The 2 ways veterinarians can influence policy

Veterinary professionals can contribute to policy in more than one way, according to Dilara Kiran, DVM, MS. Speaking with dvm360 at the 2026 AVMA Convention in Anaheim, California, Kiran outlined two broad pathways for engagement: using scientific expertise to inform policy decisions and shaping the policies that govern veterinary medicine and scientific practice. In this video, she explains how these approaches apply to issues ranging from zoonotic disease and vaccination policy to telemedicine and veterinary workforce initiatives.

Below is the transcript, which has been edited for clarity.

dvm360: What are some of the ways veterinary professionals can get involved in policy conversations?

Kiran: When we think about how to engage with policy, there's sort of two buckets that we can think about. There's science for policy, and so that's using your scientific information, your scientific expertise, your knowledge, to help inform a decision-making process. So that might look like using your understanding of zoonotic disease transmission to help perfect a vaccination policy.

The other side of the coin is policy for science, and so that's policy that helps regulate, oversee. Those are the things that help create the scientific and medical practice enterprise and make sure it's working the way it should. So that might be things like state practice acts, or how do we define the VCPR [veterinarian-client-patient relationship] in telemedicine, or loan repayment programs, and how do we support veterinarians. And so those different things can fall into those categories as different ways to engage.

Dilara Kiran, DVM, MS, is an associate veterinarian in Colorado, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, and serves on the Women's Veterinary Leadership Development Initiative Board of Directors.