MARVET: Marine Veterinary Workshop

Entry, Experiences

Vera Kazaniwskyj, Ohio State

MARVET is a marine veterinary animal workshop run every year in 3 different locations, Florida, Mexico and the Cayman Islands.   This past summer I participated in one of the MARVET workshops in the Grand Cayman, British West Indies.  It was hosted by St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and taught by a wide range of aquatic and marine animal veterinarians.  The purpose of this workshop was to give students an introduction into the field of marine veterinary, conservation and wildlife medicine.  I am pursuing a career in zoo/wildlife animal medicine, with a specific focus on veterinary medicine.  Since we do not learn much about this field at school, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a more well-rounded education and meet those interested in similar goals.  

 

Every morning we would attend lectures that ranging from anatomy and physiology of marine species and emerging diseases, to wildlife ecotoxicology and diagnostic surveillance.  We also learned about conservation of coral reefs and mangroves.   These lectures and discussions gave us an overall understanding about all the different facets to get involved in as a marine animal/wildlife veterinarian.  It was interesting to see all the ways veterinarians are connected not only to medicine, but also conservation and preservation of environments as a whole.

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Cultural Diversity Awareness Grant Winner

Spectrum at Colorado State, SAVMA Scholarship Winner

Written by Lani Bower, Spectrum Vice President

This is a scholarship awarded by SAVMA's Integrative Communications and Diversity Committee.  If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, check out the details here

Spectrum had the great opportunity of participating in the First Annual Northern Colorado Diversity Conference hosted by Fort Collins High School. This event was open to high school students and community members. The conference was aimed towards raising cultural awareness and acceptance through workshops and a resource fair. Spectrum members assisted with logistics and information distribution at the conference. 

 

Spectrum is a new veterinary club established for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied veterinary students and faculty. Our mission is to promote awareness and acceptance of the LGBT populations within the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and within the community. 

 

We are very grateful for the funds provided by the ICDC Cultural Diversity and Awareness Grant. Currently we are unfunded, the grant provided will help us build our foundation to meet the mission of the club. We will be making button’s and safe zone stickers to raise awareness and provide support. We will also use the funds to reserve spaces to participate in community events such as the Fast and the Furriest 5k and local farmer’s markets. Spectrum also plans on participating in a more substantial role at next years Northern Colorado Diversity Conference.

Spectrum had the great opportunity of participating in the First Annual Northern Colorado Diversity Conference hosted by Fort Collins High School. This event was open to high school students and community members. The conference was aimed towards raising cultural awareness and acceptance through workshops and a resource fair. Spectrum members assisted with logistics and information distribution at the conference.  Spectrum is a new veterinary club established for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied veterinary students and faculty. Our mission is to promote awareness and acceptance of the LGBT populations within the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and within the community. We are very grateful for the funds provided by the ICDC Cultural Diversity and Awareness Grant. Currently we are unfunded, the grant provided will help us build our foundation to meet the mission of the club. We will be making button’s and safe zone stickers to raise awareness and provide support. We will also use the funds to reserve spaces to participate in community events such as the Fast and the Furriest 5k and local farmer’s markets. Spectrum also plans on participating in a more substantial role at next years Northern Colorado Diversity Conference.

Primate Research Center Externship

Entry, Experiences
Keiko Petrosky, Tufts 

During my externship at the New England Primate Research Center Division of Comparative Pathology and Primate Resources at the Harvard University, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Andrew Miller, a veterinary pathologist who is an expert in experimental and diagnostic pathology. Along with four Kyoko Okabe (Osaka City University) and Keiko Petrosky (Tufts University), both STP Travel Award winners.summer students in the department, I attended gross and histology rounds, observed a necropsy, and interacted with residents and scientists. Dr. Miller also lead us through mystery slide readings, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology slide readings, and slide examination of classic lesions in the non-human primate.

 

The highlight of my summer was working with Dr. Miller directly on a project to describe more thoroughly lesions found in the brains of SIV-infected rhesus macaques. For this project, I worked closely with a histologist to learn immunohistochemistry and to perform this task independently. I was also able to attend the Society of Toxicologic Pathology Annual Symposium that was held in Boston with Dr. Miller and the veterinary pathology residents at Harvard, where I interacted with students from all over the world!

Fun activities included an ice cream social and a pool party with Gregory Miller’s lab (no relation). The NEPRC is located in an idyllic forest, worlds away from the nearby residential and industrial areas of the city of Southborough. I saw a white-tailed deer en route to the NEPRC, and Dr. Miller illustrated bracken fern toxicity during rounds by going outside and harvesting a frond! Dr. Miller and his team make pathology entertaining and after my experience, I would highly recommend that anyone curious about veterinary pathology, non-human primates, or research in general spend some time at the NEPRC.

Forum: not enough jobs?

Entry, Forum

Jennifer Drew, Oregon State

There are proposals/plans for new veterinary education programs in several places including Utah, Arizona, and New York.  There is still controversy over whether there is a shortage or excess of veterinarians to fill the workplace demands.  Weigh in with your opinions, comments, or suggested solutions.

I don’t think the voices of current veterinary students are loud enough.  We are a generation in fear for our future.  Will there be a job for me in the field of veterinary medicine that I love?  Will there be a job for me at all?  How will I pay off all this student debt if I can’t find a job?  

 

When I was a little girl my dad sat me down and told me that the secret to financial success is a three step process.  1. Find something that you truly love to do.  2.  Turn it into a career.  3. Be the best that you can be in that career.   I’m not sure I totally understood what he meant back then, but today I know exactly what he was trying to say.  For the next twenty years of my life I watched my dad turn something that he loved into a successful and ever-growing corporation.   He wakes up every morning and he can’t wait to get to work because he loves what he does.  How many people can say that about their job?  I want to be one of the lucky few, that’s why I chose veterinary medicine.

 

I like science and I like medicine, but I love horses.  Horses are the ultimate athletes and I live to play a key role in keeping them in “the game.”  But the truth is I am worried about surviving in this field.  Going into OEPS this year I was hoping for some reassurance that there is still room for me in the equine medical field.  After attending, I was left with mixed feelings.  There were doctors that continued to tell us that if this is something we truly want to do then we need to keep working at it.  There were others that told us stories of their own unwanted changes in career paths because of the economy.  If there is so much uncertainty in post-graduation job placement, why are there plans for new veterinary education programs?   Adding to the competition for the lucrative and limited positions will only make our futures increasingly uncertain.  

 

I’m worried.  I know that many less vocal than me are worried too.  As class sizes at the current schools increase, and new schools open, job placement will continue to be a problem.   Many of us will be forced to take positions we don’t really want just to pay the bills.  Fewer of us will be able to pay off the student loans that will inevitably continue to rise.  Where will we go from there?  I think we need to hold off on the new programs and help the current students secure jobs and eliminate student debt.  

1. I love horses.  2. I have chosen equine medicine as my career.  3. I will do everything I can to be the best equine vet I can be.  I want to wake up every day excited to get to work.   I want a better sense of security for my future in veterinary medicine and I know that adding new programs and churning out more vets each year won’t help.   

Dangers at both ends

Entry, Foot in Mouth 

Jenny Heath, Mississippi State

It was a dark and stormy night in the equine corridors.  The time…3 A.M.

An exhausted vet student is trudging outside in the darkness. She is trying to reach the outer grounds of the complex, set on her mission. (Yes, this is already playing out like Jurassic Park in my mind. Just go with it.)  

As she finally reaches the top of the hill, a long line of dim musty stalls greets her. It is very dark and deserted, the kind of quiet that you can only find in the dead of night, when even the owls have started to sleep. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and the animals themselves seem to sense the impending danger that looms on the horizon. They jitter and snort, stamping their hooves and tossing their manes in a nervous frustration. 

 

The student walks cautiously, every nerve in her body suddenly hyperaware of her surroundings. She is alone, tired, and unexpectedly frightened here in the shadows. She fumbles for the light switch on a long metal post. It clicks up with a loud snap, and after a moment there is a fluttering and flickering of light above her. The bulbs are dim as they try to warm up, and she peers through the faint rays into the pitch black courtyard beside her. There is nothing but stillness. Occasionally a rusty gate creaks in the wind that is blowing in from the distant storm. The eeriness is astounding, and the student shakes herself a little, trying to rid the nervousness that has begun to seep into her bones much like her equine companions.

Have a painted a scary enough picture for you yet? Hmmm? Well get ready cause it’s about to get REAL. 

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