Summer/Fall 2013 PDF - University of Minnesota College of ...

COMMUNITY SERVICE
“Our goal is to improve each day, become
more efficient,” says Parks, president of
SIRVS.
All told, SIRVS has done more than 1,000
wellness exams and 250 spay and neuter
surgeries.
“SIRVS gives us the opportunity to make
a difference in the lives of a community
and its animals while providing a novel
educational experience to our veterinary
students,” says faculty adviser Dr. Larissa
Minicucci, veterinary public health
program director. “Seeing the active
learning and witnessing improved animal
health is very inspiring.”
In addition to students, faculty, staff,
and alumni, SIRVS is supported by
organizations like Banfield Charitable
Trust, which awarded the group a pet
advocacy grant in 2012. Minicucci and
the students are also able to share their
experience with others in the profession.
The 2013 Minnesota Veterinary Medical
Association Annual Meeting included a
presentation about SIRVS.
Through SIRVS, students get experience
doing what they have been studying in
school and learn practical skills that aren’t
always part of the veterinary curriculum,
like completing paperwork. A lot of
clinical skills are used for the first time,
and a lot of protocols are implemented
for the first time for many team members,
who quickly learn to think on their feet.
Students can assist with surgeries one day
and the next day do anesthesia, wellness
exams, or post-surgical recovery.
“I learned so much in four days,” says
Parks. “To get actual hands-on experience
with what we learned in class was
incredibly valuable.”
Reaching out with
VeTouch
Veterinary students care for
clients’ pets at monthly VeTouch
clinics at Hennepin Avenue
United Methodist Church.
If any program embraces the concept
of “it takes a village,” it’s VeTouch
(Veterinary Treatment Outreach for
Urban Community Health), a student-run
nonprofit organization that provides basic
veterinary care for the pets of low-income
residents of the Twin Cities.
Dr. Vicki Wilke, a former assistant
professor in the Veterinary Clinical
Sciences Department, teamed up with
Kelly Noyes, a veterinary technician,
to establish the group in 2008. Kristy
Lashbaugh, e-learning associate, thought
up the name for the group, and VeTouch
treasurer Nikko Poulos designed a logo.
Some 94 students are involved—almost
a third of the preclinical veterinary
student body—and their membership fees
help support VeTouch’s efforts. Faculty
members also donate their time and
veterinary services, as do a host of other
veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and
pre-vet students.
The community is engaged, too: Hennepin
Avenue United Methodist Church
provides the space for monthly VeTouch
clinics, and members of its congregation
donate funds and supplies. The
Minnesota Veterinary
Medical Foundation
contributes financial
support, Hill’s Pet
Nutrition donates food,
Boehringer Ingelheim
Vetmedica provides
vaccines, IDEXX
Laboratories donates
feline leukemia virus/
feline immunodeficiency
virus tests, and Novartis
contributes heartworm
tests and flea and
heartworm medicine.
A VeTouch clinic is
offered on the first
Sunday of every month,
when Hennepin Ave
United Methodist Church
hosts a meal for lowincome
residents of the
community. VeTouch
coordinates with this
event to provide care to the pets of those
attending the meal. The clinic officially
opens at 3 p.m., but clients often start
waiting in line at 11 a.m., filling the chairs
lining the hallway outside the exam rooms
in the church basement.
Working at each VeTouch clinic is
a bustling team of 10-15 veterinary
students, three to five veterinarians, three
to five veterinary technician students and
their veterinary supervisor from Globe
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Profiles Summer/Fall 2013 11