AVC c/o 2017!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Escalla
  • Start date Start date
Veterinary School Application Advising Ad
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members do not see this ad.
TR and Ky, would you mind PMing me the names of the local clinics you use? My kid is due for some vaccines, and I might as well establish myself with a clinic before the vet student curse sets in. 😉
 
Good luck on your midterm tomorrow 2017ers! :luck:
 
I must say I'm a tad disappointed that there's no c/o 2018 thread for AVC :/
 
TooLove said:
I must say I'm a tad disappointed that there's no c/o 2018 thread for AVC :/
Click to expand...

Make one! There's no rule that you have to be applying for the c/o 2018 (or AVC even...hehe) in order to start the thread....😉

Which is why I created this one. 👍



Edit: In fact, newer members are usually more hesitant, so having the thread up and going is probably quite helpful. 🙂
 
Last edited:
I wanted to make one but was scared no one would use it. I have a small fear of rejection 🙂
 
Can we talk about the exotics department (or lack thereof)?

It's an interest of mine so I'm not exactly over the moon that it's pretty much been rendered nonexistent...an upper year, who also has an interest in exotics, told me to email the dean about it and express my distaste in no uncertain terms. I feel like that isn't quite the best way to address the situation. I'm thinking myself and another person in my class will take it up with our class president, since he's supposed to be the liaison between us and the administration.

I realize that most of the AVCer's on here have other interests, but can anyone shed some light on the situation for me? Basically all I know is that the funding for the department was cut.
 
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what's going on. I think due to the budget issues, they cut the exotic budget and the prof. But they were able to offer us third years a month long module on exotics this semester and probably another one next semester. It's not a massive amount of coverage, but she did a good job of covering the big diseases and husbandry for a lot of exotic species in that one month. Whether that will continue past this year, I don't know; I really hope it does.

We tried to stress in our course evals for the exotics class how important we thought it was so it does continue. I would urge you to go to your class pres, because I'm sure it isn't just you and the other person who is concerned about this and the more people you have behind you, the better.
 
I will throw the biggest fit AVC has ever seen if exotics isn't offered next year. I'm already saddened by the lack of coverage and respect cats receive; if I don't get to learn about guinea pigs and hamsters I will flip tables. So far I've learned more about pigs than I have about cats and smaller animals. How many of us are going to be swine vets? Maybe 1 in each class. How many are going to work with cats at some point? At least 50%. It makes no sense to me. That is my rant for the day *steps off soapbox*
 
What was the wildlife program like before the budget cuts? It's not really something I ever heard much about when I was researching the school, so I just thought it had always been pretty small.
 
ky261682 said:
I will throw the biggest fit AVC has ever seen if exotics isn't offered next year. I'm already saddened by the lack of coverage and respect cats receive; if I don't get to learn about guinea pigs and hamsters I will flip tables. So far I've learned more about pigs than I have about cats and smaller animals. How many of us are going to be swine vets? Maybe 1 in each class. How many are going to work with cats at some point? At least 50%. It makes no sense to me. That is my rant for the day *steps off soapbox*
Click to expand...

If it helps, you learn SFA about pigs in third year* and tons about cats. We have "food animal medicine" which basically amounts to "COWS (and sometimes sheep...)". Cats get lots of time though in the various small animal medicine courses.

*Okay, there is a swine elective you can take in second semester if you want.
 
ky261682 said:
I will throw the biggest fit AVC has ever seen if exotics isn't offered next year. I'm already saddened by the lack of coverage and respect cats receive; if I don't get to learn about guinea pigs and hamsters I will flip tables. So far I've learned more about pigs than I have about cats and smaller animals. How many of us are going to be swine vets? Maybe 1 in each class. How many are going to work with cats at some point? At least 50%. It makes no sense to me. That is my rant for the day *steps off soapbox*
Click to expand...

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one at least. I asked Dr. M about being in the teaching hospital to see some exotics and she said normally there would be a lot of opportunities but there's none now because everything is pretty much shut down. It was incredibly disappointing.
 
Coquette22 said:
If it helps, you learn SFA about pigs in third year* and tons about cats. We have "food animal medicine" which basically amounts to "COWS (and sometimes sheep...)". Cats get lots of time though in the various small animal medicine courses.

*Okay, there is a swine elective you can take in second semester if you want.
Click to expand...

That pleases me greatly. I like pigs on my plate, not in my lecture notes.
 
BlackDog17 said:
What was the wildlife program like before the budget cuts? It's not really something I ever heard much about when I was researching the school, so I just thought it had always been pretty small.
Click to expand...

There are (for now) wildlife shifts for students interesting in learning to handle/treat and a lot of rehab/release going on. It's pretty much the only place on the island (and maybe nearby in the Maritimes?) that will take injured wildlife for rehab; without the program, the public won't have that resource. The budget cut caused Dr. D to lose her tech, which really hampers what she can offer to animals.

Dr. D is an amazing professor with one of a kind experiences that any ol' professor can't recreate. As I'm interested in lab animal, exotics is a big interest of mine and it's sad that all I've been offered is a month long course that covered small mammals (no birds, reptiles, etc). It's frustrating enough that the focus of vet school thus far has been dogs, cats, cows and horses. Most people want to work with those species, of course, but for those of us that want (and need) more exposure to other species it's tough.

Got into a bit of rant there, sorry about that 😳
 
Did you guys see the CBC's program on Marketplace called "Barking Mad"? It was brought up in school and the CVMA just sent out a response to it today it seems....

I kinda expected more from CBC, not gonna lie. Here's a link to it if you're interested in watching. Supposedly there's a follow-up episode airing tonight.

Basically it's about how people are paying too much for vet care.
 
To the 2017ers (and the others who check this thread), remember to submit your accreditation survey. You should have gotten a link to it in your school email. It's a great opportunity to highlight the importance of great profs like Dr D in exotics and the importance of that course. 🙂
 
Coquette22 said:
To the 2017ers (and the others who check this thread), remember to submit your accreditation survey. You should have gotten a link to it in your school email. It's a great opportunity to highlight the importance of great profs like Dr D in exotics and the importance of that course. 🙂
Click to expand...

👍 It doesn't take long. It took about 15 minutes of virology lecture 😉
 
Coquette22 said:
To the 2017ers (and the others who check this thread), remember to submit your accreditation survey. You should have gotten a link to it in your school email. It's a great opportunity to highlight the importance of great profs like Dr D in exotics and the importance of that course. 🙂
Click to expand...

Just did mine. I was wondering what that was about.
 
They send it out yearly. Whether anyone pays attention to them, I don't know, but it doesn't cost anything to answer, and hey, maybe someone does care. It's a nice way to submit comments on things other than courses. Example - I mentioned Dr D and exotics/wildlife service, issues with lecture theatres, praise for the faculty in general, and my ever present plea to stop requiring organic chem and start requiring biochem instead for admissions.
 
Coquette22 said:
They send it out yearly. Whether anyone pays attention to them, I don't know, but it doesn't cost anything to answer, and hey, maybe someone does care. It's a nice way to submit comments on things other than courses. Example - I mentioned Dr D and exotics/wildlife service, issues with lecture theatres, praise for the faculty in general, and my ever present plea to stop requiring organic chem and start requiring biochem instead for admissions.
Click to expand...

I made myself quite clear about the exotics...I hope someone reads them!

I didn't even think about the lecture theaters though...there is no way our class is going to fit in lecture B. Oh well 🙂
 
So Guelph does a pet photos with Santa fundraiser. Does anything like that happen at AVC?
 
The school doesn't, but the PEI Humane Society does. Last year was Nov 13, so I'm surprised I haven't seen anything about it yet. Maybe ask someone in the shelter med club?
 
So according to that survey we filled out during orientation, 70% of the Americans in the Class of 2017 were accepted to schools in the U.S. but chose to go to AVC instead. I thought that was pretty cool!
 
BlackDog17 said:
So according to that survey we filled out during orientation, 70% of the Americans in the Class of 2017 were accepted to schools in the U.S. but chose to go to AVC instead. I thought that was pretty cool!
Click to expand...

That is! Where did you find that?
 
TooLove said:
That is! Where did you find that?
Click to expand...

I haven't actually seen the survey results, I don't think they release them to students. Dr. S told us about it in the histology tutorial this afternoon.
 
BlackDog17 said:
I haven't actually seen the survey results, I don't think they release them to students. Dr. S told us about it in the histology tutorial this afternoon.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Still very interesting. Although today, I wish I had gone to a school in the states....Canada, why can't you have the things I need?!?! I now truly appreciate the availability of anything you could possibly want in the good old USA. It's not the first time I've gone to look for something I thought I would have no trouble finding only to discover that it's not available (or prohibitively expensive) here. Now I have to find a travel cage for my bird that meets the airlines standards because the one I was planning on ordering isn't available in Canada. Fabulous.
 
Ugh, I HATE trying to buy things here. Even on the rare occasion I find what I need online, it costs twice as much as it does back home and then they charge you a fortune in shipping on top of it. I can't wait to go on an Amazon shopping spree when I get home.
 
Last edited:
A heads up to everyone who has an exotic pet: the VTH is no longer seeing exotics 🙁 My friend tried to get her very sick hamster in but she was turned away. So frustrating! This probably means no exotics elective 3rd year, either 🙁
 
I really hope they still have the elective. Quite a few people in my class are interested in exotics; tantrums on the level of Toddlers & Tiaras will be had if it is not offered. I will miss Dr.D, she is so awesome.
 
ky261682 said:
A heads up to everyone who has an exotic pet: the VTH is no longer seeing exotics 🙁 My friend tried to get her very sick hamster in but she was turned away. So frustrating! This probably means no exotics elective 3rd year, either 🙁
Click to expand...

I got turned away with my bird on a minor emergency a few weeks ago. 😡 I made sure to bring it up at the lunch forum with the dean. I'm not sure if you went but it was mentioned by a few students.

I think it's unacceptable for a teaching hospital to be missing an entire service. I understand that it's not a big need here but that's just ridiculous.
 
TooLove said:
I got turned away with my bird on a minor emergency a few weeks ago. 😡 I made sure to bring it up at the lunch forum with the dean. I'm not sure if you went but it was mentioned by a few students.

I think it's unacceptable for a teaching hospital to be missing an entire service. I understand that it's not a big need here but that's just ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I missed the forum with the dean; I had tutoring. I saw a lot of frustrated people afterwards. I think it is a big need (not as big as cats, dogs, horses and livestock but the need is still there), where else are we supposed to go? I wrote a letter to the dean last year about not cutting the exotics department. He said it was all a rumor...apparently not 😡
 
ky261682 said:
I missed the forum with the dean; I had tutoring. I saw a lot of frustrated people afterwards. I think it is a big need (not as big as cats, dogs, horses and livestock but the need is still there), where else are we supposed to go? I wrote a letter to the dean last year about not cutting the exotics department. He said it was all a rumor...apparently not 😡
Click to expand...

I would be writing an extremely angry letter about cutting the program and lying to the students about it. That is so unprofessional.

I get it that money is tight and cuts need to be made, but I can certainly think of some less essential things to cut back on.
 
I would love to write a letter. It will have to wait until finals are over.

It is not okay to discount the value of at least some education in exotics. I realize that only 5% or so of questions on the NAVLE are related to exotics, but a large chunk of what you see in small animal practice are little pocket pets and such. Lab animals: mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs. If the school really cares about producing good doctors, not just their NAVLE pass rate, they will have to come up with something. It can't be easily written off. I will be PISSED if something doesn't change.
 
To be fair, they've cut pretty much all programs in some way. It's just really upsetting that the exotics/wildlife had to be axed completely. Then again, if they don't even want to pay to keep the classrooms at a human temperature range, I can't expect any better...

I purposefully didn't go to that meeting with the dean, because I knew it would be a bunch of PR babble and not any intent to change things for the better. So frustrating.
 
that redhead said:
To be fair, they've cut pretty much all programs in some way. It's just really upsetting that the exotics/wildlife had to be axed completely.
Click to expand...

Maybe you guys can schedule a rotation at a vet school with a good exotics program during fourth year to make up for it - Kansas State used to have a great exotics program about 15 years ago. 🙂
 
MassDVMMPH said:
Maybe you guys can schedule a rotation at a vet school with a good exotics program during fourth year to make up for it - Kansas State used to have a great exotics program about 15 years ago. 🙂
Click to expand...

I've already started looking 🙂 I'm looking into lab animal rotations for rodents, ferrets, and rabbits, too.
 
I swear I'm not obsessing about school stuff but I was looking up the tech's email who deals with the teaching beagles (because I want to put my name in to adopt them when their teaching tenure is up <3) and I noticed Comparative Medicine is being offered as an elective in 3rd year. So excited! I hope it is still available next year. I realize that is a nerdy thing to get excited about but I'm riding the post- exam euphoria wave. Have a great break everyone!
 
MassDVMMPH said:
Maybe you guys can schedule a rotation at a vet school with a good exotics program during fourth year to make up for it - Kansas State used to have a great exotics program about 15 years ago. 🙂
Click to expand...

It's in the works right now, but it's just unfortunate that we have to go somewhere completely different to get any kid of exotics now.

@ky261682 - I'm scheduled to take it and I'm super excited 😀
 
ky261682 said:
I swear I'm not obsessing about school stuff but I was looking up the tech's email who deals with the teaching beagles (because I want to put my name in to adopt them when their teaching tenure is up <3)
Click to expand...

Do you know what the process is like to adopt a beagle? I really want to adopt one at some point and I haven't heard anything about it. They are so precious!!
 
AspireInspire said:
Do you know what the process is like to adopt a beagle? I really want to adopt one at some point and I haven't heard anything about it. They are so precious!!
Click to expand...

The one I want to adopt will not be ready until I'm done school but she is so cute and I adore her so I'm showing an interest now. Usually in the spring an email goes out looking for adopters for the retiring beagles. There is one beagle that is looking for an early retiretirement home now but he has some specials needs. I can PM you the contact info 🙂
 
ky261682 said:
The one I want to adopt will not be ready until I'm done school but she is so cute and I adore her so I'm showing an interest now. Usually in the spring an email goes out looking for adopters for the retiring beagles. There is one beagle that is looking for an early retiretirement home now but he has some specials needs. I can PM you the contact info 🙂
Click to expand...

Oh good I wasn't sure if we would get an email. I'm thinking I will probably wait at least until the spring because my apartment isn't dog friendly. Thanks though! 🙂
 
So weird to think that exactly one year ago today I was sitting in my interview. Time flies!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MintyMoose
UPEI AVC C/O 2028
2 3 4
Replies
191
Views
34K
overcastkidjuno
overcastkidjuno
Megan Upton
Utah State University c/o 2030 hopefuls
Replies
4
Views
392
cassidy johnson
cassidy johnson
addie.ed
DVM-PhD c/o 2030 Applicants
Replies
7
Views
847
schooby
S
NCSU CVM
NC State University c/o 2031 Applicants
Replies
3
Views
532
robera1979
R
T
Waitlist C/O 2029 Hopefuls!
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
300
Views
56K
slauja
S
Top