A swine practitioner with Demeter Quebec says the Western College of Veterinary Medicine Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program provides an opportunity for swine practices to interact directly with veterinary students who might consider a career in swine medicine

 

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program places veterinary students into swine veterinary practices for three months of hands-on experience working with swine during the summer.

 

Dr. Noemie Van Veeve, a swine veterinary practitioner with Demeter Quebec at Le Vie says the program allows partnering swine veterinary practices to interact with students while they are making their career choices.

 

 “If you are utilizing dairy products in your feed source for swine, you certainly want to make sure that those products have been pasteurized prior to use”

 

“The reason why we always participate in any program to meet young potential veterinarians is because it’s hard getting contact with them in the first couple of years of their studies.

“Often, when we see them later on, they’ve decided not to get into pigs even though we make a good impression but, if we get to them early sometimes, we can plant a seed and we have enough time to convince them to join us.

“Then, here in Quebec we already have a government program that helps veterinary students do internships with production animals and just in the couple of years that it’s been on it’s been an improvement.

“We get to these students earlier and we can change the perception that they have before coming in and they carry that with them the next couple of years and more of them are deciding that, I thought I wanted to do this but that looks kind of cool and they end they end up working with any kind of production animal.

“What I like about this program in particular was it seems to be very well organized.

“It was very clear what the expectations were and very structured which is always nice to know what the guidelines are to help teach what needs to be taught to the students.

“And I’m very excited that this program went well this year.“

For information on the Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program contact the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.