(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) April 28, 2022—The American Veterinary Medical Association joins colleagues around the globe in celebrating 2022 World Veterinary Day on April 30 and this year’s important theme of promoting wellbeing among veterinarians and other members of the animal health care team.
The World Veterinary Association created World Veterinary Day in 2000. Taking place on the last Saturday of April, it is an annual celebration of the contributions that veterinarians around the world make to advance the health of animals, people, and the environment. Since 2019, the WVA has partnered with HealthforAnimals, the global animal health industry association, on the World Veterinary Day Award, which honors one WVA member’s activities related to the designated annual theme.
“Veterinarians are called upon to ensure animals have a voice and an advocate who makes their welfare a priority, and much like their patients, veterinarians need proper tools and support to maintain their personal health and wellness,” the award sponsors said in announcing the 2022 World Veterinary Day theme, which is focused on strengthening veterinary wellbeing and resilience. “Healthy animals require healthy advocates.”
The AVMA concurs, noting that the wellbeing of veterinary professionals is one of the most important issues facing the profession today. The theme of this year’s World Veterinary Day will help bring global attention to this important issue and celebrate current efforts and initiatives being driven across the profession to help strengthen veterinary wellbeing.
“Now more than ever, it’s critical that we support wellbeing among our colleagues and their teams, who have done such extraordinary work in the face of the worst public health crisis in more than a century,” said Dr. Jose Arce, President of the AVMA. “We see this as a vital part of our mission and have developed a wide range of resources to support personal and professional wellbeing.”
The AVMA’s wellbeing resources, including podcasts, webinars, self-assessments, certificate programs and much more, can be found at https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/wellbeing.
The WVA and Health for Animals will confer the 2022 World Veterinary Day Award and $3,500 to the WVA member that best promotes this year’s theme.
Last year, the theme of World Veterinary Day was “Veterinarian response to the COVID-19 crisis.” The AVMA won the 2021 World Veterinary Day Award for its response to the pandemic.