My SAVMA Symposium Experience

Lisa Corsale, Ross University

Experiences, Entry

If one has an opportunity to attend the SAVMA Conference next year, then it should be taken.  The trip not only helps you network in your field with different social activities but also there are wet labs, day trips, and lecturers.

You get to meet many specialists during the lecturers. For example, I was able to attend a large animal behavior talk given by Dr. Temple Grandin.  From her lecture, being able to read the behavior and interpret correctly how the animal feels, I am able to incorporate that same lesson into small animals. No matter what area of veterinary medicine you are interested in, there was a lecture for every topic imaginable.

Though I didn’t attend any wet labs, word from my colleagues is that they were very beneficial. Some were able to practice the skills they already acquired from school while others were learning it for the first time.  There were many different wet labs that included oral communication, advance suturing, laboratory animal medicine, dental, etc.  There were many different opportunities to learn something different while at the SAVMA Conference.

The SAVMA Conference is also an excellent way to start networking.  By taking some day trips, either a half day at the zoo or go on the bison trip to name a few examples, you are able to meet different people and see what their backgrounds are.  By one of these said trips, I was able to meet someone who was also interested in research and was able to give me contacts regarding the field.

Overall, going to the conference made me realize how vast the veterinary field can be.  With all the different lectures and trips, I was able to learn a lot thru my future colleagues.  I was excited to go on the trip and I would go again.