Vet Gazette

Third year student Fred Hisaw learns about the local Capuchin monkeys on his service trip to Honduras.

Roatan is a stunningly beautiful island off the coast of Honduras. It’s a popular tourist destination, but most of the local population lives in poverty, and the island has a serious stray dog problem. In September, John Maddigan and Dr. Sheri Morris, owners of Willamette Valley Animal Hospital (WVAH), led a service trip to Roatan that included five OSU students and three WVAH staff.

The need for veterinary care in Roatan is so great, the team treated their first patient in the airport parking lot, a dog with Cushings Disease. The airport is a major hang-out spot for Roatan’s large population of stray dogs because kind-hearted tourists feed them there. This was a surprise for OSU student Fred Hisaw (Class of 2018). “As touristy as Roatan is, I had thought that the animals (at least in the tourist-rich areas) would be relatively well cared for, with few strays.”

Local pets also lack veterinary care. On the first night in their accommodations, the Oregon team heard a dog crying and upon investigation, discovered a dog in a neighbor’s garage that had been suffering for days with an extremely painful ear condition. WVAH staff performed a thorough ear cleaning and applied medication and antibiotics. Maddigan messaged: “The owner has since reported our patient hasn’t cried out once. We are treating him daily and hope to have his condition resolved before we depart; so far, so good.”

Dr. Sheri Morris worked in a makeshift surgery with assistance from OSU students.

Day one in the clinic included nine surgeries, ten medicine cases, many vaccinations, and a ton of flea and tick treatments. It was all good experience for Hisaw. “This trip helped me to fine-tune my physical exam skills as every animal that came in got a thorough exam.  There were also numerous opportunities to scrub in and help with surgeries, as either primary or assistant surgeon (depending on skill levels).

Maddigan worked with a local volunteer to set up the clinic. “It was a very engaging and educational experience for us all and really drives home the point that, together, we have the opportunity to create pet health and wellness in more than just our own home town,” he said.

It took teamwork and problem solving to get that little, yellow ball into the can.

Every year the new class of students begins their veterinary college experience with three days of orientation. One whole day is spent on the OSU Challenge Course, participating in team events that help students get ready for the difficult and rewarding years ahead. Here is what the Class of 2020 had to say about it:

• I learned when presented with unexpected things, we can rely on each other for help, especially when it comes to solving problems. I think the high ropes metaphorically represented our fears and anxieties of starting veterinary school, but in the end we just had to go for it and ‘jump’.
• I was personally terrified of climbing the poles and doing the challenges. But I found that although I barely knew anybody, they were all willing to support and encourage me to try. It was an incredible feeling knowing this group of strangers wanted me to be successful and were willing to help me get there.
• The challenge course could be seen as a metaphor for vet school and life as a whole. With so many different minds working on the same challenge, we were able to come up with creative solutions and feel successful.
• It was crazy to see how much the challenge course is going to relate to our upcoming four years in school. There was one particular moment that really helped me see how it relates: When I was on the catwalk with a fellow classmate that I had just met the day before, she could see how frightened I was, so she began to encourage me to step outside my comfort zone and walk across it. She kept telling me it would be okay the whole time.
• I could not have succeeded without the help from my classmates.
• I learned that mind over matter is a powerful mantra that can be used in many aspects of life, whether it be something physical like the challenge course, or something academic.
• I learned that a strong support system is needed when attempting to do challenging things like climbing across cables thirty feet in the air. Just like the challenge course, vet school will be challenging and we will have to overcome obstacles. It will be the strong support system of our class that helps each of us succeed and make our way through school!

On October 1st, Dr. Stacy Semevolos will officially become the Associate Dean of Student and Academic Affairs at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. She has served as Interim Dean for one year.

Dr. Semevolos received her DVM from the University of Illinois, and was board certified in large animal surgery in 2001. Just this year, she earned her certification in Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Semevolos has been a professor at OSU for fourteen years.

I look forward to working with Stacy because she is collegial, respectful, gets things done, and has a strong sense of responsibility,” says Dean Tornquist. “I am glad that after a year of serving as interim Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, she has learned a lot about the position and has found that she enjoys working in it.”

The Class of 1996 gathered in Magruder Hall last week for their 20 year reunion. Thirteen alums and their families joined Drs. Tornquist, Riebold, Parker, Huber, and Whitler for brunch. None of the attendees had toured Magruder since the addition of small animal hospital facilities in 2005, and were surprised by how much everything had changed.

“It was great to visit with everyone and get caught up on what has been happening with them,” said organizer Juliana Burke. “It was really fun.”

Wellness Coordinator and Counselor Alex Rowell with his rescue dog Winston.

This month, the college welcomed a new wellness coordinator and counselor to the team. Alex Rowell will be developing the college’s new wellness program, as well as providing onsite hours for one-on-one counseling and consultation services. “The wellness part of this job is going to be a cultural shift which I am super excited to be a part of,” he says. “Wellness is not something a physician or a psychologist does, it is something a culture does. It takes little changes.”

Alex will be available to assist everyone in the college – faculty, staff, and students – but busy students, in particular need reminders not to neglect their need for sleep, exercise and nutrition.  “When I think of wellness I think of lifestyle,” says Rowell. “It means taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or holding a walking meeting instead of sitting in a room; wellness is meditating or just being mindful of what you are doing.”

Rowell also wants to tackle the vending machines in Magruder Hall. “I took a look at the vending machines downstairs and that stuff is loaded with sugar,” he says. “Maybe we can implement healthier options like bananas or apples. I’d like to swap out those Red Bull monsters for something that isn’t loaded with 60 grams of sugar.”

Dean Susan Tornquist worked with OSU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to create this shared position, and is excited to have Rowell on board. “The veterinary profession is stressful, as we all know from reading about the high rates of burn-out, compassion fatigue and suicide among veterinarians. Veterinary students start to feel this early on in their training, and often their schedules make it difficult to go across campus to the counseling center for an appointment. Having Alex onsite at the college makes counseling services much more accessible for students, faculty and staff.”

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OSU alumna Clare Scully helps a victim of the Louisiana flooding.

There is no question that the recent flooding in Louisiana requires the time, talents and care of many. OSU is proud to call two of these individuals ours. Dr. Clare M. Scully and Dr. Chiara de Caro Carella have both jumped in to help creatures in need, great and small.

Dr. Clare M. Scully recently completed her residency at OSU and was hired by LSU as an assistant professor in Food Animal Medicine. She has helped lead efforts for the rescue and treatment of the many large animals effected by the flood. Dr. Scully shared, “Many students, faculty and clients have lost everything.” Despite that, she marveled at the compassion of every person she works beside during the grueling 14 hour or more days. “So many people have not slept a full night in days. But, everyone is working to help each other.”

Dr. De Caro Carella arrived in Louisiana just days after the flooding began but put her skills to work immediately. Each faculty member is given a small fund to treat the animals they are assigned and said, “We are making the most of every dollar.” They fear that the lack of national publicity will mean there won’t be enough to treat every animal, but they will keep doing everything they can for the many animals effected by the flooding. Although small and thousands of miles away, Oregon State has played a piece in responding to the needs of the LSU community.

Veterinary medicine is a small profession. Each of the 30 Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. employs professionals from all over the nation and world, all working together for animal health. A tragedy like the Louisiana flooding shines a light on the camaraderie and compassion of the veterinary medicine community. For more information or to help, visit http://www.lsu.edu/vetmed/disaster_preparedness/flooding.php

Written by Kelley Marchbanks, Development Director, OSU College of Veterinary Medicine