Will Schwing

BR Editor in Chief

Years ago, I studied reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa. What struck me most wasn’t the architecture of political reform or even the headlines that followed—it was the process underneath it all: conversation. Not easy conversation, and not without cost. But it was through structured dialogue—painful, layered, deeply human—that people began to move forward. The work of reconciliation didn’t begin with power, and in fact, that failed. It began with discourse.

This month’s topic—isn’t apartheid. But it is a conversation that risks breaking down before it begins.

For some, the veterinary professional associate (VPA) represents a hopeful shift toward accessibility, efficiency, and relief in a workforce under strain. For others, it signals mission drift, a threat to standards, or a dilution of identity. Both perspectives have merit. Both deserve oxygen. And neither will find resolution through posturing alone.

Change rarely arrives with a single shockwave. More often, it’s a quiet handoff—a slow reshaping of norms, responsibilities, and roles. AI has taught us this. So has the steady evolution of veterinary medicine itself.

At The Bowman Report, our role is not to take sides. It is to offer a platform where sides can be taken—openly, respectfully, and without assumption. This issue features voices on both ends of the VPA conversation. Some you may agree with. Others might challenge you. That’s by design.

Discourse is not a detour on the way to progress. It is the road.
—Will