In the world there are two kinds of people. Those who see a need and simply talk about it, and those who see a need and take action.
Since 2003, there has been a shortage of veterinarians, particularly large-animal veterinarians in rural areas. A combination of lower wages, longer and irregular hours—as compared to a companion pet veterinarian—and not wanting to live outside of a major city are just a few of the reasons for the shortage.
Without large animal vets, the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers is affected, and most importantly the nation’s food supply is more vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
In 2017, Butch Wise, manager of the Lazy E Ranch, Guthrie, Oklahoma, was having a hard time finding qualified equine veterinarians. Wise was not alone. That same year, a group of local veterinarians and industry representatives held a meeting to discuss the problem as well as possible solutions. The meeting of the five individuals produced an idea that would soon become a reality. In 2018, the non-profit organization Veterinarians Encouraging and Teaching, or V.E.T., was formed.
V.E.T. is a non-profit organization focused on enhancing relationships between veterinary students, private practice, and academia through social events, clinical skills labs, and mentorship avenues. The board of directors includes, Dr. Sam Crosby, Crosby Equine Services, Arcadia; Dr. Trent Stiles, McKey Equine Hospital, Sallisaw; Laurel Klotz, a registered veterinary technician, as well as a territory manager for Midwest Veterinary Supply, Oklahoma City; Dr. Brian Carroll and Dr. Amanda Wilson of Oklahoma City Equine Clinic, Oklahoma City; Dr. Carly Turner-Garcia, the head veterinarian a the Lazy E Ranch, Guthrie; and Amber Pierce, territory manager for Merck Animal Health, Purcell. Crosby, Stiles and Klotz are three of the original founding board members.
The goals of V.E.T. is to provide students with hands on skills and networking opportunities with local and out-of-state veterinarians for externship and internship opportunities for future employment. Symposiums that focus on the business side of veterinarian medicine and wetlabs, or actual hands-on experience, have shown to be a successful way to reach those goals.
V.E.T. also partners with other like-minded non-profit organizations such as Texas Equine Veterinarian Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners to provide assistance with student programs, clinical skills labs and networking. This year V.E.T. will host the student clinical skills lab at the TEVA summer symposium.
V.E.T. and its industry partners, hold one symposium per year and at least one to two wetlabs per month, both of which are open to all vet students, regardless of their year in vet college. To attend, the students only need to apply and both the symposiums and wetlabs are free. Depending on the subject and space, wetlabs are usually limited to 25 to 40 students.
The symposiums generally have two keynote speakers in the morning, followed by lunch and a trade show. The trade show provides students the opportunity to visit with animal health companies and other vet related clubs and organizations.
Last year’s symposiums featured two well-known and respected industry veterinarians. Dr. Ben Buchanan who spoke on “Equine Veterinary Medicine—How to take ownership of your future” and Dr. Meredyth Jones whose topic was “Building legitimacy in large animal practices.”
To have the wetlabs, the board must find locations that are suitable. They work with the animal health companies for the supplies needed, find animal owners willing to donate their animals for procedures, and donations provide lunch for students and staff.
Currently, the majority of the wetlabs have been in Oklahoma and Texas but the goal is to expand into Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Louisiana.
A veterinarian is the only doctor educated to protect the health of both animals and people. Veterinarians also play critical roles in environmental protection, research, food safety, and public health. V.E.T. recognizes the worth of our current and future vets, but they also realize there are obstacles that must be overcome.
In addition to pay and working conditions, another obstacle is generational differences. Each generation communicates differently, which can cause conflict. All of these obstacles can be overcome with work, education, and guidance of leaders such as the board of V.E.T.
For more information on V.E.T. visit www.vets4studentsnetwork.org or www.vets4students.org, or email [email protected].
