On behalf of the WCABP, Dr. Ron Clarke (Clarke Communication and Consulting) regularly provides articles for the Vet Advice column in the Canadian Cattlemen magazine.Previous articles can be accessed at: http://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/category/livestock/vet-advice/
The WCABP website now includes a "Vet Student Employment" page where students can post a short paragraph about themselves with a link to their résumé. WCABP Active members are encouraged to post any student positions they have available.
If you are interested in posting either of the above, please email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) the information for uploading to the website.
Ray Butler Fund
The Ray Butler Fund allocates funds per year to support exposure to veterinary students to bovine practice.
The Ray Butler Fund has recently contributed to the following activities:
- WCVM and UCVM student conference registration fees at 2019 WCABP Conference - $1,500
- WCABP 10 & Under Conference - $3,000
- WCVM and UCVM student registrations at WCABP 2018 conference - $10,400
- UCVM Seminar Night - $245
- UCVM student travel to WCABP conference - $1,250
- WCVM and UCVM student registrations at WCABP 2017 conference - $5,733
- WCVM trip to Agribition - $1,378
- WCVM PAC trip to Alberta - $1,000
- UCVM Field trip - $1,250
- WCVM Alberta trip - $1,500
- WCM and UCVM student conference registration fees at 2016 WCABP conference - $7,478
- WCVM student travel to WCABP Conference in Calgary - $740
- WCVM Alberta Production Systems Tour - 15 students - $1,500
- UCVM Presentations - Temple Grandin, Embryo Transfer, Bovine Rounds, Industry Talks - $437
- WCVM AI Course - $800
- UCVM Pizza Lunch with Dr. Eric Behlke
- WCVM Alberta Bovine Trip - $1,500
- UCVM Beef Day - $900
- UCVM Advancements of Genetics in PAH Education Day - $375
- $670 to support 18 students attending Dairy Day Field Trip
- $1,500 to support 11 students Alberta Feedlot Field Trip
- $1,500 to support 14 students attending an AI clinic in the Saskatoon area
- $800 to provide pizza lunch for 150 students while hearing the presentation by Dr. Cec Rushkowski
- $1,000 to support 14 students travelling to Lakeland College to participate in an AI clinic
- $2,000 to support 12 students travelling to Lakeland College to participate in an AI clinic.
- $1,000 to assist Dylan Biggs presenting a 'Cattle Handling Clinic' - 26 WCVM students attended.
- $1,000 to assist Dr. Steve Hendrick in taking 25 members of the WCVM Bovine Club on a tour of Alberta Feedlots, the UCVM, and to meet with private practitioners.
WCABP welcomes your financial support to enable this initiative.
WCVM Production Animal Health Club
Winter has sprung up on us again and there is no avoiding it with the snowfall and winter temperatures seen across the prairies!
The fall semester has definitely been one we are still adapting to as the threat of COVID-19 is very prevalent in our daily lives. All lectures as well as some labs have been proceeding in an online format. As students we are very thankful that we are still able to be on campus for anatomy, animal handling skills, 3rd year surgery labs, as well as several other technical skills labs where watching a video on the skill does not allow us to build our skill set. Our administration, professors, and support staff has been working very hard to keep our labs and lectures proceeding as the cases and guidelines are changing on a daily basis.
The Production Animal Club has had a slower start to the year compared to most years. Due to the inability to go ahead with any of our hands-on labs, we have been making an effort to bring a broader scope of veterinary medicine to PAC members.
We crossed hemispheres in October to have Dr. Kannan and Richard Bartley from Veterinary Enterprises in New Zealand collaborate with the PAC and WCVM Business Club. We discussed veterinary business models and how to strategize your business’s resources based on company goals. It was a fun evening and an interesting insight to dairy and beef practice in another country.
The complete lifestyle changes that students are undertaking during COVID has without a doubt affected everyone’s mental wellbeing. Adjusting to a new classroom which used to be your home is what many Canadians have been faced with amidst this global pandemic. On November 19, Dr. Cody Creelman will be hosting a student talk targeted at changes in veterinary medicine after 2020 and what strategies can we use to stay positive amongst so much uncertainty. We are eager to hear him speak!
An online presence is an essential part to keeping PAC members informed on changes in the club and in the production animal industries. To meet this need we have revamped our social media accounts to help keep everyone up to date on industry relevant topics! We have weekly updates from our beef, dairy, aquatics, poultry, swine, theriogenology, and small ruminant reps published to our Facebook and Instagram accounts (WCVM Production Animal Club).
The PAC has had a busy fall and we hope the remainder of 2020 and the new year will be filled with just as much enthusiasm for production animal industries and veterinary medicine as ever.
Keep warm and safe in the midst of preg-checking season!
Marianne Sytnyk
WCVM, Class of 2022
PAC President
UCVM Production Animal Health Club
Hello again!
It’s hard to believe that the fall semester is wrapping up already! We’ve adjusted to taking most of our classes online over Zoom, with each class going in once a week for clinical skills and the first years going in an additional two times per week for anatomy. It has been a big adjustment for the faculty to figure out how to deliver classes online, but they’ve done a really good job at keeping our classes interactive and our lab time very efficient. Although we miss seeing each other in person regularly, we are thankful that we get to stay on track with our studies and that we see some of our classmates at least one day a week. The 4th years are still undergoing their rotations and most will be writing their NAVLEs between the end of November and early December.
The clubs on campus have been fairly quiet this semester as I’m sure you can imagine. We are quite limited in what we are able to do and have been trying to find creative ways to keep students engaged with the PAH club. So far we have hosted a virtual talk on “Branding a Veterinary Practice” with Dr. Craig Dorin from Vet Agri-Health, where Dr. Dorin walked us through some useful advice on how to market and advertise a clinic as an owner. The talk was well received, and the students were very engaged in discussion afterwards.
We also had a virtual career fair on October 28, with 14 different large animal or rural mixed practices presenting their clinics. Students of all years had a chance to talk with them about what their practices were about and potentially line up future job or rotation opportunities.
Coming up we have Dr. Roy Lewis giving us a talk on what life as a large animal practitioner looks like and important advice for us when we graduate. In January we are planning to have Dr. Jessica Law of Prairie Swine Services give us a talk about swine practice. In addition, we are looking at the possibility of setting up some ride-alongs with bovine vets as well as having students participate in some calving and lambing shifts with some nearby farms. However, everything is dependent on how the Covid situation progresses as we want to be respectful of the guidelines that have been put in place.
As always, feel free to contact me if you would like to get involved or learn more about the club and what we are up to!
Celine Newton (DeWit)
UCVM, Class of 2022
Production Animal Health Club, President
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you would like to place THINK LARGE pamphlets on display at your clinic, please call or email the WCABP office to obtain copies free-of-charge. The video presentation is available to borrow if you are providing a presentation to perspective veterinary students.
The opportunity: A productive, rewarding, enjoyable career
Work directly with animals
Veterinarians have the personal fulfillment of animal care.
Design innovative herd health plans
Today 's veterinarians work directly with livestock producers to prevent disease and improve productivity.
The Ray Butler Fund allocates funds per year to support exposure to veterinary students to bovine practice.
The Ray Butler Fund has recently contributed to the following activities:
- WCVM and UCVM student conference registration fees at 2019 WCABP Conference - $1,500
- WCABP 10 & Under Conference - $3,000
- WCVM and UCVM student registrations at WCABP 2018 conference - $10,400
- UCVM Seminar Night - $245
- UCVM student travel to WCABP conference - $1,250
- WCVM and UCVM student registrations at WCABP 2017 conference - $5,733
- WCVM trip to Agribition - $1,378
- WCVM PAC trip to Alberta - $1,000
- UCVM Field trip - $1,250
- WCVM Alberta trip - $1,500
- WCM and UCVM student conference registration fees at 2016 WCABP conference - $7,478
- WCVM student travel to WCABP Conference in Calgary - 740
- WCVM Alberta Production Systems Tour - 15 students - $1,500
- UCVM Presentations - Temple Grandin, Embryo Transfer, Bovine Rounds, Industry Talks - $437
- WCVM AI Course - $800
- UCVM Pizza Lunch with Dr. Eric Behlke
- WCVM Alberta Bovine Trip - $1,500
- UCVM Beef Day - $900
- UCVM Advancements of Genetics in PAH Education Day - $375
- $670 to support 18 students attending Dairy Day Field Trip
- $1,500 to support 11 students Alberta Feedlot Field Trip
- $1,500 to support 14 WCVM students attending an AI clinic in the Saskatoon area
- $800 to provide pizza lunch for 150 students while hearing the presentation by Dr. Cec Ruschkowski
- $1,000 to support 14 students travelling to Lakeland College to participate in an AI clinic
- $2,000 to support 12 students travelling to Lakeland College to participate in an AI clinic.
- $1,000 to assist Dylan Biggs presenting a 'Cattle Handling Clinic' - 26 WCVM students attended.
- $1,000 to assist Dr. Steve Hendrick in taking 25 members of the WCVM Bovine Club on a tour of Alberta Feedlots, the UCVM, and to meet with private practitioners.
WCABP welcomes your financial support to enable this initiative.