HEALTH - First Canadian Vet Elected as President of WSAVA

(Dr. Ingwersen, WSAVA)

Dr. Walt Ingwersen has become the first Canadian Veterinarian elected as President of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA).

Ingwersen has been involved with the organization since 1996 when he was a member of its Microchip Committee.

Since then he worked as news editor and webmaster, sat on the Executive Board, and led the creation of a WSAVA Global Pain Council.

As President, he will lead the delivery of the WSAVA’s Strategic Plan, which is focused on engaging the association’s growing membership into an active, connected and supportive global community of veterinary peers.

WSAVA works to enhance the clinical care of companion animals globally, representing more than 160,000 veterinarians around the world through 94 member associations.

Its core activities include the creation of Global Guidelines which set standards for veterinary care and providing continuing education (CE) and other educational resources for its members, particularly those in which companion animal care is still emerging.

“We have come a long way in a short time - but there is much more to do and we have ambitious plans to continue to drive up standards of veterinary care globally,” Ingwersen commented in a release.

After postgraduate training in veterinary internal medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, Ingwersen spent 12 years in general and referral practice before going on to a range of non-clinical roles.

He helped develop and popularize the Global ISO microchip standard and bring it to North America and became involved in volunteer veterinary medicine while working with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and American Animal Hospital Association.

Ingwersen is currently a Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd and continues to provide internal medicine consultative advice to veterinarians across Canada.