Thank you for taking the time to read these comments and considering the petition before you.

The supporters of this petition all cite the benefit of greater exposure for students to become better and more experienced veterinarians.  The detractors suggest that removing this 4th year restriction will result in a free-for-all of unsupervised dangers.  Unfortunately, the way the Town Hall posting is written, it is difficult for those not familiar with the regulations to see the benefit.  They do not see in the body of the petition that all the protections afforded by current regulations are to remain unchanged - 1) Enrolled in an accredited program, 2) Under direct supervision and 3) With written client consent.  All these safeguards stay in place, the only change would be removing the restriction to gain patient experience only in the fourth year.

Those who are key stakeholders in moving our profession forward understand the need for greater exposure of our students to the ever-expanding world of veterinary care.  With that in mind, Heads of Curriculum and Student Instruction at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and the Board of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association support this petition for change.  Those experienced graduate veterinarians understand the need to expose the students to clinical situations earlier in their training.  This small change in the regulation's wording retains the needed client, veterinarian and, most importantly, patient safety protocols which are currently in force.

Please do not let the erroneous, though well-intentioned and heart-felt, negative comments allow this antiquated restriction in the regulations to continue.  The days of veterinary instruction where small class size, live patient academic training and limited diagnostic and technical capabilities are long gone.  Please help protect the health and safety of our future clients and patients by allowing our profession to teach the students what they need to know, when they need to know it (as deemed by AVMA accredited programs) under direct supervision and with written client consent.  That meets the needs and concerns of all.

Please rule in favor of this change; our patients will be much better off in the long run.

Steven Karras, DVM