UC Davis Vet School Ranked No. 1March 10, 2015Defending No. 26 Dr. Susan Tornquist, dean of the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, released this statement after U.S. News and World Report ranked the college last among 26 schools: “As the U.S. veterinary school with the smallest class size and a relatively new small animal hospital—opened in 2005—it is difficult for some to appreciate the areas of excellence that Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine possess. “Our students receive excellent hands-on training and personal attention from faculty that result in excellent medical and surgical skills when they graduate. This is enhanced by the large numbers of surgeries each student performs during their three-week required rotation at the Animal Medical Learning Center at the Oregon Humane Society. “Our seniors have always scored significantly higher than the national average on the national veterinary board exam (NAVLE) and many years have an ultimate 100 percent pass rate. They are very competitive in obtaining internships and residencies with often a third of the graduating class entering advanced training. “Our research program is rapidly growing and very successful with receiving funding and national attention with publications in top journals. Our clinical programs are also growing rapidly with signature programs in cardiology, oncology …
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St. George’s University Forms Articulation Agreement with Pennsylvania CollegeMarch 10, 2015St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies, has formed an articulation agreement with King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in an effort to provide international options to students interested in veterinary careers. Qualified King’s students may begin their program at St. George’s University after completing three years in the undergraduate college and after meeting all admission requirements to St. George’s. “We are proud to welcome King’s College students to our university community,” said Charles R. Modica, chancellor at St. George’s University. “We look forward to a long relationship with a school with such proud academic and ethical traditions.”
Penn Vet’s March Madness Enters 26th YearMarch 5, 2015 (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Post by Penn Vet New Bolton Center. Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center is celebrating 26 years of March Madness, a program designed to give fourth-year students intensive experience in medical and surgical care of farm animals, including cows, sheep, goats, pigs and alpacas. This year, March Madness runs March 2-27. “This is the capstone of the senior year for our students who are interested in veterinary practice for food animals once they graduate,” said Ray Sweeney, VMD, chief of large animal internal medicine and ophthalmology. Owners who participate in the program receive service discounts. “To encourage owners to send these cases to New Bolton Center for this rotation, the school underwrites some of the hospitalization charges so the seniors have a concentrated number of food-animal cases to work on,” Dr. Sweeney said. “Under supervision, they get to take more responsibility and do more of the hands-on work with these animals than they normally would up to this point in their veterinary training.” More than 100 animals participate …
Petcha.com Partners with Trupanion to Help Pets Find Forever HomesMarch 5, 2015Lumina Media and Trupanion today announced a new alliance that brings together animal rescues, shelters, and breeders to provide medical insurance to pets available for adoption on Lumina Media’s new pet finding website, Petcha.com. The collaboration will focus on three key areas: Integration of Trupanion data with Petcha Shelters, Rescues and Breeders: Petcha.com will offer Trupanion’s medical coverage plan to any consumer that acquires a dog or cat from any shelter, rescue or breeder that participates in Trupanion’s Shelter Support Program. This provides the new pet owner with medical coverage from Trupanion available at any veterinary hospital, emergency care center, or specialty hospital in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Pets that qualify for this program will be tagged with Trupanion’s logo on Petcha.com. Pet Registration: Consumers that register their pets on Petcha.com will not only receive coupons, discounts and valuable content on care for their specific pet’s life stage and type, they will also receive a certificate for Trupanion’s medical coverage. Content and Education: As medical insurance for cats and dogs is fairly new to the U.S. marketplace, Petcha.com and Trupanion will work together to help educate pet owners, veterinarians, …
St. George’s University Forms Partnership with Canadian CollegeMarch 3, 2015St. George’s University (SGU) School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, has established a combined degree program with St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario. Through the partnership, students at St. Lawrence can complete the Ontario College Advanced Diploma Veterinary Technology Program and gain admittance to SGU’s veterinary medical program. The program at SGU is four years, the last of which will be spent at one of 29 clinical programs across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with St. Lawrence College, which opens a pathway for prospective veterinarians to join us here in Grenada,” said Charles R. Modica, Chancellor at St. George’s University. “We are confident that these students will excel in their studies and in their careers, and will be more than prepared to effectively treat their patients, both big and small.” To qualify, St. Lawrence students must express interest in the joint degree program upon gaining entry. They must also register a competitive GPA and competitive score on their Graduate Record Examination in addition to meeting the School of Veterinary Medicine’s admission criteria. “We are really excited with this opportunity for our students who are exceptional veterinary …
Open Letter to AVMA Board Chairman Chip Price and Responses, March 2015 LettersMarch 2, 2015Should the Council on Education remain the accrediting body for U.S. veterinary colleges? Should the council still accredit foreign schools? What role should the American Veterinary Medical Association continue to play in the council’s work? Do conflicts of interest exist? These are some of the questions at the root of a raging debate in the veterinary community. Veterinary Practice News presents an open letter from four noted veterinary professionals to AVMA board of directors chairman Chip Price along with responses from Dr. Price and from Western and Lincoln Memorial universities, which the open letter references. Open letter to AVMA board chairman Chip Price Dear Dr. Price, Our profession, concerned about the proliferation and accreditation of veterinary schools that fail to meet Council on Education (COE) standards, has turned a critical eye on the AVMA’s leadership, its culture, judgment, vision for the future and capacity to lead. Membership approval of AVMA policies, procedures, decisions and philosophy can no longer be taken for granted. We hope, therefore, that you will consider using the precious commodity of time left in your tenure as AVMA board chairman to begin a process that will result in a more transparent, responsive, inclusive and accountable …
WVC Hits Road Again for Vet EducationFebruary 27, 2015Western Veterinary Conference will continue its eastward trek in 2015 with continuing education classes moving into Salt Lake City and Memphis, Tenn. The On the Road series kicked off in 2014 with stops in Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. Both cities will get return engagements this year. “As WVC continues to expand its year-round programming, we’ve identified key markets to bring quality veterinary continuing education programs closer to home,” said David Little, CEO of WVC. Altogether, the first two classes attracted more than 100 veterinarians, who earned six CE credits each during one-day classes on either small animal dermatology or small animal gastroenterology. The 2015 schedule, topics and presenters are: April 25: Oklahoma City, “Practical Surgery Tips,” Daniel Smeak, DVM, Dipl. ACVS. May 2: Memphis, “Small Animal Gastroenterology,” Michael S. Leib, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM. Aug. 22: Salt Lake City, “Updates in Canine and Feline Gastroenterology,” Todd Tams, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM. Oct. 24: Indianapolis, “Small Animal Dermatology,” James Noxon, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM. Advance registration costs $90 and is available at www.wvc.org/ontheroad. WVC’s biggest get-together is its annual conference in Las Vegas. The 87th meeting drew an estimated 14,000 attendees to Mandalay Bay Convention Center in mid-February. …
Wound Care Company Oculus Launches Animal UnitFebruary 27, 2015Oculus Innovative Sciences Inc., a Petaluma, Calif., manufacturer of wound and skin care products for people, has moved into the veterinary channel by establishing an animal health division. The company in February released three over-the-counter medications for animals: MicrocynAH Wound & Skin Care liquid, MicrocynAH Wound & Skin Care Hydrogel and MicrocynAH Ophthalmic Gel. The products are available in the United States and Canada, and their European debut is planned for this summer. A veterinary-exclusive formulation may be launched by summer time, said Dan McFadden, Oculus’ vice president of animal health care. In addition, two MicrocynAH Farm and Ranch products for larger animals are expected to be introduced in March. MicrocynAH products contain a pH-neutral solution of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite. “With over 45 patents, 10 FDA clearances and 10 CE marks, [the technology] has proven itself successful in over 30 human and animal clinical studies from around the globe,” McFadden said. “At the same time, our R&D team is … pioneering major advances in the key hypochlorous acid ingredient. … This includes significant improvements in product stability as well as in the actual chemistry, including the removal of bleach from the original liquid formulations.” SLA Brands, …
Tuskegee Joins VMCAS ClearinghouseFebruary 27, 2015Tuskegee University will use the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) starting this year, leaving Texas A&M University as the only U.S. institution not participating in the nationwide system. Tuskegee’s decision came two months after Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine switched to VMCAS. Student applications for enrollment in the fall of 2016 will be accepted through the VMCAS website beginning May 13. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences employs the in-state Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service and has no plans to stop. Tufts and Tuskegee have been processing in-house applications instead of using VMCAS forms. Under VMCAS, which is managed by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, prospective DVM students can apply to any of the 29 participating schools. Ruby Perry, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVR, the interim dean of Tuskegee’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, pushed for the change. “The scope of VMCAS, combined with its ability to integrate information and the continual addition of technological enhancements, makes it simply the best option for us at this time,” Dr. Perry said. “Joining VMCAS gives us exposure to an expanded applicant base and access to a greater suite …
More Pot for Pet Owners Means Pets Get Access TooFebruary 27, 2015As many states move to legalize or decriminalize medical and recreational marijuana use, more pets may be exposed to marijuana smoke and edible products as their human owners increasingly gain legal access. According to the public information non-profit ProCon.org, which has created a chart of medical marijuana laws state-by-state, medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states and Washington, D.C. This November, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. joined Colorado and Washington State when ballot measures passed to allow the sale and use of recreational marijuana. Veterinarians in these states which have recently voted to legalize are looking to the examples of Washington and Colorado for what to expect. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical care looked at the increase in reports of marijuana toxicity in dogs at two Colorado hospitals in five years following the legalization of medical marijuana in that state. The study found the number of marijuana poisoning cases in dogs at two Colorado veterinary hospitals quadrupled during the 5-year period. This correlated with a 146-fold increase in the registration of people with medical marijuana cards. Two of the dogs, which had ingested baked products made …
