SAVMA Symposium 2021 Goes Virtual

Kansas State University has announced that it will be hosting the 2021 SAVMA Symposium Virtually! The event is set to take place March 13-15th 2021. Students will be able to participate through a variety of live lectures, pre-recorded lectures, wet lab opportunities, and through virtual tours. More information about this year's event can be found at here, as well as on Instagram and Facebook @savmasymposium2021.

SAVMA Symposium 2020

As most of you know, SAVMA Symposium 2020, set to take place at Cornell University March 14-16, has been canceled due restrictions surrouding the coronavirus outbreak. While we are all incredibly saddened to hear this news, we cannot thank the SAVMA Symposium Planning Team enough for all of their incredible hardwork and dedication. You have all been working so hard, and we admire you for it.

SAVMA will miss seeing you all this weekend, but we cannot wait for future SAVMA and AVMA events.

#bettertogether

Say Yes to Symposium

Still trying to decide if you are going to attend SAVMA Symposium 2020 at Cornell? Read up on how much Holly Bates from Ross University enjoyed her experience at UGA last year!

As a Ross University School of Veterinary medicine, attending Symposium each year is something I have looked forward to!  The island life is nice but getting a taste of American food is great every once in a blue moon. Attending the 2019 SAVMA symposium strengthened my understanding of the veterinary profession providing me an opportunity to expand and keep up to date with current knowledge of veterinary medicine.  The topics which interested me the most were the oncology lectures and the lectures focused around public health. One health is so import for the future of veterinary medicine due to the close relationships we have with animals now more than ever! Pets are now considered family members and not only is human health a priority now, individuals are willing to do more advanced diagnostics and preventions to ensure the health and wellness of their pets (babies)! 

“So you are presented a 7 year old, Male, Intact Rottweiler for limping on the right rear limb” so began our oncology review. What a brilliant way to take us through the history, clinical signs and diagnostics to help us all reach the same conclusion.  The lecture was very stimulating and will stick in my mind through the rest of my pre-clinical year and clinics.   

An experience I will never forget is the dental wet lab I was able to attend. We were given our own cadaver head to extract teeth and learn the importance about dental radiographs in veterinary medicine.  Dentistry in small animal medicine is a very important aspect of health for our companion animals to live a happy healthy life. For veterinarians this is many times an area that goes missed in routine care for many of our patients.  Having the extra hands on experience and knowledge I gained from the lab will remain with me when I go onto practice.

The SAVMA Symposium 2019  experience not only allowed me to see the huge network of veterinarians I will soon call my colleagues, but allowed me form life-long friendships with my Ross colleagues outside of our tedious studies here on island! I will not forget my time spent at the 2019 SAVMA symposium and hope if you are reading this you take the time to attend the 2020 SAVMA Symposium! 

 

2019 SAVMA Symposium Experience

Victoria Villafane, Ross University 

Amidst the hectic life of a veterinarian student, I hesitated before making the decision to travel mid- semester back to the states for SAVMA symposium. Most schools were on spring break but for Ross students, travel consisted of lugging our laptops, notebooks, and all study materials with us and studying throughout the day any break we got. The question came up more than once, of why we would put ourselves through that just for a convention. Since I have never been before, I did not know the answer until I took the chance and packed my bags, heading off to Athens, Georgia. I felt a mix of nerves, excitement, and stress as I settled in on the plane hoping it was all going to be worth it.

Stepping into symposium, I knew I made the right choice. I looked around at the many vet students from all across the country, glanced at the lengthy list of veterinarian names there to give us lectures and guide us through wet labs and I smiled. This wasn’t something I would ever be able to experience during any other part of vet school. I knew I had the opportunity to network with others in my field, listen to lectures expanding my knowledge on what we learn in school, and to strengthen skills during wet labs.

I took a turn into the big exhibit hall full of vendors, promotors, recruiters and was pleasantly overwhelmed with an influx of information. I stopped at the Hills table and was fascinated as they discussed the release of liquid diets for sick animals. My mind flashed back to countless hours of mashing up food and blending it with water into a soupy consistency and hand feeding sick patients and thought of how helpful and amazing this would be to have in hospitals. They also allowed us to practice placing a nasogastric tube on a model which was really neat as I had never done it before. I continued walking around learning about joint supplements, working with exotics opportunities, veterinarians in the army and about AVMA PLIT. As we stopped at the Zoetis booth, I stood in awe as they had a huge board announcing scholarship recipients and there under the RUSVM column was my name. I had no idea they announced the winners at symposium, so it was incredible and special to have been there when I won the scholarship.

I was also able to attend lectures given by veterinarians and it was an inspiring experience as for the first time in my vet journey, I was able to follow along with cases and examples and actually understand the information coming across. It was very encouraging to see the progress I am making as well as expanding my current knowledge base. One example was an oncology lecture given where the presenter discussed cases on osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma. Being able to follow along the cases from presenting complaint to treatments to consequences, it gave me the motivation and encouragement to keep working hard being able to experience how it is paying off. I was able to pull my clinical pathology knowledge out and answer questions about what we would expect to see in patients with these conditions and it was satisfying to feel like I can begin to think and communicate like a veterinarian.

Another day, I attended a dental wet lab. I was interested to learn more about topics that we do not go very in depth in at school, so I chose dentistry, not knowing what I was getting into it. At first, it was extremely intimidating and scary to watch the doctors show us what we have to do. I felt like we were on a construction site instead of in a lab with all of the drilling and hammering. I could never have imagined how hard it actually is pulling teeth, but although it was a challenge and I have never felt my arms so sore, I was still ecstatic that I chose this lab and got to practice extracting a whole set of teeth. It is not something I would have gotten to do at school. Not only did I walk out of that lab with a new appreciation for dentistry, but I definitely increased my muscle mass.

Aside from the wealth of veterinary knowledge I left with, I also learned a very valuable lesson; our education is not limited to the classroom and it’s our responsibility to take advantage of opportunities presented to us. Experiences are just as important as our studies. I am so happy I decided to take the trip to SAVMA symposium and I am grateful for the immense impact it has had on my journey as a DVM candidate.

Another Symposium Experience

It is not too early to start thinking about SAVMA Symposium 2019. It will be held at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia March 9-11th. Click here for more details.

Angela Macchia from Ross University shares her experience at SAVMA Symposium 2018 at UPenn.

I am a student at Ross, down in St. Kitts, which means we go to school all year round and have very limited resources to get experience and go to conferences during the year. Last semester I had the opportunity to take a short break and go to Philadelphia and go to the SAVMA Symposium. This was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

The first day I was there I was able to go to the zoo and go on a tour of the veterinary clinic there. I have never been on the veterinary side of a zoo and it was such an amazing experience to see how they function and how they deal with such large animals. The rest of the symposium I was able to attend lectures and wet labs as well as network with the other students, professors, and companies that were there. I met students from all over, and doctors from all over. I was able to dabble in topics that I never knew interested me or jobs that I would have never looked into if I hadn’t gone to the symposium. I met such amazing people and future colleagues. I was able to attend lectures on debt, and about topics I was interested in, such as equine medicine.

While walking around the hall there were many companies that had programs to study for the NAVLE and instruments/ resources we might need when we are out in practice. I also was involved in a few wet labs, there were wet labs in New Bolton, on campus and at the hotel. They really tried to cater to everyone’s interest, from large animal to small to exotics. I was able to attend a laceration repair wet lab, and it was so nice to work with the interns from New Bolton and practice my suturing techniques! It was an amazing experience to have and so worth the few days I missed at school. I would recommend any student to make sure they get out to a conference or symposium while they are in school, so they can network and meet other students!