Issuu

Academic Preparation

South Africa: Wildlife Management and Conservation

United Kingdom: Introduction to Animal Behavior and Veterinary Physiotherapy

ANS 281: Professional Development of Pre-Veterinary Track Students

Students admitted

The Study Abroad on Wildlife Management and Conservation in South Africa gave students a hands-on opportunity to work with endangered wildlife. This past year students worked with 17 cheetahs, 5 rhinos, 40 cape buffaloes, 170 Africanis dogs, and more. Students learned about dart assembly, tranquilization, radio telemetry and other wildlife techniques utilized in species conservation.

VetPAC

Through this experience, students engaged in learning about manual therapies, electrotherapy, and hydrotherapy on dogs and horses as a part of the physiotherapy module at Harper Adams University in Newport, south east Wales, United Kingdom. Cow Signs, Sniffy the rat and creating ethograms were the key hands-on labs for the Animal Behavior module. Excursions included a walking tour of the City of London, a hike in Snowdonia National Park in Wales and visits to the towns of Shrewsbury and Ironbridge in Shropshire.

This course introduced pre-veterinary track students to the veterinary profession and current issues affecting veterinary professionals. Students gained an understanding of the professional requirement of the veterinary school applications, discussed current animal and public health issues, and areas of national shortage in the veterinary profession. A lecture on financing your CVM education gave prevets an early start in financial awareness and planning of their careers.

Events

139

Atendees

209

Atendees

VetPAC Seminar Series The VetPAC Seminar Series, held in the fall, focused on teaching students a broad range of skills for beginning their pre-veterinary career. Workshops included “How To Manage Your Academic Life,” “How To Interview At A Veterinary Clinic,” “How To Become A Food Animal Scholar,” “How To Find A Research Experience On/off Campus,” and “How To Promote Yourself Through Social Media.” Students learned about basic interview skills from practicing veterinarians, were given resources to use when searching for research experiences, and learned skills to create strong academic habits.

VetPAC Annual Networking Event The Annual Networking Event celebrated VetPAC’s 10th year by hosting over 45 speakers to provide students the experience of networking with local veterinarians, the USDA, four Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, NC State’s Animal Education Units, and more. Dr. Harry Daniels, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences senior associate dean, spoke about opportunities in marine biology and students met with Bill Boucher who discussed opportunities within veterinary medicine and the military.

Pre-Vet First Year Orientation The second annual Pre-Vet First Year Orientation introduced freshmen and transfer students to pre-vet life. Workshops revealed opportunities that VetPAC has to offer and taught students about experiences and resources they can use to develop their pre-veterinary career.

(919) 515-1277

cals.ncsu.edu/vetpac vetpac_office@ncsu.edu

@NCStateVetPAC

2019-2020 IMPACT Since its inception 10 years ago, VetPAC continues to be a leader in providing PreVet students with unparalleled animal, veterinary, research, study abroad and leadership experience opportunities at NC State and beyond. — Dr. Shweta Trivedi, Director, VetPAC

Internships

Interns

VetPAC Internship The VetPAC Internship is a unique and competitive leadership program in which pre-veterinary students develop and coordinate events, activities, and initiatives under the mentorship of program director, Dr. Shweta Trivedi. This past year, interns networked with professionals in the field, attended conferences, met with CVM faculty, and visited CVM labs. In addition, interns mentored their preveterinary peers.

Outreach

120

Campers

Shelter Medicine Internship

VetCAMP VetCAMP is a five-day summer camp for high school students interested in learning about the veterinary profession. Summer 2019 VetCAMP, the largest to date, welcomed 120 students across three programming weeks. Students participated in labs and lectures including a mock case study in a small animal clinic and suturing techniques with College of Veterinary Medicine’s Surgery Club. VetCAMPers also handled piglets at NC State’s Swine Unit, conducted fecal ﬂoats at the Small Ruminant Unit, and painted superficial muscles on horses at the equine unit.

Awards and Honors APVMA-Outstanding Undergraduate Research Scholarship of the Year ($1000) Vanessa Parslow First Animal Health Hackathon Winning Team Member Baxter Fernandez Secretary, National Executive Board of APVMA Bryson Jacobs Treasurer, National Executive Board of APVMA Kylie Brock

Mentored by chief veterinarian Dr. Sandra Strong and staff, Shelter Medicine interns learn all aspects of care for animals in a community practice. Students gain a better understanding of shelter husbandry, animal behavior in a shelter environment, and shelter veterinary medicine. The four stages—Animal Enrichment, Animal Receiving, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Assisting—were integrated into the internship so that students could compare and contrast shelter medicine with small animal general practice.

Museum Medicine Internship Working under Dr. Daniel S. Dombrowki, interns learned to care for exotic species including reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates in the Veterinary Services Unit of the Living Collections Section of the Museum of Natural Sciences. Students assisted with medical tasks and record management, animal handling, educating the public, and general housekeeping to gain a better understanding of animal husbandry and museum veterinary medicine.

Feline Health Internship The Feline Health Interns worked alongside animal health care technicians, veterinary technicians, and the foster coordinator at the Wake County Animal Center. During summer months, when kitten and cat intake escalated, interns assisted with foster kitten health checks, weighing, vaccination and communicating with foster parents about the ongoing probiotic research study. The study aims to establish a healthy, normal intestinal bacteria early on to prevent and reduce fatal gastrointestinal disease.

Students Hosted

Schools/ Career Fairs

734

Students

Through the SADAS program, students can visit the VetPAC offices to learn more about our unique peer mentoring program, advising opportunities and life as a pre-veterinary student. Students meet with the VetPAC Director, speak with current pre-vet track undergraduate students, and observe a professional development course.

High School Outreach Program In Fall 2019, VetPAC Interns and staff participated in information sessions, career and STEM fairs, outreach events, and class visits with 13 high school visits to schools across central North Carolina. Eight more events were scheduled for Spring 2020, but cancelled due to COVID-19.

Total Number of Pre-Veterinary Students in VetPAC

Multicultural Scholars Program

Canine College Internship The Canine College Internship provided enrichment and socialization for the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s stock colony of lab dogs. Interns gained an introduction to lab animal basics and canine handling experience. Utilizing positive reinforcement training, interns trained and socialized the dogs to desensitize them to future activities they’ll be engaged in during labs. The interns also received a current veterinary student mentor and opportunities to work with the staff.

Spend a Day at State (SADAS)

100%

CVM Placement

Diversity Dr. Trivedi was the recipient of a USDA-NIFA MSP grant which supported recruitment, mentoring and retention of 6 mutlicultural PreVeterinary scholars from 2012-2019. Safari Richardson, MSP Scholar and Jefferson Scholar, was admitted to the DVM Class of 2024 at CVM-NCSU in Spring 2020. MSP Scholars had a 100% success rate in gaining admissions into US and UK veterinary schools including NC State (3), Illinois (1), the Ohio State (1) and University of London (1).

Annual Conference Attendance American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association VetPAC, in conjunction with the PreVeterinary Medical Association, took 25 students to the APVMA Annual Symposium attended by 500 students in Blacksburg, VA. Two 2019-2020 VetPAC interns successfully competed for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer within the APVMA National Executive Board. A 2018-2019 VetPAC intern was awarded a national scholarship for her outstanding research.

North Carolina Veterinary Conference (NCVC) VetPAC took 14 students to NCVC at the Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina. NCVC offered those students the chance to network with veterinarians throughout the state and attend lectures on innovations and expanding research in the field. Lecture topics included pharmaceutal usage, forms of surgery across large animal species, and trauma work within emergency animal clinics. Students also had the opportunity to meet with potential VetPAC sponsors and partners at an informational booth for the VetPAC program.