When Bonnie Buntain, D.V.M., M.S., advises prospective veterinary students to "Take risks in exploring new jobs and opportunities," she speaks from personal experience. After running her own private practice for about 10 years and hosting a nationally syndicated, award-winning television program, Pets and People, she volunteered for the AVMA Government Relations Division. It was then that she began to learn about the available options for veterinarians with the Federal government.

"Through this program, my eyes were opened to a myriad of possibilities," she remembers. This eventually led to her current work as the Chief Public Health Veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Dr. Buntain advises the FSIS Office of Field Operations on veterinary issues regarding food safety, humane slaughter and handling, as well as how to recruit and maintain the large cadre of veterinarians employed by the FSIS. "In fact," she says, "FSIS is the largest employer of veterinarians in the United States, with approximately 1,100 positions."

"My practice gave me a client-oriented, business approach to working," she says, adding that both her practice experience and educational background "are valued in my government work and have allowed me to advance."

Dr. Buntain received her bachelor's and master' s degrees in Animal Science from the University of Hawaii. In 1977 she received her veterinary medicine degree from Colorado State University. She credits her veterinary education with giving her " critical thinking tools." After vet school she completed an internship in Food Animal Medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a two-year residency in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri.

Dr. Buntain has also held other government positions: a scientific reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine; the National Program Leader for Veterinary Medicine at the USDA; and the Director of Animal Care at the USDA's Animal and Plant Inspection Service. In 1995, FSIS selected her to establish and manage their first Animal Production Food Safety Staff. In 1999 she was promoted to Assistant Deputy Administrator of FSIS's Office of Public Health and Science. Asked about her work with the government, Dr. Buntain says, "I enjoy being able to make a significant difference on a very large scale in advancing public health and our profession."

Dr. Buntain is also associated with the University of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Center for Corporate and Government Practice. She has received numerous awards for her work. In 2000, the American Association of Food Hygiene Veterinarians named her "Outstanding Veterinarian in Food Safety", and the Association for Women Veterinarians chose her as "Outstanding Woman in Veterinary Medicine". In 2002 she received a Certificate of Merit for her work on the Food Biosecurity Action Team. In 2004, Dr. Buntain became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and was inducted into the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society