Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Each summer DVM students from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph delve into practical experience at veterinary clinics across Ontario and additional locales. These Externship blog posts are an opportunity to tag along with them this summer. Here student veterinarian Sarah talks about veterinarians' varied roles.  Check out all the student blogs here.

I absolutely love talking about being a veterinary student. Each day of my veterinary externship thus far has been an exciting adventure, filled with new experiences and learning opportunities. These days it almost seems as if I am filled with more stories than I have time to tell.

When I first mention that I am a veterinary student, people are often quick to compare veterinary medicine to human medicine. This has always got me thinking, and been an interesting subject to consider. Many point out that it must be difficult to understand the anatomy, physiology and pathology of so many species. Being a doctor that treats more than one species certainly does exponentially increase the amount of knowledge that we veterinary students must grasp.

A point that I considered much less was the wide variety of roles that a veterinarian takes on. When I was a little girl, I always thought a veterinarian was simply that, a veterinarian. I would have defined a veterinarian as an individual that utilizes their medical knowledge to treat and improve the health of animals. Though this is absolutely true, while out with the large animal veterinarians at Port Perry Veterinary Services this week, I have gained a new appreciation for the diverse roles that veterinarians play.

This week I had the chance to practice my skills as an equine dentist. I visited a nearby farm to perform an oral exam on a lovely equine patient. Discovering a rotten tooth that needed to be removed, I had the opportunity to complete my very first dental extraction (as some of you may caught a glimpse of on the @ontvetcollege Instagram Page). As human patients, we would visit our dentist to have our teeth checked, but horses will have this work done by a veterinarian.

Later in the week, I visited another farm to confirm pregnancy in a horse. With the use of a portable ultrasound, I am able to visualize this mare’s reproductive tract. While in human medicine, a radiologist would generally interpret the images captured by ultrasound; this is a very common role for a large animal veterinarian. In the image below, I am just about to discover a tiny fluttering heartbeat on the screen of my ultrasound (an exceptional moment that made my week).

In mares, the vulva acts as the first barrier to ascending infections of the reproductive tract. The conformation of this mare’s vulva was allowing air to enter the vagina (also known as pneumovagina). When air can enter the vagina, dirt and bacteria can follow along with it. This can potentially lead to an infection that may cause a loss of the pregnancy. We commonly perform a surgical procedure known as a Caslick’s Vulvoplasty to alter vulvar conformation and prevent this from occurring. Using my skills as a surgeon in the making, I first numbed the vulvar tissue with local anesthetic. The edges of the tissue are trimmed along the upper two thirds of the vulva and then sutured together. Over the course of two weeks, the tissue is allowed to heal on its own and a new seal is created that will act a barrier to potential environmental contaminants.

Later over the course of the week I would watch my mentoring veterinarians act as general practitioners, pediatricians, obstetricians, nutritionists, dermatologists, parasitologists and chiropractors… I could truly go on and on describing the variety of roles they played in improving the lives of the cute four-legged patients we met. I look forward to spending the remaining six weeks improving my skills in all these areas!

Follow OVC on Twitter at @OntVetCollege

 

Views: 126

Comments are closed for this blog post

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Canadian Grain and Pork Sectors Join Others in Sound Alarm Over AAFC Research Cuts

Three major Canadian agriculture groups are calling for urgent clarity after AAFC announced staffing cuts and research facility closures.

Agriculture and Baking Groups Push Back After Florida Flags Glyphosate in Bread

In response to release of Florida glyphosate break information, national wheat, milling, and baking groups emphasized that U.S. bread remains safe and urged regulators to rely on consistent, science-based national standards rather than isolated testing.

Now Hiring: Agronomy Manager

Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) is a development board for the dynamic and growing pulse crop industry. Accountable to and funded by the over 15,000 pulse growers in the province, we provide leadership and work to create opportunities for profitable growth of the Saskatchewan pulse industry by investing in research, market development, communications, and agronomy extension. At SPG, we see diversity as an asset and strive to make our work and our organization inclusive. We are committed to ensuring equal opportunities and an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can bring their whole self to work. We are currently seeking someone to complement our existing Agronomy Manager position through providing expertise and leadership on pulse crop agronomy with specific focus on chickpeas, dry beans, and lentils and by leading the development, execution, and extension of the on-farm trial program as well as the surveillance and monitoring programs. Agronomy Manager This dynamic ful

North Shore submarine cable now in service: TELUS strengthens communications service resilience east of Baie-Comeau

TELUS today announced the successful deployment and commissioning of its nearly 125-kilometre submarine fibre optic cable connecting Sept-Îles to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. This critical infrastructure, which was deployed and buried in the seabed of the St. Lawrence River in November and December 2025, provides essential redundancy to the telecommunications network serving communities east of Baie-Comeau. This major project was made possible through a joint investment of more than $20 million from TELUS and the Government of Canada. "The completion of this state-of-the-art submarine infrastructure marks a historic moment for citizens along the North Shore – a region that has long faced connectivity challenges due to its remote location and vast, rugged landscape. Moreover, this important initiative demonstrates our TELUS team's unwavering commitment to enhancing the resilience of our digital infrastructure in communities across the country," said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO, TELUS

TELUS achieves its 100% renewable and low-emitting electricity target

TELUS Corporation is the first Canadian telecom to achieve its target of sourcing 100% of electricity for their global operations from renewable or low-emitting sources as of December 31, 2025. Building on this milestone, TELUS unveiled its new Climate Transition Framework, a comprehensive roadmap to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040 while helping to enable Canada's own transition to a low-carbon economy. "At TELUS, we believe that business success and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. Our achievement of our 2025 target to source 100% of electricity from renewable or low-emitting sources is a reflection of our team's unparalleled commitment to improving the health of the planet in combination with enabling a more robust economy," said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. "As a further demonstration of our global leadership and continued focus on creating a more sustainable world, TELUS is investing in nature-accretive solutions that support ecosys

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service