Contrary to what some may believe, the PVMA has basically no power to stop someone from practicing medicine or sanction them in any way if they were to commit any violation. The most we can do is revoke their PVMA membership. The State Board of Veterinary Medicine is the only body that has power over the licensure and discipline of veterinarians in the state (short of a vet committing an act of animal cruelty, in which case then it would fall into the criminal realm of prosecution). Many members have been afraid to bring complaints to the Board themselves for fear of loss of business as retaliation (a very real concern for our large animal practitioners where word spreads among farms and farmers quite quickly). We looked at this problem and wondered if there was a way we could help while protecting our members at the same time. In the spring of 2017 we began working with our legal counsel on crafting complaints that would come from the PVMA on behalf of our members. This would keep the identity of the plaintiff anonymous through the beginning part of the process (If the complaint reaches a hearing stage the plaintiff must be made known for the hearing). So far, this approach has appeared to be successful as some of our complaints have now reached the point of getting a true case number assigned, thorough investigations conducted, and disciplinary action taken.
