least 20 years and has made significant contributions to the field of veterinary nutrition and/or the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN). Life members must be approved by the Executive Board.
Individuals can apply to become a life member by submitting an application to the Executive Board. In addition, members can nominate another member to be recognized with Life membership by completing the process described in the application. The Executive Board may also nominate Life members.
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AAVN Member Updates
No matter the continent or time zone, AAVN members are staying busy during this unprecedented year, and a few of them kindly responded to an email request to share an update from their little corner of the world. Your own news and activities are of interest, too, so please consider sending a few sentences to the E-newsletter editor for a future issue!
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Margie Scherk, DVM, Dip ABVP (Feline Practice)
Vancouver, Canada
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Well, hasn't this year been disorienting! Instead of getting to the many meetings I have been invited to attend, I've been trying to learn to be a good video and webinar educator. I never thought I'd say that I prefer webinars to anything; they ROCK compared to recording the lectures. At least there is a chance for some interaction. And blessed are the organizers who, while groups were still allowed in some jurisdictions, put a camera into the lecture room so that I could actually see the people I was talking to!
What am I most excited about as regards feline nutrition?
- I am really excited to see what research reveals around differences in intestinal phosphorus absorption depending on the form of phosphorus--this could be a game changer for early CKD if the pressure can be taken off protein restriction.
- The paper out of Guelph with data indicating that feeding once a day may be beneficial as a feeding management strategy for indoor cats (to promote satiation and lean body mass) surprised me, because it differs so much from the current thinking that small frequent meals mimic native feeding behaviour. It will be interesting to see how this indoor strategy takes predatory play requirements into consideration.
- And, finally, I am still blown away by the extremely sexy thinking and research that led to the creation of a diet that binds Fel-d-1 in saliva to reduce the amount of allergen on fur and desquamating cells to benefit people who are sensitive to cats. Some challenges will be getting people to feed frequently enough (in small enough quantities vs weight gain), long term, and whether this can be incorporated into all diets as well as wet diets. Given that there is a lot more Fel-d-1 in anal gland secretion (and other sebaceous glands to a lesser degree) - I wonder whether there is some way to "neutralize" that? Stay well and stay sane everyone!!!
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Dr. Marge Chandler
Edinburgh, Scotland
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I've been doing lots of webinars, writing some articles, teaching a 3-week nutrition course (twice during lockdown - in June and October), drafting a lot of diet formulations, doing some company consulting, plus WSAVA and FEDIAF work. Since the first of the year, I’ve given about 15 webinars on small animal nutrition to vets and vet nurses/technicians--all sorts of topics but several on misperceptions, owner decision making, and how we deal with these topics. I’ve managed to attend some online conferences like AAVN and part of the ACVIM. Our Veterinary Defense League (the UK malpractice insurers) gave some good interactive webinars on dealing with lockdown. I moderated the nutrition part of SEVC (Southern European Veterinary Conference) where Dr Cecilia Villaverde gave an excellent co-presentation with Dr Roseann Jepson on PLN.
The three-week online nutrition course has been held twice each year for a couple of years now. Lectures are pre-recorded and made available every other weekday along with fairly extensive notes. We start with some basics, e.g. label reading, and then progress to various aspects of clinical nutrition. Attendees can access the information in their own time, and we have an active "Forum" for questions and discussion. The Q&A forum is the fun part as they ask some great questions.
FEDIAF is preparing for its second online meeting this year - and we missed the in-person 50th anniversary in Brussels in June—too bad! The Scientific Advisory Board is made up of academic and other independent nutritionists, and they join the Nutrition Working Group, which is made up of representatives from pet food companies, for these meetings. Having the combination of input is very educational. We constantly review the current research for areas that may need updating in the Nutritional Guidelines and to provide new factsheets. A new version of the Guidelines comes out every two years and the 2020 issue is now available free online at www.Fediaf.org.
The WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee has also been busy during lock down. We are updating some of the tools and writing new factsheets for the website. My co-chair, Dr. Gregg Takashima, and I have also been working with the Continuing Education Committee to produce three interactive video modules on Nutritional Assessment. These should be very useful as teaching tools. Our WSAVA 2020 Congress was supposed to held live in Warsaw, but will now be online and we again have a full nutrition stream. (https://wsava2020.com/)
When off work I go walking and I am lucky to have a lot of open country and trails behind my house. The Esk River flows down the valley behind my house, so as long as I know where the river is, I can't get lost! Nearby there is a derelict manor house, called Mavisbank House, built in the 1770’s (think slightly smaller than Downton Abbey) with remnants of the garden and pond.
For entertainment I play flute and some piano, and I love to read. The piano is mostly for relaxation--I'll play anything from classical to Scott Joplin to musicals. I am fortunate to have a flute teacher with experience teaching online (she is from New Mexico and lives in Cornwall - the other end of the UK from me). We have been working on new music as well as getting into technical studies--mostly classical although we’ve also explored some interesting Native American music. My orchestra (The Really Terrible Orchestra!) has been doing some Zoom rehearsals - strange but nice to see everyone. There are a lot of medical doctors in the orchestra, and we have had a few other vets as well. Early during lock-down last spring I read a book titled, Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon. The book is based on a true story about Nancy Wake, an extraordinarily brave Australian woman who led French resistance fighters in WWII. She always wearing red lipstick, which she had airdropped from the UK! She liked a cocktail called a French 75 and my one new skill during the lock-down was learning to make this drink. Here’s the recipe: 1 oz Gin, 1/2 oz Lemon juice, 2 Dashes Simple syrup, 2 oz Champagne (I recommend cheap champagne or prosecco since you're going to affect the flavour - I also use less gin so I can stay conscious. It should be very cold!). Preparation: Combine gin, syrup, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into an iced champagne flute or glass. Top up with Champagne. Stir gently.
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Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians (AVNT)
Role Delineation Survey
In 2010 NAVTA recognized the Academy of Veterinary Nutrition Technicians (AVNT) as a Veterinary Technician Specialty (VTS) Academy. Since that time, the AVNT has successfully administered an annual certification exam. There are currently twenty-two AVNT members representing Australia, Canada, England, and the USA. There are 6 applications to sit for the exam in 2021.
The AVNT is conducting a survey to collect feedback from veterinary nutritionists, veterinarians, PhD’s, credentialed veterinary technicians, and veterinary assistants who play an integral role in their patients’ health by leveraging nutrition. The purpose of this survey is to identify tasks and the associated knowledge, skills, and capabilities necessary for a veterinary technician to nutritionally manage small, large, and exotic animals.
The deadline for the completion of the survey is December 21, 2020.
On behalf of the AVNT Executive Board and Examination Committee,
THANK YOU for supporting veterinary technicians in operating at the top of their licenses!
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Welcome 2021 Student Chapters!
The AAVN is excited to announce the following active student groups this year!
Mississippi State University
University of Missouri
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Wisconsin- Madison
The Ohio State University
Ontario Veterinary College
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
Colorado State University
Cornell University
UC Davis
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A Friendly Reminder from Dr. Sarah Abood, Newsletter Editor
Your colleagues would enjoy hearing about interesting nutrition-related cases that you've seen in your daily practice, or some different learning activities you've instituted in a nutrition course. Please consider sharing a short write-up that we can include in a future newsletter.
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Are you planning on publishing an article or making a nutrition presentation some time in 2020? We'd love to announce it for you! Please send to the Executive Directors at aavnexecutive@gmail.com or the E-newsletter editor aboodsarah@gmail.com
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Place your ad here!
The AAVN offers both display and classified advertising in the monthly e-newsletter. To learn more about space limitations and fees, please contact aavnexecutive@gmail.com
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Job notices received from an AAVN member will then be posted in the following places as a service to our membership:
1) AAVN Listserv
3) The following AAVN monthly newsletter
Members are also welcome to send relevant events, surveys intended for scientific research, training programs or courses to aavnexecutive@gmail.com for notice through our listserv and/or newsletter.
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Guidelines for FOR-profit Industry Content in the AAVN E-Newsletter |
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- Content can be up to 150 words (approximately three paragraphs) and can include a weblink or link to PDF
- Content will be labeled clearly: PAID FOR AND CREATED BY (company name)
- Content must be approved by the AAVN Outreach Committee
- Once content is approved, the AAVN will contact you to coordinate payment.
- The cost is $300 per issue.
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