Category: Member News

Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association Mentorship Program

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association will be starting a mentorship pilot program. This program is for recent graduates who are interested in connecting with a HVMA veterinarian that has knowledge and experience to share, as well as guidance for your career.

Mentors and mentees shall both be HVMA members and commit to the program for 12 months. The process will begin with the interested mentee initiating contact through an introductory e-mail or letter. If accepted, a mentor will contact the mentee to set up a meeting to discuss the expectations, goals, frequency of meetings, and confidentiality of the program.

Why be a mentor?
Being a mentor can be a rewarding experience as you share the knowledge and expertise you have with fellow mentees to help them transition to veterinary professional life. You also gain opportunities to build upon your communication and leadership skills. Mentees can share with you the latest
techniques, and treatments in the veterinary field.

Why be a mentee?
Being a mentee is an amazing opportunity to discuss any challenges, concerns, and goals you have with another colleague who may have gone through similar experiences. Mentors can be a source of information, provide encouragement and support.

Read more and find the applications on our Mentorship Program page.

Meet a Board Member – Atiya Hakeem

Atiya Hakeem
Assistant to the Exec VP

Atiya Hakeem received her PhD from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Until 2015 she was a neuroscientist at Caltech studying primate vision and social cognition in humans, apes, elephants, and cetaceans. In 2016 she moved back to Honolulu and has worked in various capacities at the Honolulu Zoo as an animal keeper and veterinary assistant until joining the HVMA as Assistant to the Executive VP in 2021.

Legislative Update 2022

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association (HVMA) seeks to amend Chapter 471, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to better define the practice and parameters of veterinary medicine and veterinary telemedicine to protect consumers and their pets from inadequate, improper, or unlicensed veterinary care.  Further, because there is a shortage of licensed veterinarians in Hawaii, HVMA is proposing to provide for the temporary permitting of out-of-state veterinarians and providing for international veterinary school graduates to qualify for licensure examination in Hawaii.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions brought about consumer demand for telehealth in the field of veterinary medicine. Telemedicine has allowed consumers more access to veterinary services for their pets, particularly in areas where access to veterinary care is limited.  However, HVMA is aware that the use of telemedicine may also be abused without an established veterinary-client-patient relationship.  Without actual physical examination of a pet, veterinary services rendered through telemedicine alone can be inadequate and below the standard of veterinary care. The addition of telehealth definitions and the telemedicine section will help to clarify the practice of veterinary telemedicine and assist the Hawaii Board of Veterinary Medicine in ensuring consumers in Hawaii receive proper and licensed veterinary telemedicine services.

Additionally, the pandemic highlighted the shortage of veterinarians available to provide specialty and routine veterinary care for Hawaii’s people and their pets. At times, veterinary emergency hospitals were unable to operate 24/7 and surgeon schedules were completely booked for months due to the inability to fill these staffing shortages by temporary permit. In one specific case, there was a veterinary surgeon within the state that could have assisted during this period, but due to her international veterinary school degree, was unable to sit for Hawaii’s state licensing exam due to a technicality in the administrative rules. These amendments are critically important to prevent such veterinary care shortages in the future, and ensure that all qualified veterinarians are allowed to sit for the Hawaii state licensing exam.

This bill has currently been introduced to the House (HB 1598) by Representatives Johanson, Hashem, and Nishimoto; and into the Senate (SB 2798) by Senators Lee, Gabbard, Keith-Agaran, Misalucha, Acasio, Ihara, and San Buenaventura . Please take the time to thank them for their support, and write your local representative to ask for theirs!

Letter from the President – January 2022

Alfred Mina, DVM
HVMA President

Happy New Year Everyone!

As the COVID -19 Pandemic continues through 2022, we’ve learned how to adapt to providing veterinary care to the communities in Hawaii.  However, many of us have been affected by the omicron variant hitting close to home, causing staff shortage and supply chain issues.  Hopefully, 2022 gets better as we continue to stay vigilantly safe, healthy, and happy.  The HVMA board will continue to meet bi-monthly this year to discuss veterinary-related issues and prepare for HVMA Annual Meeting scheduled for November 2022.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

Alfred J. Mina, DVM
HVMA President

COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Launch

On Monday, AVMA launched a targeted campaign to encourage members, the veterinary healthcare team, and clients to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they are able. This campaign was encouraged by the CDC, as the agency recognizes the key role veterinarians play in society and public health. You may see campaign elements in your email, social media feeds, through advertising on websites that you visit, in your mailbox, or even on digital screens at various businesses.

As veterinarians, we understand the power of vaccines and are uniquely qualified to share their importance in preventing and controlling disease, and we have created a variety of materials for members to use in sharing this information in their practices and communities.  These include posters for practice lobbies and back office areas, client handouts, talking points for discussing the vaccine with clients or the public, an FAQ about the vaccine itself, language you can use for on-hold messages or on appointment reminders and videos.  Many of the materials offer multiple versions featuring veterinarians interacting with various animal species, so that they are relevant to different audiences.  Physical campaign materials will be mailed the week of December 3rd to practices located within geographic areas that have been reported by the CDC to have lower vaccination rates. You are invited to view www.avma.org/VaccinationTools to view and download any of these materials.

We fully understand that not every veterinarian will be comfortable discussing the COVID-19 vaccine, and that every encounter with a colleague or client simply isn’t going lend itself to a conversation about vaccination against COVID-19.  The resource materials are intended to make that conversation easier for those who are comfortable and do want to take the opportunity to discuss it with their colleagues and clients.

Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Thank you,

Dr. Gail Golab
Chief Veterinary Officer

Angela Roberts
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer

American Veterinary Medical Association

Mahalo for the PPE

Mahalo to HI-EMA for their donation of PPE to veterinary clinics around the state. Oahu’s distribution was held August 28-29th and was a success due to the generosity and hard work of many HVMA members. Thank you to everyone who donated their time and energy, especially Jamie Furutani, Mililani Mauka Veterinary Clinic, and Waipio Pet Clinic. We could not have done it without you!

We are working to coordinate similar smaller distributions on the neighbor islands. Please contact us if you are on a neighbor island and want to help.

Letter from the President – October 2021

Alfred Mina, DVM
HVMA President

Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic the HVMA Executive Board continues to work on improving veterinary services in the islands. Big mahalo to those who continue to support HVMA through these trying times. A lot of this is done through membership dues.

There’s still an increasing need for veterinarians and veterinary support staff here in Hawaii. One of the biggest issues we are currently facing is the shortage of veterinarians and veterinary support staff. Many veterinary services are overwhelmed by the high demand, putting major strain on veterinarians and support staff.

We are asking the community for compassion and patience as we are all doing our best through this difficult time. If you know of any veterinarians or veterinary support staff that are considering relocating to Hawaii feel free to contact the HVMA for support.

Please join us for the HVMA Virtual Hui 2021 – Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 12:15PM (Hawaii). It will be open to all HVMA members and interested veterinarians.

If you haven’t renewed your membership or joined HVMA yet, please consider doing so here. Also, don’t forget to check in on our online CE provided by HVMA. Please let us know if there’s any specific topics that we can look into for future presentations.

It is still hurricane season, so be prepared and make sure you have a natural disaster kit, including food and medical supplies, for your pets. Please continue to stay safe through 2021 and hope to see you all soon!

Sincerely,
Alfred J. Mina, DVM

HVMA 2021 Scholarship Awards

Congratulations to our two HVMA scholarship recipients for 2021!

Threnody Brown Earley-Clark is a 4th year student at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK. She was a part of the pre-vet club at UH Manoa and volunteered at the Animal Clinic of Honolulu and the Honolulu Zoo.

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Tyler Primavera is a WICHE scholarship recipient and 4th year student at Oregon State University. While exploring the veterinary field in Hawaii, Tyler volunteered at the Hawaiian Humane Society and worked at Kailua Animal Clinic and as a livestock inspector with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

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We look forward to welcoming them back to Hawaii and our local veterinary community.

Meet a Board Member – David Gans

David Gans, DVM
Vice President

David had an epiphany as a young child that he would become the world’s first ANIMAL DOCTOR, pioneering a new field and contributing a new found profession to the world. Much to his dismay, he was informed of the veterinary field and settled for that. He was born and raised in Hawaii, and after obtaining his DVM at Colorado State University in 2018, returned to the islands to work at Hawaii Kai Veterinary Clinic, where he has been ever since. 

Along with his girlfriend Jayeon, he has been slowly building up their home zoo of rescues and their COVID garden. They have two cats Amaru and Dotori, a red footed tortoise, and recently a couple ducklings. They also enjoy hiking, surfing, and other outdoor activities.

David looks forward to expanding his knowledge and experience in general practice. He is especially interested in gaining more training with exotics and expanding his abilities in rehabilitation work.