The Changing Role of Veterinarians in Integrated Systems - Dr. Matthew Turner, from the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 15-18, 2018, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. More presentations at http://www.swinecast.com/2018-leman-swine-conference-material

1. Roles of Veterinarians in
Integrated Systems
Dr. Matthew Turner

2. Target Audience
• Curious about integrated veterinary roles
• Students

3. Integrated pork production will continue
• Historical and current veterinary roles and structures
• Veterinary challenges
• Potential conflict with production goals
• Tunnel vision
• Veterinary opportunities
• New specialties
• TEAM and CULTURE
• Why integrated systems are rewarding
• Future roles and opportunities

4. Veterinary roles in integrated systems
• Regulatory functions
• Inspections, VFD’s, Prescription management
• Health Services- Primary focus on disease
• Animal>Herd/Farm>Flow>System>Region>>>National>>>International
• Value increases as scope of understanding increases
• Production Services- Primary focus on swine management
• Animal Welfare- Primary focus on animal care
• Auditor>Program management

5. Veterinary health service designs
• System structure and location
• Separation by multiplication pyramid or pod
• Includes gilt, sow, and wean to finish production interaction
• Multiplication vs sow production vs growing pigs
• Requires the creation of an assimilator role (Director of Vet Services)
• The cause and the effect are often disparate
• Regional
• Reduces travel time
• Difficult to be effective in complex systems

6. Veterinary service design- Flow based
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
Multiplication Multiplication

7. Veterinary service design- Stage of Production
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
Multiplication Multiplication

8. Veterinary service design-Regional
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
S
N
F F
N
F
Multiplication Multiplication

9. Pitfalls of integrated veterinary services
• Difficult to see other production types
• Tunnel vision
• Specialization of roles
• Difficult to see the big picture
• Compartmentalization of results/skills (PSY vs Index vs Mortality)
• Conflict
• Production goals and veterinary goals don’t always align
• Reduce med use vs maximize production/performance metrics
• Variation in interpretation of guidelines
• CSIA and PQA has improved alignment

10. Keys to a successful integrated experience
• Goals must be common/shared
• Veterinary team must be empowered to challenge production team
• Production team must be empowered to challenge veterinary team
• Respect and Trust must be evident in all directions
• Willingness to be open to criticism from the outside
• 2nd opinions will come, how you handle them is up to you.
• CULTURE

11. Integrated systems can be fun!
• Challenging
• Never a dull moment
• Frequency of experience leads to pattern recognition
• Opportunity to be part of a team
• Mentorship
• Access and influence
• Data
• Support
• Community

12. Newer roles and opportunities for DVM’s
• Welfare
• Training
• Antibiotic use/sustainability
• Production/business management

13. Beyond veterinary medicine
• Opportunities are unlimited
• Gaps to close
• Business management
• Financial analysis
• People management
• Nutrition

14. Integrated systems will continue to evolve
• Larger systems require more collaboration
• TEAM approach to problem identification
• Goals must be aligned
• Talk about goals and how you relate
• New roles will develop for veterinarians
• The experience you have is up to you!