Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

New Blog: U of Guelph OVC Vet Students Share Experiences Working With Animals In Local Clinics - Externships.

 

 

Join our DVM students as they blog all Externship long.

University of Guelph News

 

Diagnostics, clinical skills, problem solving, and working with clients are all critical pieces in a student veterinarian’s education. Hands-on opportunities are invaluable.

Each summer DVM students from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) delve into that practical experience at veterinary clinics across Ontario and additional locales. They visit farms to treat cows and horses, work with dogs, cats and all manner of companion animals while applying the skills they’ve studied.

 

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs (OMAF and MRA), students must complete an eight-week Externship Course between third and fourth year in a mixed (companion and food animal or companion and equine) practice.

Ask any of the veterinarians involved in the DVM Externship and you’ll hear similar comments –they love hosting the DVM students, their enthusiasm and their knowledge of new research and techniques. They also remember being students themselves and how important this hands-on training was to their careers.

 

For the students, it offers a multitude of benefits – experience in client relations, practice management, applying clinical skills and the opportunity to work with both companion and food animals.

This summer, you’ll have the opportunity to tag along with five of them as they blog about their experiences.

The bloggers have diverse backgrounds: some plan to pursue companion animal medicine, some food animal practice — but all share a passion for veterinary medicine, for animal care and welfare, for their role in public health, and the opportunity to communicate their experiences this summer.

Chelsea Allan and Lindsay Oxby are both committed to food animal practice; Jodi Boyd and Michael Brown plan to pursue companion animal practice, and Jeremy Shaba has a particular interest in equine medicine.  Each will spend their summer in practices across the province and, in one case, across the Atlantic in Northern Ireland.

“The Externship Course is a critical part of the student veterinarian’s training,” says Dr. Elizabeth Stone, OVC dean. “OMAF and MRA recognize  that this hands-on training with both food animals and companion animals is vital to DVM students. Not only do they have an opportunity to apply the skills they’ve learned, they’ll do so both in a clinical setting and on farms, allowing them to practice their diagnostic and problem-solving abilities in a real-world setting.”

The Externship Course started in the mid-1980s to provide practical experience to DVM students entering their final year. More than 40 of the practices that host these students have been involved for more than 20 years – their support is critical. Not only do practitioners provide their expertise, they evaluate the students’ clinical, diagnostic and communication skills covering a set list of criteria.

“The Externship Course not only helps students transition from the academic environment to the hands-on world of veterinary medicine,” says Dr. John Tait, who co-ordinates the DVM Externship Course, “it gives them an opportunity to be part of a team providing animal care to the public, to apply the skills they’ve learned, refine their communication, technical and problem-solving skills and experience an extended realistic job preview.”

Here’s your opportunity to join these students as they put their skills to work.  Hear what they have to say about the Externship and their blogs.

 

Meet the students on our website at www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/externship

 

Views: 248

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

An exciting week for hog prices

Hog prices were volatile this week. The high national average carcass price on the morning report was $96.60/cwt on Wednesday. The low price was a day later at $92.45/cwt. The average liveweight price for 51-52% lean hogs during April was $62.94/cwt. This was $1.60 lower than the month before and $1.90 lower than a year earlier. During the first quarter of 2025 prices were up $7.60/cwt year-over-year.

SCAP Programs Help Farmers Add Value

SCAP opens new grants for Alberta producers, offering funding for on-farm and value-added initiatives. Capital and non-capital costs are supported until funds are exhausted.

Tariff fears hit stocks while grains recover slightly

Markets reacted to trade tensions the week of May 20–24 with grain prices rising, stocks falling, and commodity strategists Moe Agostino and Abhinesh Gopal explaining the key shifts.

FMD and ASF Present Increasing Global Threat

In the face of new incursions of foot-and-mouth disease and African Swine Fever, the Swine Health Information Center is advising North American pork producers to strengthen biosecurity measures to address both endemic disease and foreign animal disease.

Rainfall Slows Spring Planting but Replenishes Moisture Reserves

Manitoba Agriculture reports rain over the past eight days has replenished soil moisture reserves but slowed spring seeding.Manitoba Agriculture released its weekly crop report Tuesday.Sonia Wilson, an oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says despite the rain planting remains ahead of normal.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service