Farm & Ranch
There is a Future in Equine and Large Animal Vet Medicine.
By Ddee Haynes
In the world there are two kinds of people.
Those who see a need and simply talk about it, and those who see a need and take action.
Since around 2003, there has been a shortage of Veterinarians, particularly large-animal Veterinarians in rural areas. A combination of lower wages, longer and irregular hours, (as compared to a companion pet Veterinarian) and not wanting to live outside of a major city are just a few of the reasons for the shortage. Without large animal vets, the lively hoods of farmers and ranchers is affected, and most importantly the nation’s food supply are more vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
In 2017, Butch Wise, manager of the Lazy E Ranch, Guthrie, OK, was having a hard time finding qualified equine veterinarians. Butch was not alone in the quest to find qualified equine vets. In 2017, a group of local veterinarians and industry representatives held a meeting to discuss the problem as well as possible solutions. The meeting of the five individuals produced an idea that would soon become a reality. In 2018, the non-profit organization V.E.T., Veterinarians Encouraging and Teaching became a reality.
V.E.T is a non-profit organization focused on enhancing relationships between veterinary students, private practice, and academia through social events, clinical skills labs, and mentorship avenues. The board of directors includes, Dr. Sam Crosby, Crosby Equine Services, Arcadia, OK, Dr. Trent Stiles, McKey Equine Hospital, Sallisaw, OK, Laurel Klotz, a Registered Vet Technician, as well as a Territory Manager for Midwest Veterinary Supply, Oklahoma City, OK, Dr. Brian Carroll and Dr. Amanda Wilson of Oklahoma City Equine Clinic, Oklahoma City, OK, Dr. Carly Turner-Garcia, the head veterinarian a the Lazy E Ranch, Guthrie, OK and Amber Pierce, Territory Manager for Merck Animal Health, Purcell, OK. Dr. Crosby, Dr. Stiles and Laurel are three of the original founding board members.
The goals of V.E.T. is to provide students with hands on skills, networking opportunities with local and out-of-state veterinarians for externship and internship opportunities for future employment. Symposiums which focus on the business side of veterinarian medicine and wetlabs (actual hands-on experience) have shown to be a successful way to reach those goals.
V.E.T. also partners with other like-minded non-profit organizations such as TEVA, (Texas Equine Veterinarian Association) and AAEP, (American Association of Equine Practitioners) to provide assistance with student programs, clinical skills labs and networking. This year V.E.T. will host the student clinical skills lab at the TEVA summer symposium.
V.E.T. and it’s industry partners, hold one symposium per year and at least one-two hands-on-skill training (wetlabs) per month. Both of which are open to all vet students, regardless of their year in vet college. To attend, the students only need to apply and both the symposiums and wetlabs are completely free. Depending on the subject and space, wetlabs are usually limited to 25-40 students.
The symposiums generally have two keynote speakers in the morning, followed by lunch and the trade show. The trade show provides students the opportunity to visit with animal health companies and other vet related clubs and organizations.
Last year’s symposiums featured two well-known and respected industry Veterinarians. Dr. Ben Buchanan who spoke on Equine Veterinary Medicine – How to take ownership of your future, and Dr. Meredyth Jones whose topic was Building legitimacy in large animal practices.
In order to have the wetlabs, the board must find locations that are suitable, they work with the animal health companies for the supplies needed, find animal owners willing to donate their animals for procedures, and donations to provide lunch for students and staff.
Currently, the majority of the wetlabs have been in Oklahoma and Texas. However, the goal is to expand into Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Louisiana.
Veterinarians are essential. A Veterinarian is the only doctor educated to protect the health of both animals and people. Veterinarians also play critical roles in environmental protection, research, food safety, and public health. V.E.T. recognizes the worth of our current and future vets, but they also realize there are obstacles that must be overcome.
In addition to pay and working conditions, another obstacle is generational differences. Each generation communicates differently which can cause conflict. All of these obstacles can be overcome with work, education, and guidance of leaders such as the board of V.E.T. which in turn will prove “There is a future in Equine and large animal Vet medicine!”
For more information on V.E.T check out the websites.
or e-mail vets4studentsnetwork@gmail.com