Canada's smallest veterinary school, the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC), recently had an increase in student numbers; the event — the 16th Annual Symposium of the Students of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (SCVMA), which was held at the AVC this past January 15–19, 2003. Attendance for the yearly event was record breaking, with 24 students from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), 65 from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), 119 students from the Faculté de médécin vétérinaire (FMV), and almost 200 students from the AVC. Throughout the 4-day event, student delegates participated in a variety of events, which included seminars, wet-labs, an academic biathlon, and a hockey tournament, all the while “experiencing the East!”
The event began on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 with a “unique” greeting of the OVC and WCVM delegates at the Moncton Airport by several AVC students, who welcomed the students wearing some fine east coast fashion — sou'westers and hip-weighters. The students were quickly bused to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) to register, receive their Symposium materials (packaged in a 10-pound PEI Potato Bag), and meet their AVC student billets who would provide them with shelter for the next 4 days. That evening the delegates had the opportunity to experience a popular PEI past-time: trivia at the new University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Student Union Centre. Unfortunately, none of the veterinary student teams won, but many enjoyed answering questions pertaining to subjects from pop culture, to music melodies, to the name of the hotel on Sesame Street.
The next morning, the FMV delegates arrived tired and hungry after suffering a 15-hour bus ride from St. Hyacinthe. After filling an entire lecture theatre with their luggage, students from FMV then joined the OVC and WCVM students for a tour of the AVC before they hopped on to another bus for tours of historic downtown Charlottetown. Delegates were treated to tours of Province House, as well as Charlottetown's newest attraction; Founder's Hall (located on the waterfront at almost the same location as the Father's of Confederation arrived at for the Charlottetown Conference in 1864). That afternoon, delegates braved the cold and enjoyed some free time exploring Canada's birthplace, before returning to the AVC to participate in the wet-lab component of the Symposium.
The wet-labs, which were instructed by AVC faculty and staff, were well attended. Some popular labs included aquaculture (many students did not realize that fish could be anesthetized), acupuncture, equine lameness, clicker training, necropsy, neurology, theriogenology, and exotic animal handling labs. The day was completed with a Welcome Reception held at Myron's Lounge in downtown Charlottetown.
On Friday morning, things got going early with the annual Symposium Hockey Tournament and Academic Biathlon. Although the Biathlon was not well-attended (perhaps a reflection of the events of the evening before), the hockey tournament was a great success with all players receiving a symposium skate towel. The AVC team rose to the challenge, winning the tournament after defeating the FMV team in the finals. Later in the morning, several groups of students enjoyed tours of 2 local areas of interest: the Gouda Cheese Lady farm, and a local llama farm.
In the afternoon, the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre at the AVC (which provides service, research, and education in the welfare of dogs, cats, horses, and wildlife) sponsored a series of animal welfare/client communication presentations, where students had the opportunity to participate in interactive discussions pertaining to common situations that veterinarians face when in practice. Dr. Suzanne Millman of the OVC then gave an excellent presentation regarding current animal welfare practices pertaining to food animal production.
That evening, students attended the Symposium House Party (sponsored by Hill's Pet Nutrition) at the UPEI Student Union Centre, which featured the Halifax band, Big Fish.
The seminars (supported by Hill's Pet Nutrition) held on Saturday morning were well attended, and everyone enjoyed the first-rate presentations given mainly by the AVC faculty. Some topics of interest included seminars on the Atlantic Canada harp seal hunt, foot and mouth disease, veterinary ophthalmology, animal behavior, equine Cushing's disease, and aquaculture. That evening saw the culmination of the 4-day event with the Farewell Banquet held at the Delta Prince Edward. The event, sponsored by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Scotiabank, and Petplan Insurance, was attended by nearly 500 people. Dr. Douglas Schurman of the PEI Regional Office of the CFIA welcomed the student delegates; Dr. Jeanne Lofstedt, president of the CVMA, addressed the students on the activities of the CVMA and student involvement, and the Symposium torch was passed to Lucas Yuricek of the OVC, who will be responsible for planning Symposium 2004. Following the dinner, students danced the night away (while others returned home, exhausted by the events of the previous few days). The only downfall was that the event ended far too quickly, as students prepared to return to their respective schools on Sunday morning. Best of luck to Lucas Yuricek and the students at the OVC. See you in Guelph in 2004!
(by Jeremy Orr, AVC Class of 2004, SCVMA Symposium 2003 Coordinator)
Dr. Jeanne Lofstedt and the student representatives of the SCVMA. From left to right are: Avril Hamel-Jolette (FMV), Rebecca Manley (OVC), Dr. Jeanne Lofstedt, Jeremy Orr (AVC) and Renee Scott (WCVM).