title: Competencies for government veterinary services of the future: Summary of ISVEE 14 Yucatan 2015 roundtable discussion.
abstract: This short communication summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of current organisational structures in government veterinary services, as well as future technical, financial and societal challenges and related necessary competencies for government veterinary services of the future as discussed by an expert panel at ISVEE2015. First, participating representatives of veterinary services of diverse geographical backgrounds and statements from the audience confirmed that non-technical skills such as ability to work in teams, adaptability to new environments and situations, social and communication skills are increasingly seen as important. The second challenge faced by veterinary services is related to capacity issues, i.e. to have enough manpower to plan and deliver according to legislation in a period of shrinking budgets. New and emerging diseases can result in sudden, massive increases in the workload of veterinary services. Technical complexity has also increased for some hazards. Staff skills in veterinary services therefore need to be continuously updated, and it is essential to establish cross technical collaboration with other sectors including food safety, public health and environment. ISVEE conferences were seen as an opportunity to provide a global platform to develop skills needed by veterinary services, now and in the future.
authors.affiliation: Royal Veterinary College, London, UK; SAFOSO AG, Bern-Liebefeld, Switzerland. Electronic address: katharina.staerk@safoso.ch.
authors.forename: Katharina D C
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Stärk
authors.affiliation: EpiPlan, FAV, University of Brasilia, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: vitorspg@unb.br.
authors.forename: Vitor S P
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Goncalves
authors.affiliation: USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services, Fort Collins, CO, USA. Electronic address: brian.j.mccluskey@aphis.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McCluskey
authors.affiliation: Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: julio.pinto@fao.org.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, NARO, Japan. Electronic address: tsutsui@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
authors.affiliation: Animal and Plant Health Agency, Defra, Dept. of Epidemiological Sciences, New Haw, Addlestone, UK. Electronic address: jane.gibbens@apha.gsi.gov.uk.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gibbens
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D033161:Government Regulation; D011634:Public Health; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends
keywords: National veterinary services