SAVMA Symposium Highlight

Read about another highlight from SAVMA Symposium 2017 from Sheila Villacis from Ross University. Remember, early registration for symposium closes today! Register so you can network just like Sheila.

Going to the symposium for me meant networking but most of all it was a great learning experience. I was able to converse with students from other colleges about their veterinary experience and also talk about some of the same struggles. I was able to relate to students on not just an educational level but also converse about our personal lives. We all spoke to each other as if we have been friends for a long time while enjoying an amazing meal at a restaurant in San Antonio (one of the students knew the area more or less because she currently attends Texas A & M).

One of the most important parts of the trip was attending a lecture on the financial prospects in our veterinary career which gave us an idea of our salary depending on many factors. It helped us understand the trend they foresaw for our salaries based on the economy growth. They even showed a graph between when the economy fell and how that affected us and when it grew and the affect it had on us. Understanding how the economy plays a huge impact on our lives, it is best for us to keep up with the changing of times especially because this affects our clients which in turn affects our patients.

The learning experience part of the trip was attending a lab with other students from different schools. Part of it was practicing some suture patterns but also understanding which were the best suture patterns depending on the area lacerated and what type of laceration occurred, they also told us what type of suture to use. The other half of the lab was working with a live horse and practicing bandaging on their limb (forelimb or hind limb) and the hoof. It was a great experience to communicate with another person which I barely knew to get the job done. That is one thing that will be consistently important in our career as well as personal to be able to communicate with another veterinarian, technician and the owner in order for the patient to receive the gold standard of care especially when it comes to them feeling comfortable when they are in pain.

All in all my trip to the symposium was an amazing experience from talking to other veterinarians, attending a lecture, labs and hearing other student/professor/veterinarian’s experience. This helped me to keep me motivated, to form new friendships and to realize there are different paths in our career and we don’t have to just follow one.