This year OVC Externship students are blogging all summer long

Hands-on opportunities are invaluable for student veterinarians. They provide students an opportunity to practice clinical skills, diagnostics and work one-on-one with clients, while refining their communication, technical and problem-solving skills.

Once again this summer DVM students from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph will be blogging and posting about their externship experiences treating cows and horses, dogs, cats and all manner of companion animals as they apply the skills they’ve studied.

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), students must complete an eight-week Externship Course between third and fourth year in a rural veterinary practice that works with food animals and/or equine, as well as companion animals.

“During their externships, students work shoulder-to-shoulder with veterinarians, learning about the breadth of life in a rural practice from client interactions to practice management to providing the best possible preventive, diagnostic and treatment solutions for both the animals and the owners,” says OVC Dean Elizabeth Stone.

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.

“We greatly appreciate the veterinary clinics that host our students during their eight-week Externship course and the time and expertise they provide in mentoring them. We know that veterinarians love to host these students because of the enthusiasm and knowledge they bring to the practice,” adds Stone.

This summer, you’ll have the opportunity to tag along with eight student veterinarian as they talk about their experiences.

The bloggers have diverse backgrounds but all share a passion for veterinary medicine, the strong animal-human bond, for animal care and welfare, for their role in public health, and the opportunity to communicate their experiences this summer.

Some are committed to food animal practice, some have particular interest in equine medicine and some plan to pursue companion animal practice.

Each will spend their summer in practices across Ontario, one in the U.S. and one in another hemisphere, in Australia.

The blogs provide an opportunity for future students, DVM students, OVC faculty, staff and alumni, government funding agencies and the community to discover what student veterinarians are learning, as well as providing an opportunity for student veterinarians to develop communication and social media skills for use in their future veterinary careers.

Meet the students on our website at The Externship Project and watch for their regular posts.

Comments are closed for this blog post

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

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

Crop Undercount Raises Questions About Reliability of U.S.D.A. Data

The Agriculture Department projected last July that farmers would harvest 86.8 million acres of corn in autumn. The projection was repeatedly revised upward until, in January, the department found 1.3 million more acres of corn — an area larger than Delaware — and concluded that the final amount harvested was 91.3 million acres. “It was a miss. No other way to call it,” said Seth Meyer, who served as the department’s chief economist until leaving in December. The 5 percent undercount may seem small, but it was the department’s worst projection in recent memory. It came as the Trump administration was cutting staff at the Agriculture Department and as President Trump’s trade war raised prices for equipment and hurt exports. Some people in agriculture have become increasingly worried about the reliability of department data. That skepticism could lead to a breakdown of the historically close relationship between the department and farmers it serves, they said. “U.S.D.A. always had a

Weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time. “April will go down as one of the wettest on record, and that moisture has helped ease drought conditions for the majority of the state,” said Secretary Naig. “Looking ahead, the forecast trends a bit cooler and drier through the first few weeks of May, which should give farmers a longer window to keep the planters running.” Crop Report There were 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 3, 2026, which is 1.0 day more than last year. Topsoil moisture condition rated 1 percent very short, 9 percent short, 81 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 2 percent very short, 13 percent short, 78 percent ade

Ten years of Canadian agricultural innovation through EMILI

This year marks the tenth anniversary of EMILI (Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative), the culmination of a group of community leaders working towards a common goal: to grow Canada’s economy, with a specific focus on advancing agtech in the Prairies. Jacqueline Keena, Managing Director, explained that EMILI “is an industry-led non-profit committed to driving agriculture innovation, partnership, and engagement. We provide innovators access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices to increase productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector.” At the heart of it all are the partnerships that EMILI cultivates between producers, industry leaders, investors and innovators. These stakeholders work together “to grow a sustainable, economically resilient digital agriculture industry.” This work is done in a number of ways. “We know that Canadian agriculture can lead the world through transformative innovati

This is Agriculture: Field Trial Modernization Scientist

As a field trial modernization scientist at Corteva Agriscience, Dr. Kevin Falk is dedicated to improving the way field scientists work. The lead on Corteva Agriscience’s spray drone trials taking place at EMILI’s Innovation Farms, Falk holds an M.Sc from the University of Manitoba, a Ph.D in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Agronomy from Iowa State University, and an Advanced RPAS Pilot Certificate from Transport Canada. Here, Falk shares his path to becoming a field scientist, the importance of relationships in building his career, and some keen observations about the digital agriculture industry. Describe your job or product in one sentence. I build digital tools and workflows that help agricultural scientists work faster, smarter, and with better data, including AI models, drone systems, and automation platforms. Where did you grow up? Was it an agriculture or urban environment? I grew up in Carman, Manitoba, a town of about 3,000 people that punches way above its weight as an agric

Grain Bin Emergencies Turn Deadly in Seconds, but Training Can Save Lives

Grain entrapment kills within seconds, but a decade-long partnership between CASA and G3 is helping farmers and first responders prevent fatal accidents.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service