SAVMA John Pitts Award

We all know (at least) one veterinary student that exemplifies service and dedication to the veterinary profession in some form. Please nominate them for the SAVMA John Pitts Award for Distinguished Service!

Every year, the national SAVMA President recognizes one veterinary student that has gone above and beyond in service and dedication to the veterinary profession. The award is open to ANY veterinary student who is a SAVMA member in good standing. The awardee will receive round-trip airfare, lodging (up to 3 nights) and registration to SAVMA Symposium 2020 (March 14-16) hosted by Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The award will be presented to the student during the Monday evening (March 16) closing ceremonies.

Check out this link to nominate someone!

The Rinderpest Challenge Starts TODAY!

The Rinderpest Challenge is back!

On 15 January 2020, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) will launch the second edition of the OIE Rinderpest Challenge!

Let’s imagine: 2020. Rinderpest virus, the only animal disease eradicated in the world, returns from the past, threatening animal health security globally. You need to take action! Of course, eradicating the disease once more won’t be feasible in one day nor if you play alone! Involve your network in your country to eradicate Rinderpest definitely. You will have 4 weeks to beat last year’s winning score reached by South Africa: 505,210 points.

We count on you to spread the word and recruit as many players as possible for your country’s team. Download, play and share the game with your network of veterinarians, veterinary paraprofessionals, community animal health workers, veterinary students and laboratory staff to make your country the world saviour and win the challenge!

All the players from the winning country will receive a certificate from the OIE to praise their achievements in helping to eradicate the virus and the player from this country who achieves the highest score will win a TRIP TO PARIS for the OIE General Session in May 2020!

Spring 2019 EPDC Extracurricular Grant Awardees - Day 2

The American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP) club at Iowa State University held their annual exotics handling wet lab this past spring, giving students the opportunity to gain experience with a variety of laboratory animal species not emphasized in the core curriculum. This wet lab included both a lecture component that emphasized safe and stress-free animal handling as well as a hands-on component which gave students the chance to handle, perform physical exams on, draw blood from, practice injection techniques with, and euthanize laboratory animal species including gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Twelve students participated and were supervised by Laboratory Animal Resources veterinarians as they worked in groups of three to perform the wet lab activities, giving all students ample hands-on experience and mentorship. Participants included members of multiple clubs outside of ASLAP and each academic year was represented, fulfilling this wet lab’s goal of bringing a taste of laboratory animal medicine to a wider audience. Even students without a passion for laboratory animal medicine appreciated the chance to practice physical exams and refine their clinical skills with species they rarely have a chance to handle. 

Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) is a student-run, non-profit organization at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. PAWS provides free basic veterinary care to pets of Alachua County residents. Our clientele is comprised of terminally ill and disabled residents of our community demonstrating financial need. PAWS hosts monthly clinics at the UF Small Animal Hospital and sees patients outside of the monthly clinic on an as-needed basis. The SAVMA Spring Extracurricular Grant will help support one of our monthly clinics. Our monthly clinics serve on average 10 -12 patients for appointments. At our clinics, first and second year veterinary students serve as technicians and they are paired with third and fourth year students who serve as clinicians. These clinics provide invaluable, hands-on clinical experience to students, and practical application of what we are learning in the classroom. Students are also able to practice diagnostic skills that entail venipuncture, blood smears, urinalysis, and cytology. PAWS also offers dentals, mass removals, and other services to our patients as needed. This is great experience for the students, and all at no cost to the owner.

  

Spring 2019 EPDC Extracurricular Grant Awardees - Day 1

SAVMA has many opportunities for your school to apply for grants in order to fund cool wet labs or awesome events! Over the next three days, we will be highlighting what schools did that won the EPDC Extracurriculr Grant. As always, check out the SAVMANews every month to see all the incredible grant opportunities!

This November, the Student Veterinary Surgical Society at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine put on a lunch talk and accompanying wet-lab on the topic of 3D printing and modeling in small animal orthopedics. The lunch talk presented by Dr. W. Michael Karlin was attended by over 70 students and covered different scenarios in which he and other orthopedic surgeons have used 3D printing to prepare for surgery or supply prosthetics for patients. In the wet lab, 35 students had the opportunity to practice placing pins and cerclage wire to stabilize fractures using 3D printed models of dog limbs. The majority of the students who attended the lab were in their pre-clinical years, and, therefore, had limited opportunity to learn and practice said techniques otherwise. This grant was tremendously appreciated by all the students that were able to benefit from it and the supplies it provided. Thank you, SAVMA!

Auburn University World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA) members were able to participate in a dolphin necropsy of a juvenile male bottlenose dolphin that stranded in Mobile, Alabama. Students not only observed, but participated in the necropsy, learning about dolphin anatomy, pathology, and regulations concerning marine mammal strandings. 

MerckVetManual.com Gets Redesign

Website Delivers Animal Health Information without Advertising

Kenilworth, N.J. (January 2020) – MerckVetManual.com, a free online animal health reference, has been redesigned to enhance ease-of-use and search capabilities. 

Among the improvements to the landing page are a more prominent search box, a “letter spine” to locate animal health topics alphabetically, “quick links” to pet health information, case studies, clinical calculators, an “above the fold” location for specially featured content, photos and animations, and curated infographics that often correspond with national observances.

A news feed delivers breaking stories on animal health topics. The digital platform allows for timely commentary about issues with significant public health implications, such as antimicrobial resistance and One Health.

New to the collection of videos accessible on the website are series about pharmacology and zoonosis.

"The Merck Manuals websites provide comprehensive and reliable health information unencumbered by advertising," said Melissa Adams, Publisher of the Merck Manuals. 

Credible Health Information for All

Access to the animal health website for veterinarians, veterinary technicians and nurses, and veterinary students, is unlimited and always free. 

This is also the case for the human health websites, MerckManuals.com/Pro for healthcare professionals and medical students and MerckManuals.com/Consumer for patients and other lay audiences. 

There is no registration, and visitors are never asked to provide personal information on any of the Merck Manuals websites, which all provide a user experience free of advertising or sponsored content of any kind. Hundreds of renowned experts serve as contributors, and all of the content is reviewed by an independent editorial board and regularly updated online.

Provided as a public service by Merck & Co., Inc., the digital offerings expand on the subject matter contained in The Merck Manuals, a series of reference books long trusted by health and veterinary professionals, as well as consumers and pet owners.

About Merck

For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases.