The ACVP/STP Coalition for Veterinary Pathology Fellows Celebrates 32 New Training Positions

The Coalition for Veterinary Pathology Fellows was created in late 2004 as a partnership between the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) and the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) to provide a unified mechanism to solicit and allocate funds for new training positions in response to the well-documented shortage of veterinary pathologists at that time. The Coalition’s progress has been regularly reported by dual publications in the official journals of the ACVP and STP since that time. ^{1 –8}

At the end of 2016 and after 12 years of operation, we are pleased to report that the Coalition has established a total of 32 new training positions, including 19 anatomic pathology residencies, 3 clinical pathology residencies, and 10 post-residency PhD graduate positions. These positions were established at 17 different North American universities, funded by $7.4 million in contributions from more than 2 dozen sponsors representing the biopharmaceutical industry, contract research organizations, private individuals, and allied veterinary support organizations. Competition among training institutions for these positions has been intense; 4 times as many applications have been received as compared to positions for which funding has been available. The level of funding has been remarkable, especially considering that trainees are under no obligation to work for the organization that provided their support; trainees who have completed their fellowships have become employed across a spectrum of opportunities in academia, industry, diagnostic laboratories, and government. Of the exceptionally well-qualified trainees that have been accepted for Coalition fellowships, 82% (23/28) who have attempted the ACVP Certification Examination to date have successfully completed all parts, and 70% (16/23) of successful candidates passed all parts on their first attempt. More detailed information, including listings of sponsors and fellows and their current positions, can be found on the Coalition website (http://www.vetpathcoalition.org/).

As a result of a combination of factors, including the economic recession, mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations within the biopharmaceutical industry, since 2009 it has become increasingly difficult to secure additional financial support for the Coalition. Nonetheless, the Coalition has maintained its efforts to establish new training positions in preparation for impending retirements and innovative roles that are becoming available to the veterinary pathology workforce. To this end, in 2016 the Coalition decided to allocate accrued contributions from sponsors to provide partial support for 2 additional fellowships as cost-share partnerships with 2 North American training programs. The 3-year positions will begin in the summer of 2017.

Following the recent awarding of these 2 training positions, and in consultation with ACVP Council and STP Executive Committee, the Coalition Board of Governors has decided to change its past operating activity to acknowledge the evolving landscape that has made acquisition of new funding much more challenging. The Coalition will continue to administer and monitor active fellowships (which will total 3 with the addition of the 2 recent awards) but will suspend further fundraising activities until at least 2020. The economic climate and supply versus demand for veterinary pathologists will then be re-evaluated by the Coalition, the ACVP Council, and the STP Executive Committee to determine how the Coalition might best position itself to continue meeting the future needs of the veterinary pathology profession.

The Coalition gratefully acknowledges the prior financial support of its sponsors, the enthusiastic participation of North American training institutions, the oversight provided by ACVP Council and STP Executive Committee, the strategic leadership provided by the Board of Governors, and the capable administrative support of The Rees Group. As with any good experiment, in 2004 we could not predict what the outcome of this educational partnership might be until the experiment was run. The response from industry, academia, and many interested individuals has been extremely gratifying and has ensured the Coalition’s past and ongoing success. We now celebrate 32 new, well-trained veterinary pathologists and look forward to 2020, when the next iteration of the Coalition will be able to continue the tradition of service to the pathology profession!