PULLMAN The WSU College of Veterinary Medicine announced today it is cancelling its 2009 Annual Conference for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians slated for March 27-29 in Spokane.
Three factors figured in to the cost-cutting measure for the college. The first was the economic downturn and its effect on veterinary practices. Second, the American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Conference will be held in Seattle in July and offers one of the biggest slates of continuing education in the nation. And corporate sponsors and exhibitors were, due to the current recession, markedly streamlining their meeting budgets.
Washington veterinarians are required to obtain at least 30 hours of continuing education every two years to maintain their license. WSU’s annual conference was one popular source for meeting that requirement but cannot compete with the AVMA’s massive schedule.
Veterinarians, like all small business owners nationwide, are economizing wherever possible. Travel and lodging for continuing education is one area that they quickly eliminate if other options are available, explained Steve Martinez, a veterinary surgeon and director of WSU veterinary college’s Office of Continuing Education.
“This year, we faced an unusual convergence of factors,” said Martinez. “The economy, the AVMA coming to Seattle, and major sponsors and exhibitors having their meeting budgets markedly reduced, and wise decisions on the part of veterinarians to minimize the expense of their required CE made holding our conference in March in Spokane duplicative and economically impractical.
The college anticipated spending more than $160,000 to put on the conference with most of that amount recouped in sponsorships, exhibitor fees, and registration revenues generated. Without sponsorships and with the anticipated low attendance, this was the right thing to do for our college and the university.”
