{"id":3686,"date":"2016-03-14T21:47:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T10:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/?p=3686"},"modified":"2019-02-06T00:24:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T13:24:01","slug":"opvs-at-the-coalface-vet-practice-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/opvs-at-the-coalface-vet-practice-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"OPVs\u2014at the coalface – Vet Practice Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

They are the guardians of the food production industry, yet few understand the role of the OPV. But, as\u00a0Tracey Porter\u00a0writes, plans are now afoot to allow these vets a chance to shine.Let\u2019s be honest, as far as sexy\u00a0career choices go, an abattoir monitor is probably not high on the list. In the court of public opinion, examining animals before and after slaughter to check for disease, certifying that the meat produced\u00a0is suitable for human consumption and ensuring that staff maintain the highest standards of ethical, legal and safe practice is neither as exciting nor emotionally charged as witnessing Rover the retriever being brought back from the brink.\u00a0Not that any of that mattered one jot to West Australian veterinarian Dr Samson Lui when he decided to become an OPV [on-plant veterinarian] in Esperance 18 months ago.A veterinary officer for the food service group at the\u00a0Department of Agriculture, Dr Lui\u2019s role as an OPV encompasses responsibility for the examination of animals at pre-slaughter to make sure they are fit and free from obvious disease and overall responsibility for hygiene in the abattoir. He must also ensure audit compliance with fit-to-load regulations and monitor that cohorts of animals are managed ethically pre-slaughter.In addition, once the carcass is on the chain it is the OPVs job to inspect it for signs of disease that may prevent the meat from entering the food chain.Dr Lui says he was drawn to a public health role as work as an OPV offered better job security, a higher rate of pay and more stable hours than had he becoming a vet in a private practice. Upon graduating two years ago, the 28-year-old initially spent four months working at the Australian Neuroscience Research Institute as a vet research assistant prior to accepting his role with the government department but now says public health is where he sees his future.He says it is immensely rewarding knowing he and his team have contributed to promoting food safety and Australian standards. \u201cSpeaking personally, working as an OPV cultivates my skills in leadership and management. It offers rewarding career prospects and the Department of Agriculture also offers opportunities and support for continuing education.\u201dHaving finished his studies at Perth\u2019s\u00a0Murdoch University\u00a0in 2013, Dr Lui was one of the first graduates of a\u00a012-week intensive course\u00a0offered only to finalyear veterinary students eager to pursue a career in animal welfare, public health and food safety. Launched after the department identified a critical shortage of veterinarians motivated to undertake careers in this non-traditional type of veterinary practice, the course is run by the university\u2019s School of Veterinary and Life Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine and is believed to be the only accredited provider in the country offering a qualification of this nature.To date, nine students have completed the course, which is funded by the department, with six going on to take up positions as OPVs, overseeing animal welfare and food safety in export abattoirs across the country. Three students are enrolled in the program in 2015, however it is understood other universities may be considering introducing a similar type of qualification.Murdoch University Senior Lecturer in Production Animal Health and Welfare, Dr Michael Lawrence, who leads the research, teaching and farm animal clinical services team, says the program gives students the opportunity to learn theory\u2014namely the relevant legislation\u2014and the key aspects of public health, food safety and animal welfare. He says it is by shadowing the OPVs at abattoirs that the student vets learn all the practical skills the job requires. Modules covered in the course range from knife sharpening and maintenance to auditing principles and export control legislation.\u201cThey are assessed by senior OPVs already working at abattoirs and senior\u00a0department veterinary staff,\u201d says Dr Lawrence. \u201cThe students finish the course qualified to work as an OPV following an induction into the department. The final part of the training is six months on-the-job experience after graduation.\u201dHe says this type of training offers a win\/win solution for those involved. The department benefits greatly from a steady stream of OPVs to employ, aiding succession planning as more experienced vets currently in these roles near retirement. While for the students it offers expanded career opportunities.\u00a0\u201cThe starting salary for these roles is generally higher than that of a vet going into a standard practice and the training is short circuited by months by having this opportunity while they are still students.\u201dAgribusiness professional Ed Dunn, of the Food Division of the Department of Agriculture, says the program offers the chance to access veterinarians, who are inspection and regulation ready, to mitigate the problems of staff shortages in the future. \u201cThe meat industry will have the opportunity to draw on this resource also if markets begin to dema<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Source: OPVs\u2014at the coalface – Vet Practice Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They are the guardians of the food production industry, yet few understand the role of the OPV. But, as\u00a0Tracey Porter\u00a0writes, plans are now afoot to allow these vets a chance to shine.Let\u2019s be honest, as far as sexy\u00a0career choices go, an abattoir monitor is probably not high on the list. In the court of public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2000],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3686"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3690,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3686\/revisions\/3690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veterinarycareers.com.au\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}