Vet2011: Ring in the New Year by Celebrating your Profession!

By: Stephanie Silberstang

Cornell University, Class of 2013

The 250^th anniversary of the veterinary education, profession, and comparative pathobiology will benext year in 2011. To celebrate World Veterinary Year, which is the purpose of Vet2011, veterinary institutions around the world will be holding events to promote the veterinary profession. The Vet2011 National Committee has proposed that all participating nations promote awareness of the profession and its many facets at the institutions’ annual event.

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My summer in the lab: the swift death of my research career

By: Christine Zewe

Louisiana State University, Class of 2013

My summer started off much like most of my veterinary school experiences:  I, eager student, full of enthusiasm, entered unknown territory with a determination to succeed!  I was convinced that my well-researched, expertly designed project was going to make an indelible mark on science and possibly propel me down the path of “super-important science researcher/disease curer.”  Alas, as vet school is wont to do (and with expert precision, I might add), I was humbled.  And when I say humbled, I don’t just mean “knocked down a peg,” or “slightly ego-bruised,” I mean pure, abject failure.  Okay, I hyperbolize, but it felt like it at the time.

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There's a First for Everything

By: Megan Cassels-Conway

University of Georgia, Class of 2012

A first-hand account of Ruffian Equine Medical Center’s first extern and her first experience with orthopedic surgery

When you first get to an externship, you don’t really know what to expect. Of course, you’ve done your research- read the website, looked at brochures and talked to other students who have been there.  But what if you are the practice’s very first extern? How do you know what to expect?

            When I was looking for externships, a friend had told me about a new equine hospital that was being built in Long Island, NY. Living in northwest Pennsylvania, where I am originally from and spend my holidays and summers, there are no equine hospitals for hours. In fact, there are no equine vets at all within 90 minutes. Potential surgeries are taken five hours to the University of Pennsylvania or four hours to Cornell University Veterinary Schools. With the severe lack of opportunities for a hopeful equine surgeon, I was excited to hear about a state-of-the-art equine hospital being built five hours away.

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The Wide Open Range

By: Elizabeth Homerosky

The Ohio State University, Class of 2012

Here are some shots from Elizabeth's trip out to Montana and Wyoming working on some cattle ranches. 

A New Look at Vaccines

By: Laura Stoeker

North Carolina State University

Our companion animals are routinely vaccinated against infectious diseases that target the respiratory, intestinal, and reproductive tracts, collectively known as mucosal tissue. Veterinarians typically inject vaccines into the muscle, leading to a system-wide immune response. However, recent research suggests that vaccine effectiveness may be improved by administering a vaccine at the pathogen’s point of entry, leading to a stronger local immune response that may prevent initial entry of the pathogen into the host.

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