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

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

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

Soybean Fungicide Decisions

As soybean crops move into flowering, questions are sure to be raised about whether fungicide applications are needed. In anticipation, let’s take a closer look at the potential disease threats and what Manitoba On-Farm Network research has told us. What Should We Be Concerned About? Foliar diseases infecting soybeans in Manitoba typically occur at low severity levels and are not expected to impact yield most years. These usually include bacterial blight, downy mildew and Septoria brown spot. Stem diseases generally have a greater impact on yield. White mould: infections begin at nodes along the main stem. Wilted plants may be spotted from afar, within a humid canopy may find white mycelial growth and black sclerotia bodies later in the season. This disease is the main target of fungicide applications. Cool, wet conditions throughout July and August favour white mould. For every 10% increase in the percent of plants infected with white mould, 2-5 bu/ac of yield are lost in soybeans.

Fungicide Decision Tool for Managing Mycosphaerella Blight in Field Peas

When your peas have reached V10 (10th node stage), it is an ideal time to start scouting each field to evaluate if a fungicide application to manage Mycosphaerella blight is warranted. Continue scouting for symptoms from V10 (10th true node) to R2 (beginning bloom), during mid-June to late July. Mycosphaerella (Ascochyta) blight is the most widespread and economically damaging foliar disease of Manitoba field peas. Peas are the single host crop of Mycosphaerella but it can be managed by foliar fungicide. This pathogen can be stubble-, air-, soil- and seed-borne. Spores can travel long distances by air, meaning there is a disease risk even in fields where peas have not been grown previously. The impact of disease severity on yield will depend on how early the disease sets in and how quickly it progresses into the upper crop canopy. Early infections during the bloom to early/mid-pod stages cause the most damage if left untreated. Use this fungicide decision worksheet when scouting to

Manitoba pork, canola producers hold steady amid heavy tariffs

A slab of back bacon from Natural Raised Pork comes with a waitlist. Ian Smith points to tariffs. Since the United States placed levies on imports from Canada, Manitobans have increasingly been calling Smith about his farm near Argyle, some 40 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. “There’s more people wanting to support local and I’m one of few people that do what I’m doing,” said Smith, 62. He estimates 90 per cent of his pork products are bought by Manitoba households; the latter goes to a packing plant. Last year, it was a 50-50 split. Smith works alone, hustling to meet the four-to-six week waitlist that’s accumulated. He keeps hundreds of feeder pigs and a couple dozen sows; it’s a relatively small operation, he noted. “If there’s any mistakes to be made, there’s only one person to blame and that’s me,” he said with a laugh. Smith doesn’t export to China — so he’s shielded from that nation’s levies still hanging over the Canadian industry.

KAP Welcomes Appointment of New U.S. Trade Representative

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) welcomes the appointment of Richard Madan as Manitoba’s new trade representative to the United States. “We commend Premier Kinew and Minister Moses for making Manitoba’s voice a priority in Washington, D.C.,” said KAP President Jill Verwey. “We look forward to working with Mr. Madan to advance the interests of Manitoba farmers and the agricultural industry, ensuring these interests are at the forefront of his work as he forges stronger relationships with American policymakers and trade officials.” Agriculture is an important part of Manitoba’s economy, with $4.29 billion in agri-food exports to the U.S. alone in 2024, and KAP sees the new presence in Washington as instrumental in fostering strategic relationships with key states that are important to our trade interests. “The U.S. is Manitoba’s largest agri-food export destination and is one of Manitoba’s key trading partners on the international stage,” added KAP General Manager Colin Hornby. “

2025 Annual General Meeting

On Wednesday, June 18th, the Ontario Farmland Trust hosted its Annual General Meeting. The meeting was held hybrid again this year, with members and friends joining both virtually and in person.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service