Last summer, I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Neuser during one of her preceptorships in Seattle. She was several months into her term as the national Student AVMA President. I enjoyed hearing her perspective as a member of the veterinary class of 2019 starting her final year at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
As we move into the spring, I was interested in hearing thoughts from someone graduating from veterinary school this year. What are the views from the veterinary class of 2019? I was also intrigued about SAVMA, its role, and its current priorities. I reached out to Sarah and was able to talk again. Here are some of Sarah’s thoughts from our recent interview.
How did you get involved with SAVMA?
An upperclassman recommended that I run for SAVMA delegate from our school; he thought I would enjoy the national perspective and the chance to connect with other students from around the country. I was elected by our Local SAVMA Chapter membership and served a 2-year term as Minnesota delegate in the SAVMA House of Delegates. I enjoyed being involved in organized veterinary medicine and working with my peers, and was then encouraged by the SAVMA National Executive Board to run for President. The President serves a 3-year term, running from March to March at the National SAVMA Symposiums, as President-elect, President, and then Immediate Past-President.
What issues have you prioritized as SAVMA President?
SAVMA’s mission is to support, empower, and inspire all veterinary students in improving their lives, education and career, along with securing a better future for our profession through collaboration with our parent organization, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). I believe two of the biggest issues facing students are the large debt-to-income ratio and supporting our student’s mental health and wellbeing. While SAVMA cannot implement or enforce new rules, we can advocate to both AVMA and COE (Council on Education) for changes we believe are important.
This year, SAVMA wrote letters to the Council on Education (COE) advocating for two changes in accreditation standards:
Financial Literacy
1) COE has implemented standards on providing financial literacy information to students in veterinary school. However, there is no evaluation process to look at what schools are doing and whether it works. We suggested to COE that assessing the efficacy of this teaching is important. We recommended that veterinary students be assessed on knowledge and skills related to financial literacy and career advising, to assess the efficacy of the financial classes.
Access to Mental Health Professionals
2) The issue of mental health and wellbeing has come to the forefront and we know it is something that needs to be addressed. One thing that determines if students seek help is the accessibility of mental health professionals. While most colleges have these professionals available at the institutional level, many veterinary students are based in satellite/ remote campuses away from the main location and thus may not actually have access. SAVMA recommended that credentialed mental health professionals have a presence at the veterinary campuses so they are available to the students who need them.
In addition, SAVMA also updated its recommendations on Duty Hours for veterinary students on clinics. While we all agree we need to work hard, in some schools, students could end up working shifts as long as 36 hours, at a clinician’s discretion.
Diversity and Equity
Purdue University has an online Certificate Program in diversity and inclusion . Last year, AVMA provided sponsorship, and this partnership allowed AVMA to cover the costs for four veterinary students from each school to participate in the program. There was a very strong interest in this opportunity with all the spots claimed.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the veterinary class of 2019?
The number one issue is the high debt to income ratio facing veterinary graduates.
Another issue, which is not new but may be increasing, is the exponentially increasing amount of knowledge veterinary students feel expected to master. While 50 years ago, veterinarians needed to know differentials for many diseases, we now need to understand the molecular and genetic basis, the new tests available as well as the more targeted drugs. In addition, there is more training around business, communication, etc. that is all needed but hard to fit into 4 years. This means many veterinary students do not feel fully prepared to start in practice.
Veterinary students need and want mentorship. Veterinary students want to end up in hospitals where they will have true mentors in getting to the next level in providing care to pets.
Finally, for the reasons I listed above and more, I am seeing veterinary students burn out before they even graduate. It is imperative that we focus on setting healthy boundaries as students (and that we are encouraged to do so by faculty), so that we can learn and master these skills to take forward in our career.
What do you think we are doing well in our profession?
I believe that veterinarians embody the coolest profession. While there are challenges, we are starting to address them. I have been impressed on interviews that work/life balance is a topic that is openly discussed. Our profession is starting to talk about the hard, mental health challenges. We are getting much better at true preventative medicine, rather than only treating disease after it occurs.
What do you hope to see in the future of veterinary medicine?
There are exciting possibilities with technology. These tools may allow us to provide care for more pets in a more efficient way. However, we need to be careful to make sure this technology works with us to preserve the crucial relationships with pets and people that is at the heart of what we do.
I hope to see veterinary medicine become a more respected profession and have more of the community understand the unique skills and knowledge we possess.
The One Health Initiative is an important part of building our place in the community. Human doctors in particular often don’t understand what we do and how our knowledge could help them. SAVMA is working on this issue as some of the collaboration needs to be built early during school. For the past two years, SAVMA has partnered with the CTSA One Health Alliance (COHA) and has sent student representatives to the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Meeting. Next year, we are hoping students from AMSA will attend SAVMA.
Any Final Words?
Our profession is strongest when we take care of each other. We need to all remember why we love being veterinarians and talk outwardly about veterinary medicine in a positive light. At the same time, we need to work together to continue to make progress on the important issues facing our profession.
