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VetLearn Foundation

NZVA Event Calendar
National Course Calendar - VetLearn® website

The Association has always considered continuing education to be essential for the profession in New Zealand. In former decades, this was achieved mainly through Regional Branch meetings. There were no Special Interest Branches, other than Club Practitioners whose major interest was political, conditions of employment etc.

The Annual Conference was a major source of information during this era. The advent of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal in the early fifties provided direct access to important and locally relevant scientific information from that time on.

As a member in the modern era, you have access to a plethora of continuing education opportunities provided in particular by the Special Interest Branches, which have developed in response to this need since the early seventies. Their material is available to members from their seminars and workshops, and from their regular members publications.

VetLearn® (NZVA Foundation for Veterinary Continuing Education) was established by the Association in the early seventies, but did not become very active until the Centre for Veterinary Continuing Education was established by Foundation funding at Massey University in the mid eighties, with Dr Gunner Petersen as its first Director. Since then the Foundation, through the Centre, became the largest provider of continuing education to the profession in New Zealand.

As an annually reviewable benefit of NZVA membership, members automatically become eligible for all the membership benefits of the Foundation, both for courses/seminars, and for publications. The financial savings available, on the assumption that you attend just one major course and buy 2 or 3 Foundation publications each year, significantly reduce the true cost of your annual Association subscription.

Continuing education is essential for continued professional competence, and as an Association member you can benefit fully from the available sources in New Zealand.

In 1998 the Foundation ceased to be a Centre within the University. Governance of the FCE was changed at this time, from a joint University/ NZVA partnership, to the NZVA. The Board of the FCE are now appointed by the Board of the NZVA, having regard to the need for close communication with the SIBs.

In 2003 administration and management of the NZVJ was moved to the NZVA FCE office. At the same time, SciQuest, the electronic publishing arm of the FCE was launched to, amongst other things, provide electronic access to the NZVJ and SIB Proceedings. At the time of writing (July 2003) it is intended to use the customised software tool on which SciQuest operates, to make available in electronic format to members, other continuing education publications.

Veterinary conferences and seminars are held in many countries around the world. Information exchange, new concepts, social interactions and the chance to travel overseas make international meetings an exciting attraction.  See our events calendar for some great opportunities.

    Go to the NZVA FCE web site for further information   

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