International Exchange Hosts Needed!

Do you know a vet that would host an international student at their clinic? Do you know more than one? Do you like cash? Then keep on reading!

The International Veterinary Exchange Committee (IVEC) is holding a contest for recruiting the most IVSA exchange host veterinarians. The deadline is March 1, and the winning individual will receive $50 and the winning IVSA chapter receives $200! This is part of an effort by the IVEC to increase the number of veterinarians in the US that are willing to host international students at their practice for a 2-4 week exchange. If you have worked with any veterinarians that might be interested, please encourage them to become IVSA exchange hosts, even after the contest is over! IVSA exchange host forms are available on the SAVMA IVSA website (www.avma.org/savma/ieo/) and please send completed forms to Virginia Kiefer at SAVMAIEO@gmail.com

Heading to SAVMA Symposium?

If you're making the trip to Madison next month for SAVMA Symposium, please consider these opportunities for helping veterinary students around the world. The International Veterinary Student Association's Development Fund will be collecting donations of basic sciences veterinary textbooks and will also hold an auction.

The Development Fund is managed by the IVSA to aid disadvantaged veterinary faculties throughout the world. This year they are providing aid to Moldova, Mozambique, Colombia, and Ghana. It is one of the most rewarding aspects of the IVSA where real benefits can be seen for each project that not only help the students and faculty at the veterinary schools, but the animals they treat as well. You can help in two ways at SAVMA Symposium 2010:

1) The Development Fund Book Drive

IVSA will be collecting literature donations at the SAVMA Symposium this year to provide these faculties. They will be collected at the conference center and shipped to the IVSA headquarters to be distributed. Please bring any veterinary and basic science (physiology, pharmacology, etc) text books you are not using to donate to these developing schools.

I know I plan on unloading some of my textbooks from first year that are just collecting dust on the shelves (that's you, Immunology....start saying farewell to the others.)

2)  The Development Fund Auction

All kinds of items will be up for auction such as digital thermometers, surgical kit items, veterinary clothing (always popular!), stethoscopes, books, and a few other surprise items. You can also help with the auction by donating some (new) items of your own. The procedes go directly to the IVSA DF.

To find out more about SAVMA Symposium itself, just click the link to your right to go to their site.

Are you my mother?

By: Stacy Hall

Class of 2012, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

It would seem that no one in their right mind would attempt to become a mother while in their first year of vet school at UC Davis. But, on the day of orientation in September of 2008, I found out I was pregnant. I had finally achieved my dream of going to vet school at UCD and here I was starting out the year, not knowing a soul, and pregnant. My husband and I decided that I would not take a year off and would brave the unknown of being a pregnant freshman veterinary student.

Click to read more ...

North American Veterinary Medical Educational Consortium

The North American Veterinary Medical Educational Consortium (NAVMEC) was created to develop a non-proscriptive roadmap for future education that will prepare graduates in the next 20 years to meet the changing and ever-expanding needs of our society.  We will not simply focus on clinical abilities, but on the knowledge and skills that are broader and relevant to all entry level veterinary graduates regardless of their career path.  In addition, the Consortium is different from prior initiatives (i.e., Foresight, Brakke, Pew, etc) since we are including the testing/accreditation/licensing bodies in the discussion; there is recognition that if our future graduate is created by different education models, we need to make sure that graduate can pass licensing exams. 

Garrett Stewart (Kansas State ’11) and Aaron Gibbons (Washington State '11) will be attending the first meeting of NAVMEC on February 11th – 13th. This first meeting will address 3 main questions. 

What will society need from the veterinary profession over the next 20 years?

What skills & competencies will veterinarians need to meet society’s needs?

What skills will be required for specific disciplines in veterinary medicine?

 If you have questions, suggestions or feedback relating NAVMEC and its purpose of developing a roadmap for future Veterinary education, please send your comments to aarongibbons@vetmed.wsu.edu or gstewart@vet.k-state.edu

They will make sure the student ideas and questions are presented at the meeting.

Plus the dog has to wear a sweater...