Since learning never seems to stop in the real world, an Iowa State University veterinary diagnostician has advised his fellow veterinarians to do their homework.
Dr. Kent Schwartz was one of the featured speakers at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in Omaha, NE, and he told the group that diagnosing endemic diseases is a lot more work than epidemic diseases.
“There’s a lot of risk factors that contribute to it, so assessment requires diligence in diagnostic workup, but moreover, diligence in assessing production practices, parameters and outcomes.”
He says the most common answer to questions regarding biology is: “It depends.” You need to take into account production practices and all the other factors that might affect the health of the herd. Dr. Schwartz says veterinarians must be open to exploring holes in their dogma or in areas that need further investigation. He says that means getting better at field trials. And that’s where BIVI comes in. He says the company has some top-notch field research that has trustworthy results.
“I truly think BI’s a leader in that.”
Dr. Schwartz hopes the veterinarians that have participated in this BIVI Swine Health Seminar will be able to go back and think about how they think about things and challenge their own assumptions.
More of my conversation with Dr. Schwartz is below.