Last week was my “Reading Week” or spring break. I was in Las Vegas attending the Western Veterinary Conference for the first 6 days. This is an event in which veterinarians and technicians attend to get their continuing education credits. After graduation, medical staff are required to continuously keep learning in order to keep up to date with the latest medicine. In Alberta, veterinarians are required to obtain 20 hours of CE each year. For students, there are often interesting topics that aren’t covered in depth during our curriculum. At this 4-day long conference I attended the following lectures:

• Mini Pig Basics I
• Mini Pig Basics II
• Mini Pig Anesthesia, Pain Management and Euthanasia
• Coping with Opioid Shortages in the Shelter Environment
• Acute Azotemia
• Top 10 Behavior Questions You Hate to Hear
• Canine Aggression Towards unfamiliar people on Walks and At the Door
• Turtle Medicine and Surgery
• How to Intubate Almost Any Exotic Companion Mammal
• Sugar Glider Medicine & Disease Management
• Common Avian Emergencies
• Radiology of non-mammalian Exotic Animals
• Small Mammal Radiology
• Emergency Stabilization of Reptile & Amphibian Patients

It was so enjoyable learning without the added pressure of writing down every word for exam purposes. I feel as though I will be far more comfortable treating exotic patients (including mini pigs) when I become a veterinarian, and even in the upcoming clinical year of my education.

A highlight of the lectures was learning how to intubate small mammals – this is where you place a breathing tube down the windpipe to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas in order to perform a surgery or dental cleaning. To do this in a mouse, for example, the vet speaking uses a tiny endoscopic camera in order to see exactly where the tube is going – to make sure it doesn’t go down to the stomach by mistake!

In addition to the lecture side of things, I was awarded the Jack Walther Leadership Award – this came with some serious perks including our hotel stay, as well as some breakfasts and a tour of their clinical skills center. I also get a registration that I can use within 5 years of graduation, so I will likely be back again at some point.

During our time in Las Vegas, it snowed TWICE! The second time was the night before we left – it started as rain while we were walking down the strip, then snowed through the night. This caused cancellations of dozens of flights, even though it melted as it hit the ground for the most part. That same day, we went to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. We were mostly sustained on Starbucks and McDonalds, which I can’t complain too much – they have some tasty food, and coffee of course. On Sunday night we went to a talk by Mayim Bialik (Amy from the Big Bang Theory) who has a PhD in neuroscience. She had lots of inspiring things to say about encouraging women in STEM, especially regarding family life in higher education. Tuesday night we went to a Keith Urban concert – limited to about 1500 guests, which was super cool!

This past weekend, I attended Real Life, Real Impact conference in Sundre, Alberta. This is more of a retreat hosted by Christian Veterinary Mission. I have been attending since my first year – although I went to Seattle, Washington the first time as it was not offered in Alberta. This was the first time that Parker went with me. I had the privilege of seeing him on the back of a horse for the first time!

With regards to my trip to Mexico, I am pleased to announce that my personal trip costs (travel and accommodation) are fully funded! Thank you so much to everyone who donated. We are still in need of supplies for the surgeries: suture, surgical instruments, surgical gloves and surgical drapes. Any additional funding in my account will be going towards purchasing some of these items. If you know of anyone who might have these items to donate, please have them contact me as there are forms for donating items for tax receipts as well. You can donate online by clicking here. Thank you again!