Why Join?

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) is an association of members who primarily treat companion animals. We have over 36,000 members who hold different jobs in veterinary clinics, including veterinarians, technicians, managers, client service specialists and more. Through our diverse mix of high-quality programs and services, we assist approximately 6,000 veterinary practice teams in providing the very best animal care.

AAHA believes in “Healthy Practices. Healthier Pets.” and we carry this ideal into everything we do. From offering our members staff training programs to publishing books and other resources to evaluating practices for accreditation, our ultimate goal is always to help you provide excellent veterinary care. See other benefits of membership here.

Approximately 3,000 veterinary clinics hold the “AAHA-accredited” designation. AAHA developed the Accreditation Program to raise the level of care provided to companion animals. We also wanted to increase loyalty and teamwork among veterinary staff members and provide a way for practices to show their excellence to their communities and clients. AAHA, along with a group of veterinary professionals, developed the AAHA Standards of Accreditation as benchmarks of excellence. We also developed the evaluation system where practices are regularly evaluated by a Practice Consultant to ensure they meet AAHA’s standards. For more information on accreditation, click here.

How We Can Help Every Member of the Practice Team

Veterinarians — AAHA offers the veterinary professional a variety of resources in the form of educational events, products and services that aim to help veterinarians improve the care they provide their clients and the effectiveness of their practice. The AAHA standards of accreditation, just one of the resources available, are widely used as benchmarks by veterinarians and their staff throughout the country to measure excellence in veterinary medicine.

Practice Managers — AAHA has educational events and products to help managers run an efficient, successful practice.

Veterinary Technicians — AAHA has educational offerings and products specifically created to help veterinary technicians in their career.

Veterinary Support Staff — AAHA believes that the success of a veterinary practice is reliant on the entire staff. For that reason, AAHA has resources to help every member of the practice team (veterinary assistants, client service specialists, etc) grow both personally and professionally.

Veterinary Students — AAHA sponsors a student chapter in every AVMA-accredited college of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada and the West Indies. National student membership is free and provides future veterinarians with access to AAHA’s many educational programs and services. Go to the Student Site of student.aahanet.org for more information or to enroll.

Veterinary Technician Students — AAHA believes that veterinary technician students need resources too. Beginning in January 2006, a membership category for new technician student members was launched. Any student enrolled in an AVMA-accredited school of veterinary technology who is not already an AAHA member may join for free. Go to the Student Site of student.aahanet.org for more information or to enroll.

AAHA provides value and savings by offering exclusive member benefits as well as special discounts to AAHA members. Following is a sampling of the value and savings that AAHA-accredited members enjoy compared to a nonmember.

Your Investment   AAHA Membership Dues (2- to 3-veterinarian practice) $920     Your Value and Savings Compared With a Nonmember Value of Benefits Included in your Dues   Receive Trends magazine and Journal of the AAHA $167 Receive NEWStat $129 Use AAHA’s Client Satisfaction Survey   Free for accredited members only $335 Register your staff for five free AAHA National Staff Meeting Audio Conferences.  Based on 9 people/1 CE hour at $100 per hour; accredited members receive first priority for registration $4,500 Attend the Veterinary Leadership Workshop. Based on 1 person/7 CE hours; free for accredited members $395 Use the AAHA Job Bank to find a veterinarian. 60-day listing; free for accredited members $129     Savings on Purchase of AAHA Services   Buy a book, Practice Made Perfect $15 Attend two modules of the Veterinary Management Institute $760 Attend the Art of Veterinary Practice: Success for Life program $300 Attend three Distance Education Veterinary Technology Program courses $210     Total Value and Savings $6,940 Total Value and Savings Minus Membership Dues $6,020 Plus, if you join AAHA MARKETLink, you can save on your drug and supply purchases   AAHA MARKETLink Shopping Cart Savings* $6,450     Total Annual Value and Savings Possible $12,470 *Based on AAHA MARKETLink research, price comparison for 293 line items from multiple veterinarian practices.

Practice Membership Categories

There are three categories of practice membership. Click here to view the categories.

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