Photography

Submitted by Rhea Amatya, Colorado State University

Externship Experience

Submitted by SAVMA Externship Grant Recipient Helena Taylor, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

My externship and practicum experience in California with the USDA-APHIS-VS provided a hands-on experience as a field employee and emergency responder to HPAI. As a case manager, I assisted poultry producers with the process of eliminating HPAI from their farms, which allowed the "control zone" to be lifted and ultimately re-established international trade to that region of California. I learned the components of disease outbreak mitigation and management, the emergency response incident command structure, and how these dynamics are implemented to resolve a foreign animals disease outbreak. This experience emphasized the importance of veterinarians in disease control on national level and informed my future career as an emergency response veterinarian. I’m very grateful to have received the SAVMA Externship Grant to help fund this experience.

Cutest Pet

Submitted by Jessica Wood, Michigan State University

Creative Corner

Submitted by Varun Seth, University of Illinois

Externship Experience

Submitted by SAVMA Externship Grant Recipient Alexa Kolakoski, Cornell University

My two week externship was split between Pet Fix, a high quality high volume spay and neuter clinic, and the Humane Society of Greater Savannah. At Pet Fix, I had the opportunity to perform spays and neuters for owned pets, shelter animals, and community cats in the Greater Savannah area. During my time at Pet Fix, I learned high-volume spay and neuter techniques including how to utilize a spay hook, autoligation of cat ovarian pedicles, and the aberdeen knot. I also had the opportunity to observe and assist with spays of different types of patients including: pediatric spays, patients in heat, and rabbits. In the afternoons, I had the opportunity to assist in the “healthy pet” clinic run by Pet Fix where community members can get vaccines and SNAP tests at a low cost. During this clinic, I had the opportunity to refine my vaccination skills (especially on fractious animals) and practice my cephalic and saphenous blood draws. I was also able to perform in-house fecals to diagnose common parasites such as roundworms and hookworms, as well as confirm heartworm disease by finding microfilaria in a blood sample. At Savannah Humane Society, I had the opportunity to observe and assist in the provision of medical care for shelter animals. This involved the completion of intake exams for animals newly arrived at the shelter, veterinary exams for sick animals, as well as daily treatments. After graduation, I plan to pursue a career in shelter medicine with a focus on high quality, high volume spay and neuter. My time at Pet Fix and the Savannah Humane Society was truly invaluable, as I had the opportunity to confirm that this is the right career path for me. I was able to learn techniques to increase my surgical efficiency including the spay hook, aberdeen knot, and pedicle ties- which drastically reduced my surgical times therefore increasing the health and safety of my patients. As a future shelter veterinarian, I know I will often have to rely on low-cost diagnostic tools including in house fecals, ear cytologies, and blood smears. The opportunity to collect, run, and interpret my own fecals, ear cytologies, and blood smears allowed me to improve my confidence in performing these essential skills. At the Savannah Humane Society, I had the opportunity to tour the facility and discuss protocols utilized by the shelter’s technicians to treat various medical conditions. It was extremely beneficial to observe how other shelters are designed (including cage size, isolation wards, group housing, etc) and how certain medical conditions are managed, so I can learn from various sources how to minimize length of stay and manage various diseases in the shelter environment.