Healing the Healers: Mental Well-Being in the Veterinary Profession
In recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, the SVM spoke with licensed professional counselor Michele Gaspar DVM'94 about mental health and wellbeing in the veterinary profession. Spurred by a lifelong interest in psychology and conversations with veterinary colleagues facing personal and professional tensions, this feline veterinarian was inspired to shift her career to better understand the stressors facing vets. Today she speaks nationally on the topic, has a private psychotherapy practice, and assists veterinarians in crisis management through the free, confidential
Vets4Vets initiative.
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School News
The latest updates on research, faculty and staff, and other happenings at the school.
 Care for Cattle
Theresa Ollivett, an
assistant professor of food animal production medicine
, was featured on the cover of the March/April issue of Bovine Veterinarian, discussing the use of on-farm ultrasonography to evaluate lung function in dairy calves. Thoracic ultrasound can provide early diagnosis of bovine respiratory disease, helping to identify problems before they become catastrophic.
In April,
Sheila Harsdorf, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, visited the UW SVM for a presentation and tour of the school. Also in April, Dean
Mark Markel
traveled to Sheboygan County, joining Wisconsin Senator
Duey Stroebel and Representatives
Terry Katsma and
Tyler Vorpagel on a tour of two dairy facilities that the SVM has consulted with and assisted -- a chance to demonstrate the school's impact on this industry -- and at Sargento's corporate offices for a roundtable discussion on public-private partnerships in the food supply chain. Markel also recently delivered the keynote at two Founders' Day Celebrations in Sheboygan County and Green County and spoke with the Southwestern Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association about the school's building expansion campaign.
Bucky Goes to the Veterinarian
Wisconsin's favorite badger mascot recently visited UW Veterinary Care for a checkup ahead of the upcoming Wisconsin football season (good news: Bucky is ready to jump around!). Don't miss this fun video documenting his exam.
Bucky on Parade
On May 7, 85 life-size Bucky Badger statues were unveiled across Madison and Dane County as part of the free public art event Bucky on Parade, on display through September 12. One of these statues, Animals Need Bucky Too, pays tribute to all of the creatures, great and small, treated by the School of Veterinary Medicine. Located near the capitol building at the intersection of East Washington Avenue and South Pinckney Street, this statue was created by local artist Kathy King and sponsored by Karen Walsh and Debbie Cervenka, co-chairs of the SVM's Animals Need Heroes Too capital campaign. Thanks to Karen and Debbie's generosity, the statue will come to the school permanently when the parade is complete. See video of the unveiling and photos of the statue.
William Goodger, a long-time faculty member at the UW SVM, passed away in March. The highlight of Bill's career was working as a professor of epidemiology in the SVM with his beloved teaching herd of dairy cows. He will be remembered for his passion, compassion, engaging laugh and love for our veterinary medical students.
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Continuing Education
Upcoming courses to help advance your career.
August 10
What's New in Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia?
Great Wolf Lodge, Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
September 22
32nd Annual Feline Conference
Feline Kidney Disease
Madison, Wis.
October 2
Rituals of Euthanasia
Marriott Madison West, Middleton, Wis.
Continuing Education via Distance Learning
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Alumni Updates
The latest news about your classmates and items of special interest to alumni.
A Special Alumni Opportunity
Last chance to make a Morrie Waud Match gift
Morrie Waud, honorary member of the Class of 2015 and longtime friend of the School of Veterinary Medicine, committed $5 million to match gifts and pledges toward the SVM's Animals Need Heroes Too building expansion campaign. We invite you to join with fellow alumni and
have your gift multiplied
to be part of an expansive and exciting future for the school. The Morrie Waud Match deadline is June 30.
Any contribution of $500 or more will be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled. Match commitments can be made with a single gift or a multi-year pledge. And pledges can be made via annual reminders or monthly automatic credit card payments. Gifts can work in any budget; a $500 gift over five years is just $8 a month. Learn more about how to take advantage of this generous, limited-time opportunity.
Alumni News
- Becky Krull DVM'05 visited the UW SVM in April to speak with students about navigating compassion fatigue.
- Judy Batker DVM'95 and Stephanie Miesen DVM'08 channel their love for horses into Country View Equine Clinic in Oregon, Wisconsin, with their work recently featured in In Business Madison and The Country Today.
- Nate Dorshorst DVM'06, owner and operator of GenOvations Inc., today carries forward the bovine embryo transfer methods first developed by Robert Rowe PhD'79 as a veterinary science doctoral student in the 1970s.
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Melissa Gallick DVM'10 and Morgan McCoy DVM'10 opened Magnolia Springs Veterinary Center in March in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. "It's always been our dream," Gallick told The Journal Times.
In Memoriam
Lyle Devon Miller MS'68, PhD'71 passed away peacefully in December 2017. Miller worked as a veterinary medical officer with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Ames, Iowa, then as a tenured professor of pathology at Iowa State University.
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Ongoing Clinical Trials
UW Veterinary Care's Oncology Service is investigating whether certain gene defects, in addition to exposure to certain environmental chemicals, contribute to the risk of lymphoma in boxer dogs. Research shows mutations in the tumors of dogs with lymphoma, but it is unclear why some of these mutations develop or persist in certain dogs. Better understanding of this process may lead to lymphoma prevention.
This study will look for low activity variants in glutathione-S-transferase (GST) genes, which may put boxer dogs at higher risk for lymphoma. In addition, environmental exposures will be assessed by a questionnaire, and the presence of DNA damage will be assessed from a small blood sample.
Any purebred boxer dog, with or without lymphoma, qualifies for the study. Healthy dogs of any breed and aged-matched are needed for controls
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Upcoming Events
SVM Alumni Reunion
Veterinary Medicine Building
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
July 13, 2018
Alumni Reception at AVMA Convention
SAVE THE DATE
September 15, 2018
SVM Annual Tailgate
Wisconsin vs. Brigham Young
University
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