Javier Corral's vision for AO VET Latin America:
Advancing regional reach, fostering scientific research, and empowering succession planning
Following two terms as a member of the AO VET Latin America (AO VETLAT) Board, Argentina’s Javier Corral has been elected chairperson of the board. A team player with well-developed interpersonal skills and an eye to collaborative, efficient, and effective problem-solving, Corral outlined his priorities for his term at the helm of AO VETLAT.
Corral, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and professor with the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital Surgery Service and a member of the AO VET Education Commission since 2018, brings valuable education competence to his role as chairperson of the regional board.
“During my tenure, I plan to continue offering both small- and large-animal courses based on the needs of the region, and to develop and foster communication, union, and a sense of belonging among AO VET faculty,” said Corral, whose 4-year term begins July 2023.
Extending AO VET’s reach
Corral is also eager for AO VETLAT to take AO VET’s educational offering into previously unreached countries in the region.
“I want to improve our presence in the region and improve the training of surgeons in countries where they do not [yet] have the opportunity to be educated in the highest-quality educational environment,” he said, adding that he hopes to promote the formation of an AO VET surgeons group focused on equine orthopedics.
Increasing visibility
Increasing the visibility of AO grant resources for research and promoting scientific research in the region is another of Corral’s priorities as chairperson of the regional board, alongside improving the quality and variety of the instruments and implants that the region’s faculty have at their disposal.
“Improving the quality and variety of instruments and implants in our regional sets will enable us to meet the quality standards required by AO VET courses,” he noted.
Looking to the future
Additionally, Corral has his sights set on cultivating community development across the region, increasing AO VETLAT membership, and establishing a consistent succession plan.
“A consistent succession plan will provide for the progress and development of young, talented surgeons, take diversity and inclusion into account, and allowing the AO VET to flourish long into the future,” he said.
Javier Corral, a 2004 graduate of the UBA Veterinary Medicine College, received specialty training in university teaching with guidance in biological and veterinary sciences at UBA. He is a scientific researcher in a UBA-approved and financed clinical research project. Corral joined AO VET in 2010 and since 2015 has been a faculty member for a wide range of AO VET educational events across the AO VETLAT region and chaired AO VET principles and advanced courses in small animal fracture management in Argentina. At the international level, he has worked alongside AO VET colleagues on a number of projects, including backward planning of a new musculoskeletal disorder course and developing a reflection journal for the fellowship program.