Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, President of the Singapore Veterinary Association,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentleman,

Good evening.

Introduction

1 It gives me great pleasure to be here this evening to officiate the opening of the Singapore Veterinary Association (SVA) Annual Conference 2007.

Growth of the veterinary profession in Singapore

2 The veterinary profession has been expanding in recent years. The number of licensed veterinarians has increased four-fold over two decades, from 29 in 1988 to the current 126. The number of veterinary centres and clinics in Singapore has also increased from 5 in 1971 to the current 34.

Contributions of the veterinary profession to Singapore

3 The contributions of the veterinary profession have also been noteworthy. Many Singaporeans’ image of a vet is that of a traditional role of “James Herriot”. But the roles and services of vets are much wider in scope than that.

4 Vets in Singapore not only take care of the physical health, but also the welfare of animals. They do their best for animals, to relieve suffering and cure diseases where possible, and offer comfort to the owners.

5 Vets also contribute in other sectors such as wildlife conservation and breeding, livestock feed and pet food manufacturing, the pharmaceutical and biologics sector, biomedical research as well as in ensuring the proper care and use of laboratory animals.

6 Vets are also critical players in preventing infectious animal diseases such as rabies and Bird Flu from infecting Singaporeans, by keeping Singapore free of these diseases. Even the safety and supply of food in Singapore come under programmes overseen by vets in the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

7 In addition, vets play an important role in educating Singaporeans on responsible pet ownership (RPO). This is critical as more Singaporeans show interest in having pets and they live in densely populated housing estates. I am glad to note that vets in private practice have actively participated in AVA's annual RPO roadshows by answering owners' queries on the care of their pets and offering discounts for sterilisation of dogs and cats.

8 May I take this opportunity to thank the veterinary profession in Singapore for your contributions to the country. Especially commendable is the role that you have played in upholding animal health and welfare, and in safeguarding veterinary public health in Singapore. I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of SVA in promoting and advancing veterinary medicine, and in the development of the veterinary profession in Singapore.

Challenge for vets to keep abreast of veterinary medicine and development

9 It is my belief, and I am sure many would agree with me, that the training provided by a veterinary degree is what equips vets for their varied roles and services. I understand that the training in veterinary medicine is rigorous, extensive and wide-ranging, from medicine, surgery, disease diagnosis, prevention, control and treatment to veterinary public health and animal behaviour, to name but a few areas.

10 Veterinary medicine is ever progressing. For vets to continue carrying out their roles and keeping up their services at a high standard, it is important for the profession to stay current and keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of veterinary science. The sheer breath and depth of veterinary medicine makes this a challenge for the profession.

11 The public is also getting better educated and have higher expectations of the services offered by the profession. For instance, pet owners now want to have access to the latest treatment available for their beloved pets. For example, I am told that acupuncture, traditionally practised on humans, is now being applied in veterinary medicine and is one of the topics covered in the SVA Conference 2007.

12 Therefore, vets have a professional and ethical responsibility, and are expected by the public, to keep themselves abreast of veterinary knowledge and to provide competent veterinary services.

Continuing Professional Education for the veterinary profession in Singapore

13 Continuing Professional Education, or CPE, is adopted in varying ways by developed countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA to help vets keep themselves up-to-date with developments in the veterinary field.

14 CPE refers to activities undertaken by professionals to maintain and enhance professional competence. It covers structured activities, such as attending courses and conferences, and unstructured activities, such as self-reading and in-practice training. CPE is essential to maintain and enhance veterinary skills and knowledge.

15 Recognising the developments in CPE for vets overseas, SVA introduced a voluntary CPE scheme in 2004 to familiarise local vets with CPE and record keeping of their CPE activities.

16 Building upon the initiative by SVA, AVA will be introducing compulsory CPE for the veterinary profession in Singapore to raise the standard of veterinary services in the country. CPE will encourage vets to take pro-active responsibility for self-improvement and partner AVA in ensuring the competency and standard of veterinary services in Singapore. Through CPE, a vet can keep himself current and practise up-to-date veterinary medicine to provide quality services.

17 Compulsory CPE will encourage vets to devote resources towards CPE and realise the full benefits of CPE. Thus, with effect from January 2008, AVA will put in place a framework to make CPE a requirement for the renewal of the licence to practise veterinary medicine in Singapore. A two-year grace period will be given and vets renewing their licences in 2008 and 2009 will not be affected. AVA will announce the implementation details to the profession soon. The implementation of compulsory CPE for vets will bring the profession in line with the practices of other professions in Singapore, such as medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

Encouragement to SVA and the profession to undertake CPE

18 I commend SVA for its foresight in rolling out a voluntary CPE scheme in 2004. Because of SVA’s initiative, CPE is now a familiar concept to the profession. Indeed, when AVA consulted vets on the policy of compulsory CPE, the responses from the profession were encouraging. Vets who responded readily agreed that CPE was important to maintain and enhance professional skills. Many of them already undertake some form of CPE and provided positive feedback, which AVA has taken into consideration in formulating the framework for compulsory CPE.

19 I am also pleased to note that over the past 2 years, SVA has championed CPE by actively organising CPE activities for vets. SVA had organised 8 workshops and talks in 2006 and another 6 talks so far this year. These activities covered a spectrum of topics such as equine medicine, companion animal medicine and infectious diseases. To this end, I encourage SVA to continue providing a good range of CPE activities to cater to vets in various fields of work, to help them meet their CPE obligations.

20 At the same time, I also urge vets to come forward to share their expertise and contribute to the pool of veterinary resources available as CPE material. Let us all work together towards effective Continuing Professional Education.

Conclusion

21 Finally, I wish you an enriching and stimulating conference. It is now my pleasure to declare the SVA Annual Conference 2007 open.

22 Thank you.

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