AAV expands on-demand avian learning for new graduates

AAV’s June student newsletter puts 8 hours of RACE-approved avian learning on demand for new graduates and student members, with the kind of flexibility that matters when travel, conference fees, and clinic schedules all get in the way. The virtual conference is built for avian veterinary professionals worldwide, and AAV says the on-demand catalog now includes more than 50 online courses.

That is the practical answer AAV is pushing for a field where competent bird care can be hard to find. The association says Avian Medicine Virtual 2026 was designed as an accessible option that delivers continuing education without travel, and its May NewsLink had already told members the live event would soon be available on demand. For a parrot owner trying to find someone who can read an avian case quickly, that kind of friction matters.

The student committee also used the newsletter to congratulate the class of 2026, mark the start of summer break, and remind new graduates that discounted AAV memberships are available. It pointed students to upcoming webinars in the Avian Basics series, with more details promised closer to the dates, and it invited students to get involved with AAV committees, where several groups still need help.

That committee work is not just résumé material. It is how future avian clinicians start learning the standards, the contacts, and the day-to-day habits that make a bird practice function when a cockatiel stops eating or a conure comes in with an emergency. AAV’s Avian Veterinary Clinical Competency Program is aimed at day-one clinical readiness for students, early-career veterinarians, and emergency room veterinarians, which is exactly where many bird owners first feel the shortage of trained help.

Money is part of that pipeline too. AAV’s student externship scholarship offers up to $150 a week for four weeks, or $600 total, for clinical year students doing avian medicine-related externships. Applicants have to keep current AAV student membership from application through receipt of the grant. Student chapters can also apply for Chapter Scholarships to bring in guest speakers and fund wet labs at their universities.

AAV says its broader education archive runs deep, with conference proceedings dating back to 1982, plus AAVAC and EAAV proceedings in the library. The organization itself was founded in 1980, incorporated in Massachusetts in 1982, and granted 501(c)(3) status in 1983. That long trail of proceedings, scholarships, and on-demand CE is what keeps the next generation moving toward the exam room.

For the bird owner sitting outside that exam room, the point is simple: today’s student webinar, externship, or wet lab is what decides whether tomorrow’s avian vet is ready when the parrot needs help fast.