The rewards of forming a non-profit

This edition's Life as a Vet Student topic:

'Each day the veterinary profession becomes less national and more global. The AVMA states, "In recent years the AVMA has turned to the global stage to advance its strategic goals, particularly in the areas of animal welfare and veterinary education, and has worked hard to ensure that the U.S. veterinary profession's voice is heard in international settings." 

Are you interested in global health? How have you contributed or plan to contribute in international veterinary medicine?'

Winner, Life as a Vet Student Category
David Kim, UC Davis

As I walked along the dirt road, telling people in my broken Spanish that International Veterinary Outreach (IVO) was having a free animal clinic today at the local community center, I thought about my last experience here.  This past December, we arrived in Jiquilillo and Padre Ramos, two rural fishing villages on the northwest coast of Nicaragua for our first trip to provide free veterinary care, and we had now returned during the summer.  As I told the natives about our clinic, I saw a bemused look on many faces, and I knew what I looked like, a chinito gringo trying to speak their tongue.  But I didn’t care.  It felt good to be back.

 

I could write all about the communities visited, the animals seen, the surgeries and treatments performed, the number of Toña beers imbibed, but I think the excitement and opportunity to do international field medicine often overlooks the brunt of the work of making a trip like this even happen.  So what kind of work goes into making a project like this succeed?

 

When my friends and I first got together to brainstorm for our group, we quickly realized the limitations of being a school club because of the Healthcare Vendor Policy (HVP) and decided to take on the arduous process of becoming a 501(c)(3).  As you can imagine, it was a lot of paperwork.  After numerous redrafts and advice from lawyers, we finally sent our application to the IRS last spring and had to wait months for it to be approved.

 

Next, we had to form groups to plan various aspects of the trip from logistics to outreach and education.

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Little Moments

Winner, Experiences
Danielle Lindquist, North Carolina State

Most people are familiar with dogs that assist their blind or otherwise disabled owners.  Certified therapy dogs offer a trained and therapeutic service to many elderly and hospitalized patients.  When you think of a therapy dog, most people envision a beautiful golden retriever in a vest, proudly sitting next to a sick child or consoling an elderly patient. Have any of you ever thought about shelter dogs as therapy animals? These “run of the mill” canines are often forgotten, although they have so much to give to the communities. This was the basis for a program I helped start up in my undergraduate years at NC State, and have continued volunteering with throughout my first year in vet school. 

 

These shelter dogs are part of a program called Canine Assisted Rehabilitation for the Elderly Inc. (C.A.R.E. NC Inc), a 501-C3 non-profit based out of Raleigh, NC that has dedicated its mission to training these shelter dogs into therapeutic visitors. These dogs, trained by pre-veterinary students, are evaluated by a professional animal behaviorist at the Wake County SPCA and professional dog trainer for temperament and learn basic commands in order to prepare them for their life changing visits. 

  

Once a week, these selected dogs are trained, and then are taken to local assisted living facilities to meet and mingle with the elderly who otherwise would not be able to see their animals, since many had to give up out upon moving into these residential facilities.  When I walk around with dogs such as Firefly, a american staffordshire mix who was picked for this program for her love of people and that contagious smile, people who would normally shy away from such a large dog came up to ask questions, give her a hug and a nice pat on the head. Usually, I have a very hard time distinguishing who was having a better time together 

 

Some therapy dogs pay informal social visits to people to boost their spirits, while others work in a more structured environment with trained professionals like physical therapists and social workers to help patients reach clinical goals, such as increased mobility or improved memory. C.A.R.E. NC’s mission is simple:  to transform the lives of the elderly of wake county through the healing power of dogs.  I encourage all veterinary students to remember that life during these four years is not always about making the grade and class rank. Sometimes, it’s the little moments of watching a senior citizen in your community smile for the first time or that pitbull you thought would never get adopted, walk out of the SPCA to spend the rest of her life in a very loving home.   Veterinary medicine has many goals, and first and foremost is service to the animals and the people who love them. 

The "Lab" Look

Winner, Creative Corner
Rena Smith, Mississippi State

Weighing in on antibiotic resistance

This editions forum topic:

'Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in both industrialized and developing nations alike. The Centers for Disease Control states, "Since the 1940s, these drugs have greatly reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. Antibiotic use has been beneficial and, when prescribed and taken correctly, their value in patient care is enormous. However, these drugs have been used so widely and for so long that the infectious organisms the antibiotics are designed to kill have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective." 

Do you think the veterinary profession is adding to or preventing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance?'

 
Winner, Forum
Lauren Welker, University of Illinois

Laughter is not always the best medicine, sometimes antibiotics are. Antibiotics were a giant step for veterinary medicine. Antibiotic resistance is thought to be due to the increased use of antibiotics. If bacteria are exposed to the same type of antibiotic for too long, some may become resistant and the antibiotic will become ineffective in killing them.  If antibiotics are used with caution, the veterinary profession is not adding to the problem of antibiotic resistance. As a veterinarian, we take an oath to treat sick animals, relieve suffering, and do no harm.  Because of this oath, it is up to veterinarians to use judgment and determine if an animal can get well without antibiotics or if the antibiotics are essential to the health of the animal. While it is true that treating said animal could cause some resistant bacteria the risk for humans contracting these bacteria is minute if the meat from the infected animal is properly cooked before it is consumed. The true risk for humans lies within human medicine. If human physicians over-prescribe antibiotics and resistant bacteria are present in the human population, then the risk for other humans becomes greater. Bacteria will always adapt to the drugs used to treat them, the key is to be able to create new drugs to treat the adaptive bacteria fast enough to control and contain them. The adaptive process of bacteria can be slowed through only prescribing antibiotics when absolutely necessary, especially within human medicine. 

Untitled

Winner, Creative Corner
Elodie Huguet, Univeristy of Georgia

 30" x 40" Oil on Canvas