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ISVMA and College Forge New Connections
ISVMA and College Forge New ConnectionThe College of Veterinary Medicine and the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association work together year-round to promote the veterinary profession in Illinois. In addition to the many public exhibits the groups co-sponsor and the excellent involvement of ISVMA members with veterinary students through admissions interviews and mentoring, here are two new initiatives that will strengthen ties between the organizations.
On October 13, the ISVMA sponsored a luncheon and workshop for veterinary students enrolled in the Foundations of Business elective. The workshop, which focused on human resource issues in veterinary practice, was conducted by ISVMA members Drs. Greg Ekdale, Sandra Faeh, Ronald Gill, Rosemary LoGiudice, and Ed McGinniss and by Drs. Steve Fisher and Steve Hadley from VCA. Students discussed communication skills, participated in group-related role playing, and learned about their state veterinary medical organization.
"Hopefully, we can build on this experience and offer an even better workshop next year," says Dr. LoGiudice, ISVMA president-elect. On another front the ISVMA membership committee recently proposed new membership rates for DVM and non-DVM faculty and graduate students affiliated with the College. The proposal will be voted on at the ISVMA annual meeting in February. If approved, the College will cover the annual membership dues of interested parties.
These activities recognize the important role of organized veterinary medicine in the teaching and service components of the College.
Wildlife Medicine Clinic Strengthens Team, Wins Kudos
Rain didn't dampen the enthusiasm of 40 student volunteers of the Wildlife Medical Clinic who turned out for a daylong team-building and educational retreat one Saturday last fall.
The students, most in their first year of the veterinary program, spent the morning in a four-hour outdoor exercise designed by ELS, Unlimited, an outdoor adventure company. This activity challenged the volunteers to increase their productive work skills and behaviors.
The Illinois Raptor Center, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Decatur, Illinois, provided lunch and an afternoon of natural history education. A falconry demonstration was included to illustrate what behaviors and physical capabilities are needed for raptors' survival in the wild.
"Our goal in doing this joint venture with IRC was to create a sense of team work among our volunteers and to provide them with a better understanding of birds of prey and the role of the wildlife rehabilitator. I would say we accomplished those goals and a whole lot more--even if we did get soaked!" reports Beth Ellen McNamara, a second-year veterinary student and WMC manager.
In November the WMC received the 2000 "Outstanding Youth Volunteer/Organization Award" from the local chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. This annual award recognizes an individual youth or organization that has shown exemplary leadership in contributing time and talent to nonprofit organizations.
The nomination for WMC noted: "In 1999, the WMC gave 95 public relations talks at schools, fairs, club meetings, and other events. During these talks, the volunteers reached hundreds of people with a message of conservation of local wildlife and their habitats, as well as respect."
Exhibit Illustrates the Science in Veterinary Medicine
On October 7 and 8, an interactive display developed through the Office of Academic and Student Affairs debuted at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences.
"Science Is All Around Us!" was the theme for the weekend of events that brought professors and students from several colleges at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to the museum, located just north of Lincoln Park. The heartworm display from the College of Veterinary Medicine took its place among displays on physics facts, soybeans, and soil conservation. In addition, students from our Wildlife Medical Clinic gave four talks about the lives and habitats of its resident birds of prey.
The heartworm display detailing the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of heartworm disease was developed for the October event as a means to interest students in a veterinary career. It is now available for exhibit at appropriate venues throughout Illinois for those who wish to borrow it. For size specifications, please call Beth Erwin at 217/333-2762.
2001 Application Cycle Switches OnJust under 800 applications for admission to the 2001 entering class, a decrease of 13 percent from 2000 applications, were submitted by the October 1 deadline. Of these, about 230 are from Illinois residents--a total comparable to that of the past few years. Eighty-five slots in the entering class of 105 are designated for Illinois residents.
"An informal poll of other veterinary schools that use the on-line Veterinary Medical College Application Service showed they all were experiencing declines in applications from non-residents," notes Dr. Gerald Pijanowski, associate dean for Academic and Student Affairs.
Members of the Admissions Advisory Committee have begun evaluating the applications. About 200 applicants and their families will be invited to attend the Applicant Recruitment Program, slated for March 19 and 20, 2001, when interviews will be conducted.
"Please start doing your little electrical dance to ensure we have electricity this year!" says Dr. Pijanowski. During the 2000 recruitment program a power outage at the College short-circuited the agenda.
Nine Days to Better Fiscal HealthTo meet the demand for veterinary continuing education focused on financial management skills, the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine is packaging three modules of its Executive Veterinary Program (EVP).
Practitioners and practice managers can earn 63 continuing education credit hours in three comprehensive modules that will cover the economics of veterinary practice, financial statement analysis, inventory control, investment strategies, and valuation methods. Speakers will include Roger Cummings of Brakke Consulting, Inc., Dr. Karen Felsted of Owen E. McCafferty, CPA, Inc., and Fritz Wood of Taylor & Wood, LLC.
The dates of the modules, which are sponsored in part by Bayer Animal Health and Hill's Pet Nutrition, are May 16-18, July 25-27, and September 19-21, 2001.
For more information, visit www.EVPillinois.org.
Leader in Veterinary Nutrition RetiresDr. John L. (Jack) Mara, a leading advocate of clinical nutrition in veterinary education and practice, retired in November after 21 years with Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Dr. Mara, who served as Hill's director of Veterinary Affairs, campaigned to bring nutrition into the curriculum at North American veterinary colleges.
"Dr. Mara was not only the counselor but the friend of literally thousands of members of our profession," says Dean Ted Valli. "On behalf of the students and alumni of Illinois, I thank him for the assistance we have received from Hill's Pet Nutrition. Thanks to Dr. Mara's efforts, Hill's helped us establish our first ceiling-mounted video projectors in our classrooms as well as funded residencies and many other programs."
Diagnostic Lab Adds Molecular Diagnostic Tests and Web AccessT he Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) recently announced the availability of new diagnostic tests using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Referring clinicians can now also access their own clinic's VDL laboratory results via a secure Web server.
"We are continually expanding to meet the needs of Illinois veterinarians and the public," notes VDL director Dr. John J. Andrews.
Dr. Carol Maddox, who joined the VDL last year, has been instrumental in expanding its molecular diagnostic capabilities. The new PCR tests will identify with greater specificity infections with the bacterium Clostridium perfringens, E. coli, Mycoplasma, and Salmonella. With the addition in January of a riboprinter--the only one in a veterinary laboratory in Illinois--the VDL and the University of Illinois gain a powerful tool for analyzing the genetic code of bacteria and tracing the source of a pathogen from multiple sources.
Thanks to the diligence of Dr. E.J. Ehrhart, Jane Chladny, and others, the VDL has also developed one of the most extensive menus of IHC tests in the country. This tool, used on formalin-fixed tissue, relies on antibodies to identify the presence of pathogens or cell markers. It can be used, for example, on tissue samples from an ear biopsy in cattle to identify animals persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus. It is also useful in testing for an underlying infection that was not initially suspected and for aiding in the identification of the type of cancer.
The new tests will help veterinarians improve animal health, food safety, and ultimately human health in Illinois.
And to make their lives easier, clinicians can now access their own clinic's case information 24 hours a day via the Internet at www-s.cvm.uiuc.edu/webvad/. Results are posted for the previous 30 days and updated several times each day. The cases are searchable by the owner, animal ID, clinician name, VDL case number, or species. Results can be printed to a local printer.
"This will allow access to lab results from anywhere--office, home, on the road--with a Web browser," says Dr. Andrews. "But we will continue to e-mail telephone results and mail or fax printed reports."
The interface is easy to use and has been well received by clinicians in the College's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The College computer staff developed the site in cooperation with proprietary software developers.
Humane Society Aids Clinic RenovationOver the summer four examination rooms in the Small Animal Clinic got a makeover, thanks to a gift from the Cincinnati Humane Society. Included are rooms designated for the dermatology and community practice services. Pet owners and pets are sure to appreciate the more comfortable and convenient surroundings, efficient arrangement of supplies and equipment, and easy-access educational literature.
![[Small Animal Clinic examination room after makeover]](images/after.jpg)