Native American Project HSVMA Stipend

By: Amy Vlazny

Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2011

Through the windows of the car winding through the mountains north of Elko, Nevada, the landscape grew increasingly desolate.  Without a tree or building to give it form the valley seemed starkly flat, and the mountains, tipped with snow, jutted up suddenly in the distance.  The sandy ground was dusted with light snow and sparsely covered with drab sagebrush – the Nevada state flower.  The setting seemed as exotic as the high páramo of the Andes, the dry, frosty grasslands found at altitudes higher than trees can grow.  But, no; I was only in my country's very own snowy mountain desert.

            I was taking this adventure into an area of the U.S. formerly unknown to me in order to participate in an HSVMA Field Services spay/neuter clinic at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.  I was one of 25 veterinary students who, along with eight veterinarians and ten technicians, volunteers and staff, were now rolling into the town of Owyhee in a ten-car caravan behind a truck and trailer full of veterinary equipment, intending to spay, neuter, and vaccinate just about any dog or cat that would come through the gymnasium doors over the next four days.  They were four hectic and exhausting days, but the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the appreciation of our clients made for a rich learning experience and countless enjoyable interactions.   

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The Check's in the Mail

By: Lana Chumney

Texas A&M University, Class of 2011

In the summer, just before I started vet school, I went home to visit my parents for the weekend.  They owned a small family operated dairy, and by family operated, I mean anyone who happened to be around when the work was taking place.  This particular weekend, my neighbor was having an appreciation party for the customers at his mechanic shop.  He had bar-b-q and even a band with dancing.  My parents were still in the hay field working and unable to attend so, being the ever wonderful daughter that I am, I thought it might be nice to take them some food. 

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Tracking in Vet School (another viewpoint)

By: Stephanie Silberstang

Cornell University

Tracking vs. non-tracking in veterinary school was an important part of my decision to apply to the schools that I did. I ended up choosing a school that did not include tracking because I was unsure of my specific career goals and path. I have worked with a large animal veterinarian, bovine embryo transfer veterinarian, small animal veterinarian and in the Reptile House at the Bronx Zoo.

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A New Direction

By: Elizabeth Wormley

Iowa State University, Class of 2011

My name is Elizabeth, and I am now addicted to shelter medicine…

No joke; I couldn't have asked for a better start to clinics. My two week externship at the Nebraska Humane Society was unparalleled on many levels - knowledge gained, hands-on practice, and working with a great team. I've always been fond of population medicine - I enjoy laboratory animal medicine, and I was the president of the ISU Feral Cat Alliance program this last year. Working with a wide variety of species has always been of great importance to me, and I found that shelter medicine allows me to do just that. Many think shelter medicine = mass spays and neuters. Perhaps at some smaller shelters, this is the case. But at many shelter facilities (including NHS), there is FAR more going on, and great medicine is being practiced. Just a few of the things I experienced:

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An Investigation of the Synergistic Effects of Procaine G Penicillin and Oxytetracycline on the bacillum Listeria monocytogenes

By: Alicia Agnew

Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Class of 2013

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that causes disease in twenty-eight mammalian species including humans.  The bacterium is opportunistic, and for this reason, outbreaks tend to be sporadic in nature.  Listeria monocytogenes is ubiquitous in nature, so forty environmental samples were collected from a goat farm in Maryland.  Twenty samples were then isolated to purity using Oxford Enrichment media.  These samples were then tested for sensitivity to the antibiotics Penicillin Procaine G and Oxtetracycline.  I hypothesized that the combination of these two drugs would have a synergistic effect in inhibition of bacterial growth.  Microtitrator tests were carried out for each environmental sample as well as a sample obtained from a commercial lab.  The minimum inhibitory concentrations of Procaine G and Oxytetracycline were determined individually for each sample and then in combination for each sample to test for synergism.  The results of the study were inconclusive, showing neither an antagonistic nor a synergistic effect when the two drugs were used in combination.