STUDENT EXPERIENCE: AUSTRALIA

Submitted by Vivian Lee, Cornell University

Vivian Lee (she/her) is a third-year veterinary student at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine interested in conservation medicine and aquatics!

"Imagine getting to work with stingrays up to 300 kg, dozens of penguins, and one of the rarest sea turtle species in the world. I am extremely grateful to say I was able to do that this winter break while doing an externship with The Aquarium Vet in Melbourne, Australia. The Aquarium Vet is an Australian-based company that is dedicated to advancing the health and welfare of aquatic animals in aquariums and zoos globally. They offer aquatic veterinary consultation services and are the creators of several online E-quarist courses and the E-lasmo virtual conference, in addition to a few other services offered.

I applied to this externship back in January 2021 when I was a first-year veterinary student during the COVID-19 pandemic and reserved my placement for January 2023, with high hopes that Australia’s borders would soon open again for international travel. The Aquarium Vet’s team is led by Dr. Rob Jones, a well-known shark expert, and has several other contracting veterinarians including Dr. Brett De Poister, who regularly provides veterinary services for SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium and whom I primarily worked with during my rotation. 

This was my first time traveling to Australia and first international veterinary experience, and I’m happy to say it was an unforgettable experience that I will cherish for years to come. While my rotation was only two weeks, every day was filled with exciting procedures and new things to learn. SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is home to Shipwreck Explorer, a 2.2 million litre oceanarium that has a wide array of sharks, stingrays, groupers, and more. As this exhibit is undergoing constribution in a few months, all of the animals currently in the exhibit will be transported to nearby aquariums and facilities. One of my primary tasks during the rotation was to assist with barb trimming procedures of the stingrays, some which were southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus) that weighed up to 300 kg. I was mainly in charge of anesthestic monitoring, but also had the chance to draw blood from a spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) and work on my blood smear technique. 

One of the other cases I worked on was a king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) that had a history of seizures and torticollosis that was previously being managed well. Due to a possible environmental trigger, the torticollosis returned and so I was able to observed how this was managed and help with re-check examinations. Certainly one of the greatest experiences I had was with one of their flatback sea turtles (Natator depressus), who needed an endoscopy procedure and my role involved intubating and monitoring anesthesia during this procedure. Other tasks involved doing necropsies on several fish and acclimating fish into a newly renovated exhibit.

As you can see, these two weeks were filled with many incredible clinical experiences! One of the main surprises I learned while living here was the work-life balance in Australia, which is much better than the United States. Every workday we had a mandatory coffee break, and all the employees were out of the aquarium by 3:45pm unless there was an emergency. It was really eye-opening to see how it impacted the quality of life for employees, and how much closer co-workers were to each other because of these simple lifestyle changes.

I was personally very happy with this balance, because I was able to go sightseeing on my days off. I went on two group tours, one of them being the Great Ocean Road Tour, where I witnessed Australia’s breathtaking coastline with pristine beaches, rainforests, and the 12 Apostles. On my last day off I did a two-island tour, first visiting French Island National Park, a hidden treasure of wilderness that has one of the largest populations of wild koalas. Afterwards, we headed to Phillip Island, where we spotted many wild wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, and of course, the iconic little blue penguins. Witnessing the daily Penguin Parade was one of the most incredible experiences, and I am so grateful that I was able to admire the native wildlife that Australia has to offer. 

Overall, this experience was extremely eye-opening and I learned a ton about international aquatic veterinary medicine. I would definitely go back to Australia in the future if I could, and highly recommend all veterinary students to take on an international experience if they can! I’d like to thank The Aquarium Vet for hosting me, especially Dr. Brett De Poister, and SAVMA’s International Veterinary Experience Committee (IVEC) who provided me substantial funding for this trip through their International Veterinary Experience Scholarship."

Endangered Species Day

May 15, 2020 is the 15th anniversary of Endangered Species Day. In the USA, the Endangered Species Act was established in 1973 and provides a program to conserve threatened animals and plants in the habitats where they reside. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the global authority determining the natural world statuses and what measures are needed to preserve them. Today, AWESC invites you to learn about endangered animals & conservation advocacy!

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South African Externship Experience

Did you know that wild dogs are such an endangered species that there are only 4 packs left in Africa, one of which is in the Kruger National Park area? I did not know this until I had the life changing experience of completing an externship in Limpopo, South Africa in August. As a DVM student, I feel that it’s vital to get the most out of your time in school, and that includes taking advantage of externships or any veterinary opportunity to learn more veterinary medicine over breaks. Here at Ross, we have 3 short breaks per year, and I decided to make the most out of my 2 week August break by experiencing the wild side of vet med in South Africa.

The biggest thing I learned is that South Africans truly care about preserving species and giving to conservation efforts. One way this showed is through the immense amount of game farms that are around the area. Driving just a few miles down the road, you’ll pass a nice handful of them. Game farm owners are able to preserve the species they have on their farm, and we got to see an amazing example of this when we visited a rhino farm to place an external fixator on the fractured limb of a white rhino. The owner was extremely passionate about saving that rhino and wanted to do all he could to preserve the species in general.

There were plenty of opportunities to see some amazing species being worked on as we followed a game veterinarian around for 2 weeks! We had chances to help capture big game such as different species of antelope (Nyala, Kudu, water buck, Roan antelope, etc.). Seven different species of antelope is what we got to see total! We also were able to witness lion relocations to different game farms and even watched TB tests be performed on animals at an animal rehabilitation center.

Besides working with amazing animals, we also got to learn how to use a dart gun from a helicopter! It was exciting to learn how dart guns are used to sedate large game animals that you have a hard time getting close to and to be able to physically shoot one (at a stationery target, of course, not an actual animal)!  We also were able to visit Kruger National Park and learn about the immense lengths they go to to protect all of their species there. The cheetah population in South Africa is increasing overall, and it was great to see that their conservations efforts were paying off. They are working hard to increase the wild dog population, since one of the packs resides in the Kruger area, but it is difficult because so many different factors play into their population decline that it is not a quick fix.

Over the 2 weeks I was in South Africa, I had the chance to see many different sides of veterinary medicine and apply my knowledge in areas such as anesthesia, pharmacology, and bacteriology. My favorite part of the trip though was the conservation medicine side of it. Being able to witness firsthand the love and passion veterinarians and people there will go to to help save animals is inspiring. This experience gave me a new outlook on the conservation side of veterinary medicine, and I hope to be able to work in that aspect of veterinary medicine in the future.

Submitted by Catharine Vaughan from Ross University

Experience at TRC: Tambopata Research Center, Peru

This edition's Life as a Vet Student category: 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?

Entry, Life as a Vet Student
Lauren Thielen, Texas A&M University

TRC, Tambopata Research Center, is a macaw conservation research facility located in south-eastern Peru, deep within the beautiful Peruvian Amazon, along the Tambopata River. The lodge is about 100km from the closest city, Puerto Maldanado, an 8hr boat ride upriver from the town. The research is lead by Texas A&M’s Dr. Donald Brightsmith, supported by Texas A&M Veterinarians and many volunteers from throughout the world. The lodge serves as both a research facility as well as a site for ecotourists to become immersed in the Amazon.

Over Christmas I was given the unbelievable opportunity to volunteer at TRC as a veterinary student. TRC’s research is focused on the long term monitoring of macaw and parrot biology, research first began in 1999. The location of the TRC lodge is no coincidence, as it is located only a 2 minute boats ride to the clay lick. The clay lick is a huge part of the research, as it is a location where thousands of birds can be observed at once. The purpose of animals arriving at the clay lick is to ingest the sodium-rich clay not provided in their diet. Additionally, by studying the clay lick the social order and behavior of different parrot species can be observed.

Breeding season is during the rainy season, December to June, and that is when the veterinarian comes into play. Chick growth data is taken to better understand the reproductive success of both Scarlet and Red-and-green Macaws. The data sets are used to help understand the fluctuations in clay lick use related to nesting, food supply, and bird abundance. As a veterinary student I spent my days walking throughout the Amazon Rainforest to different macaw nest sites to check on the development of the chicks.

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Special Species Symposium 2011

Cornell’s Zoo and Wildlife Society would like to welcome you to Special Species 2011!  They are very excited about this year’s line-up.  Collaborating with several other student organizations, they have introduced some new themes including exotic and wildlife behavior, and a special public health outbreak response module.  They hope to highlight some of the emerging roles of veterinarians in both domestic and international society, and keep attendees on the cutting edge of this movement. Students have been hard at work putting things together, and they can’t wait for you to join them for what promises to be one of the most exciting symposiums yet! Lecture topics include pocket pets, wildlife and conservation medicine and the wetlabs include almost every species imaginable!

Registration is due by April 1st for only $60 for lectures, $80 for lectures and wetlabs. Check out their website for more information. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/students/ZAWS/Welcome.html