Exciting Events on the Horizon |
It's not an April Fool's joke, but spring is right around the corner. Our students are back from their spring break and we are beginning to plan for many of our end-of-semester festivities. These include the Class of 2023 Blue Coat Ceremony, our Celebration of Excellence awards ceremony, and Graduation and Investiture celebrations. In addition, the school, led by Richard Barajas, is actively planning for the 2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit focused on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in veterinary medicine, which will be held May 20-22 at Dejope Hall. You can register for the event here. I hope to see as many of our faculty, staff and students attend as are able.
We continue to have important conversations around our curriculum and curricular revision led by Associate Dean Peggy Schmidt. I'm looking forward to continued discussions about our best pathway forward to enhance how we educate our veterinary medical students and position them for success in this amazing profession.
I hope each of you has a fantastic April and upcoming spring.
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UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director |
Welcome to new employees Amber Bianco, a technician with the Small Animal Surgery service; Annika Carlson, a veterinary assistant with Anesthesia; Nicole Diedrick, a certified veterinary technician with the Emergency and Critical Care unit; David Hemmerle, a histotechnologist joining the histopathology lab; Rhonda Nichols, our new social worker who will help build the hospital’s social work program and be available to support and provide counsel to clients, staff, students and clinicians; and Britney Wingren, a certified veterinary technician joining the Emergency and Critical Care unit as a flex tech. Also, welcome back to Jim Budde, previous UW Veterinary Care pharmacy manager, who will return to the hospital in a limited capacity as a relief pharmacist. And congratulations to Julie Webster, moving to a new role in the hospital as a small animal float technician.
I hope you all can take a few moments to read and embrace the below feedback from a recent hospital client, highlighting the strong team effort that contributes to UW Veterinary Care's excellence. Thank you!
"There [aren't] many words that feel truly good enough to thank the team at the UW Veterinary ER for taking such immaculate care of our little Ella. Let's talk about the fact that they not only cared for our 8-week old puppy (whom we've had all of a whopping WEEK) but they also calmed us down as new parents. I can't even name all the techs and receptionists I talked to over the course of Ella's 3-day stay because there were SO many and all of which were fantastic. I come from the industry of service, so I get how completely exhausting it can be and also how incredibly thankless it can be. It can wear you out, beat you down and some days you question "what the hell am I doing here?" I'm sure no matter how WONDERFUL it is to work with animals each and every day...this happens to you all too. But I hope you all know how much purpose your career brings to this world. We would, without a doubt not have Ella here today if it wasn't for the doctors and techs that helped her (and us) through this terrible situation. I know you might not feel that appreciation every day, but I sure hope you feel it now. From the receptionists who continuously had that calm, soothing voice to the techs that simply took time to play with our little bean all the way to the doctors who tried (and are still trying) to not only fix Ella's VT but also find out why she's having this... You are incredible. Thank you so very much for doing what you do. It matters. Every day." -Danielle
Christopher Snyder, DVM, DAVDC
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
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C.A. Brandly, a former professor of veterinary science, looks over the shoulder of a colleague in a laboratory in this undated photo from UW-Madison Archives. The Department of Veterinary Science was housed on campus for approximately 70 years prior to the opening of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. |
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The spring issue of On Call has been published and is available throughout the SVM and Hanson buildings. In this issue of the magazine we:
Do you know an exemplary UW School of Veterinary Medicine graduate who has made significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments have honored the school's legacy of excellence? Consider nominating them for an SVM Alumni Award. Nominations are open in three categories, with opportunities for DVM and graduate degree program alumni to be recognized. Please submit nominations by today, April 1.
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Teaching and Learning News
An update from Peggy Schmidt, associate dean for professional programs
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The Curriculum and Course Design working group has worked in recent months to apply the Guiding Principles for Curriculum Revision and incorporate feedback from the proposed structures with the recommendations of previous working groups to design a learner-focused curriculum that is likely to successfully address the reasons for revision.
When we think about our current curriculum, it could be best described as “content-driven.” Content-driven curricula were the predominant historical approach to health professions and veterinary curricula. By nature, a content-driven curriculum struggles with teaching students clinical decision-making, clinical processes and clinical reasoning. This struggle has driven much of the changes in recent decades in health professions education, including medicine, nursing and veterinary programs.
The Curriculum and Course Design working group talked about various approaches for our curriculum such as basing the curriculum on clinical presentations or procedures. In these discussions, the group began to coalesce around the concept of “process” as an approach to developing future veterinarians. Process involves the procedures veterinarians do but also involves the decision-making behind those procedures. This is beyond physical tasks and procedures; it is also diagnostic procedures and problem-solving. Here is the definition of process developed by the group.
Process describes the synthesis of knowledge and skills so that we can evaluate information and use it to inform our decisions and practice to improve the health and wellbeing of animals and people. It is how we accumulate and organize knowledge and skills to analyze, design and implement solutions.
With this definition in hand, the working group created a description for a process-driven veterinary curriculum. A process-driven veterinary medicine curriculum is anchored by:
- The recognition that learning is a process of accumulating, organizing and synthesizing the knowledge and skills necessary for providing excellent veterinary care. As such, this curriculum embraces guided instruction and is intentionally constructed and scaffolded to support and sustain learning.
- Instructional content that is fundamentally grounded in the cognitive, metacognitive, psychomotor and affective processes that are the foundation of skilled veterinary practice.
These two components translate into six overarching goals. The goals of the process-based curriculum are to cultivate new veterinarians who:
- Engage in clinical and scientific problem solving and diagnosis that is rooted in the confident and nimble application of foundational scientific principles and current research.
- Make sound evidence-based, ethical and responsive clinical decisions.
- Communicate clearly, directly and empathetically with clients.
- Demonstrate skilled performance of medical procedures and patient management.
- Value and critically evaluate the outcomes of research that informs health, wellness and health care innovations across all species, including humans.
- Exhibit relentless curiosity and lifelong learning that are at the core of the Wisconsin Experience.
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Welcome to Kristin Koester, development generalist with the Office for Advancement, who will manage gift processing, the school's Companion Animal Fund clinic program and other fundraising initiatives. Kristin replaces Marsha Callahan, senior development specialist. Congratulations to Marsha on her retirement following more than a decade of service to the UW Foundation, SVM and Advancement team.
Welcome also to Vivian Mickelson, an administrative assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs. Vivian will be the first point of contact for students, faculty, staff and prospective students interested in meeting with someone in OAA or learning more about the SVM.
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Sandra Newbury DVM'03, director of the school's Shelter Medicine Program and clinical associate professor of shelter medicine, was presented with the Dane County Humane Society Centennial Visionary Award at the organization’s annual Toto's Gala in March. Newbury was recognized for her involvement and lasting legacy with DCHS, where she previously served as chief shelter veterinarian; her significant role in building the organization’s partnership with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine; and her leadership nationally in her role today, training future veterinarians and improving the wellbeing and saving the lives of countless animals in shelters throughout the world.
Ruthanne Chun DVM'91, clinical professor of oncology, has been elected as a distinguished fellow of the National Academies of Practice, an interprofessional, nonprofit organization with members representing a range of health care professions. The group's mission is to serve as distinguished professionals advancing interprofessional healthcare by fostering collaboration and advocating policies in the best interest of individuals and communities.
Richard Barajas, director of diversity, equity and inclusion, has been appointed to the
American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. This advisory committee to the board of directors ensures that the board's work supports the integration of diversity, equity and inclusion values throughout all elements of current and future strategic plans, and uses data to advocate for change throughout the academic veterinary medical community.
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Alaina Houghton-Chamberlain, an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Professor Joan Jorgensen DVM’93, was featured in a recent On Wisconsin magazine article about Bucky’s Tuition Promise. This initiative guarantees four years of tuition and segregated fees for any incoming freshman who is a Wisconsin resident and whose family's annual household adjusted gross income is in the state’s lower half. A first-generation college student, Houghton-Chamberlain hopes to attend veterinary school.
Nick Marino DVMx'23 is the recipient of an American Veterinary Medical Association/American Veterinary Medical Foundation 2nd Opportunity Summer Research Research Scholarship. This $5,000 award supports currently enrolled veterinary students who have previously conducted a summer research project and are seeking to gain a second summer of research experience.
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To celebrate the exploratory and aesthetic value of the photos, renderings, videos, images, art and more made in the process of fulfilling curiosity and advancing science, the 12th annual Cool Science Image Contest is now soliciting the best visuals from members of the UW–Madison community. To enter up to three of your cool science images or videos, visit the contest website for guidelines, submission requirements and a link to the entry form. The submission deadline is May 1.
A new citizen-science study led by Freya Mowat, assistant professor with the Department of Surgical Sciences and School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, is asking dog owners to help shed light on what dogs like to watch on television. It’s no trivial business, as the results could lay the groundwork for developing better ways of assessing vision in dogs.
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Earlier this month, highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a commercial egg-laying flock in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, threatening the state's poultry industry. Adel Talaat, professor of pathobiological sciences, is developing improved avian flu vaccines, which could protect poultry flocks from future outbreaks. Other School of Veterinary Medicine connections:
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The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, directed by Keith Poulsen DVM’04, PhD’12, also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medical Sciences, identified the Jefferson County case in March and is prepared to monitor the spread of avian flu throughout the state.
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Dane County’s Henry Vilas Zoo, where the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and UW Veterinary Care serve as the contracted veterinary service, is taking steps to prevent avian influenza from infecting their bird species.
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Wisconsin State Veterinarian Darlene Konkle DVM’93 MS’97 is leading the state animal disease response to the outbreak.
New research led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the School of Veterinary Medicine, shows that antiviral therapies remain effective in laboratory tests against the BA.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The variant also remains susceptible to at least some of the monoclonal antibodies used to treat COVID-19.
Different dog breeds have different predispositions to disease, which may be key to understanding and treating similar conditions in humans. These varying levels of disease predisposition are the research focus of Peter Muir, professor of surgical sciences. The goal is to discover novel genetic contributions to disease and develop genetic tests for these conditions, benefiting animals and people.
Sleep apnea, a common disorder in which a person repeatedly stops and starts breathing while they sleep, is a growing problem in pregnancy. School of Veterinary Medicine researchers, including Department of Comparative Biosciences faculty members Michael Cahill, Jyoti Watters and Tracy Baker, are discovering how low oxygen levels in the blood caused by apnea affect the nervous systems of offspring.
Hannah Carey, an emerita professor in the Department of Comparative Biosciences, published a study in the journal Science showing that microbes help hibernating animals recycle nutrients and maintain muscle. The discovery could help people with muscle-wasting disorders and even astronauts on extended space voyages.
Upcoming events and opportunities:
- The school's Phi Zeta Research Day will be held on April 6 from noon to 6 p.m. throughout the second floor. The event will feature keynote speaker Kelly Santangelo of Colorado State University discussing lessons learned from a pre-clinical model of osteoarthritis, research posters and trainee flash talks, information about SVM research training opportunities, lunch and a reception.
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WARF Therapeutics invites spring program proposals due April 15. The program collaborates with researchers to advance work closer to clinical testing and invests in the development of drug-like molecules.
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The 42nd Steenbock Symposium, Opening Doors to Cryo-EM, will be hosted on June 7-8. The event will highlight groundbreaking developments in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and related techniques, and bring experts from across structural biology.
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Ashley Kuehnl, a DVM/PhD candidate with the School of Veterinary Medicine, flushes bone marrow cells under a laboratory fume hood as part of research into the production of blood cells. Kuehnl is a member of the lab of Xuan Pan, associate professor of oncology. Following graduation, Kuehnl hopes to use her training as a veterinary scientist to perform comparative oncology research.
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April 6
SVM Phi Zeta Research Day
Noon-6 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
April 8
Dean’s Get Together
4:30-6:30 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
April 23
Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony
6 p.m. social/8 p.m. program
Union South
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May 6
SVM Picnic
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
May 14
SVM Investiture
7 a.m. breakfast/9 a.m. program
Memorial Union
May 20-22
2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit
School of Veterinary Medicine
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Brownfield Ag News
NBC-15
WisPolitics
News 3
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“I believe that my work in career development helps to identify and address gaps in student’s growth and confidence in their job search, which can be very overwhelming.”
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-Cecilia Grinis, School of Veterinary Medicine career development coordinator, discusses her role in supporting veterinary medical students in accomplishing their academic and professional goals. On a day-to-day basis, Grinis assists with career exploration, resume and cover letter preparation, contract negotiations, and plans more in-depth networking opportunities for students.
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