Pfizer Summer Experience

By Valerie Koenig

Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

Class of 2013

As someone who grew up in suburban Massachusetts, I never thought that I would get the opportunity to do much with cows. But between my undergraduate experience and my employment on a local dairy farm, I have spent a lot of time getting to know, handling, and working with lots of cows. This summer, I got the opportunity to go on a one-month externship through Pfizer Animal Health to a town north of Madison, Wisconsin. It was a four-veterinarian, all dairy cattle medicine practice, two male vets and two female vets. Not only was it great to get different perspectives on food animal veterinary medicine from the men versus the women, but it was also great to get the advice and expertise of the newer versus the not-so-new graduates. The bulk of what we did was the usual weekly, or biweekly, ‘programs’ (i.e. herd checks) at each of the various client farms, but there was so much more than that. Lucky for me, they ended up being quite busy in the weeks I was there so I was fortunate enough to see a variety of different things and get hands-on experience. I got to help with many DA surgeries, I got plenty of practice pulling calves when called out for dystocia problems, I palpated hundreds of cows and really got a good base for that skill, my calf blood sampling skills improved dramatically, I got to help with a few uterine prolapses and cecal torsion surgeries, and I treated many cows for milk fever, ketosis, and acute toxic mastitis.

            Overall, this was an incredibly valuable experience for me, both as a future veterinarian and as an employee of a farm. Also, it was great to experience another region of dairies other than New England. Not that dairy farming is that much different from region to region, but there are many more farms out in the Midwest, comparatively to New England, and the infrastructure present to support that many farms is much more developed and significant. Having worked at a few farms before, my experience was mainly limited to milking, handling, and a minor amount of medical care. On this externship, my medical skills were greatly improved and for that reason alone, this externship was invaluable. Going into this externship I was already considering being a dairy practitioner and this experience did nothing but to further that desire. Though at times it can be frustrating and tiring, I love the way it integrates medicine with agriculture, improving production, and the food industry. This externship was a great opportunity and I was very glad I was able to do it.

Creative Corner- "Wildebeest"

By Amelia Gessner

Forum: Conferences, to go or not to go?

 Do you feel like attending conferences (both now and

following vet school) is a meaningful form of continuing education and networking?

Or do you prefer online options as the preferred wave of future veterinary continuing

education?

Response by Stephanie Silberstang

Cornell University

            During a time when technology is advancing exponentially and most of us choose the internet for the majority of our personal and professional interactions, I believe that there is still a place in our education for conferences where you can learn and meet people in person. As a veterinary student who has both attended conferences and completed online courses, I feel that attending conferences is the most meaningful and rewarding form of continuing education. Conferences allow for face to face interactions with peers and experts in the field and also allow for participants to experience new regions and facilities.

            I am a big fan of conferences ever since my first SAVMA Symposium in Madison, Wisconsin in 2010. I experienced many new things at this conference; it was my first time in Wisconsin, I participated in a wetlab that enabled me to perform my first surgery, and it was my first time visiting another veterinary school. All of these experiences made for an amazing time where I met many other veterinary students and had a chance to discuss the similarities and differences of our schools. In addition, I was able to pursue interests that are not addressed in my curriculum including a behavior wetlab and lab animal medicine.    

            In addition to experiencing a lot of “firsts,” I enjoy conferences because they are a wonderful place to make connections and network with other people in the veterinary community. There is a strong bond that happens when people are learning together, and I stay in contact with a few people that I have met at different conferences around the country. These connections are important for the veterinary profession because a strong veterinary community can be a united front to the public as scientists, educators and professionals.

            Although continuing education can be achieved through online courses, networking face to face with other people in the veterinary profession makes conferences worth attending. As a veterinary student who has both attended conferences and completed online courses, I much prefer to take a trip, meet new people and learn at a conference.

Case Report

Katherine Gates

Colorado State University

I’ve always learned the most about veterinary medicine from my own animals. Most recently, Linus (8 yr, M/C, Germ Shep mix) gave us (I’m married to another vet student) a lesson in acute onset hemiparalysis in an otherwise healthy dog. One Sunday afternoon, Linus was running outside, and ran under an electric wire we have for our horses. I didn’t think much of it, since each of our dogs has been shocked before and usually do just fine after the initial yelp. Within an hour, Linus was walking like a drunk, and couldn’t even get himself up the stairs in our house. Shortly thereafter, he couldn’t get up from lying on his side. Of course, with my own pets, I can never think clearly enough to come up with a reasonable list of differentials. I was worried that he was going to be paralyzed from some sort of spinal cord injury from the shock and I was going to have to put him down. We decided to give him some time, hoping he’d bounce back in a few hours from whatever was ailing him. Hours passed, and if anything, he seemed worse. I decided then to head to the Teaching Hospital.

After a thorough examination by a herd of vet students and one exhausted resident, we had a couple top differentials – intervertebral disc avulsion and fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE). They wanted to do an MRI to confirm the diagnosis, since treatment for the two conditions is very different – strict cage rest for the disc, and active physical therapy for the FCE. Being a vet student married to another vet student with one human offspring and several pets in our menagerie, the MRI was out of our budget. Since Linus was not exhibiting any signs of pain (and he is NOT the stoic type by any means), we decided to assume he had an FCE and proceed with physical therapy.

The first few days were difficult – Linus, about 55 lbs, was almost completely paralyzed on his right side. We had to pick him up with a homemade sling to get him outside to relieve himself, and do passive range of motion exercises on his thoracic and pelvic limbs several times each day. His thoracic limb was more severely affected, and completely non-weight-bearing. After just a day or two, we already saw an improvement. Linus was beginning to use his right pelvic limb, but was still extremely paretic on his right side. It took just over a week before he was walking, albeit awkwardly, on his own. He would still occasionally lose his balance and fall onto his right side, but I couldn’t believe how quickly he recovered proprioception and motor function in both limbs. Now, 6 weeks post-FCE, Linus is not back to 100%, but he is walking, running and going up and down stairs happily. His right thoracic limb is still a bit weak, and he does walk with a slight limp, but he is happy and mobile and back to his normal goofy self. If I had my way, I’d learn veterinary medicine at school and come home to healthy, spoiled pets, but I suppose that’s asking too much. I really wish our own pets didn’t teach us quite so much about veterinary medicine.

Creative Corner- "Greener Pastures"

By Brady Thompson

Purdue University