Vet students vote top university

Throughout most of 2012, vet students across Europe, Africa and the Middle East have been tirelessly voting for their veterinary school’s place on the leader board in the Hill’s Top Dog competition. Now the results have been revealed, confirming that the generous 10,000 EUR grand prize has gone to Israel and the 2,000 EUR prize to France.

Read more to see who won.

University of Surrey appoints architects to build new school of veterinary medicine

The University of Surrey has appointed leading architecture firm Devereux Architects to create a master plan for its new School of Veterinary Medicine.

The new school is one of the largest and most prestigious future development sites at the university. The building will sit within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, and comprises three complimentary and inter-related buildings, totaling approximately 9000m2 – an Academic Building, Veterinary Skills Centre and a Veterinary Pathology Facility.

Visit MRCVS for the full story.

A new world-class School of Veterinary Medicine will be launched at the University of Surrey in 2014

The new School will embrace the ‘One Health – One Medicine’ philosophy and will include the development of a unique research-led veterinary medicine degree programme with an emphasis on research, veterinary pathology and livestock medicine.

Currently there are only seven Schools of Veterinary Medicine in the country, and the development of the eighth school will be the first of its kind in South East England.

Professor John Fazakerley, Director of The Pirbright Institute, said: “This is good news for the UK veterinary research community. The Pirbright Institute currently works in close collaboration with the University of Surrey on research that benefits animal health and welfare; we very much look forward to building on this established and growing association as the new school of veterinary medicine is launched. There is an important place for trained veterinarians in scientific research and we are delighted that the University has decided to emphasise these areas in particular.”

Throughout the next twelve month period the University will be involved with the recruiting of new academic staff, attracting the first cohort of students, and beginning building works in preparation for the first cohort of students in 2014.

For more information visit the University of Surrey.

You’ve done so many now, but exams will never stop being stressful

Veterinary courses are some of the hardest, most demanding courses in the world. Becoming a vet means show determination, intelligence and, of course, passing many, many exams. Exams never stop being stressful, and finding ways to manage that stress are incredibly important for both passing and maintaining your sanity.

One of the key causes of anxiety, especially in vet students, is a fear of failure. If you don’t manage stress it will affect your performance; there’s no shame in venting, speaking to people or finding tips to help you. Mind have an excellent article for dealing with exam stress.

Good luck to everyone revising and taking their exams!

School of Veterinary Medicine and Science shortlisted for Times Higher Education award

Nottingham University’s veterinary department is shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards 2012 in the Outstanding Departmental Administration Team category.

The university recently received accreditation from the RCVS and has since implemented new administrative models that give academics more time to research, teach and respond to students.

The university has also been commended for its student experience and modern IT-department. As e-learning becomes ever more important technology plays an increasingly important role in veterinary school.

What exactly do you need to get into veterinary school?

The Veterinary News Network has posted an interesting summary of what it takes to make it as a vet in the US. Whilst the video is specific to Americans, there are many challenges identified that all potential vets have to overcome.

University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Science restores its full approval from the RCVS

The University of Bristol had been under conditional approval since March 2007 but, following a vistation in December 2011 the University of Bristol is now unconditionally approved by the RCVS.

Professor Stuart Reid, EPSC Chairman, praised the school:
“There is a positive and constructive atmosphere, which is a credit to the Head of School and all the staff who have clearly worked extremely hard”

Visit The University of Bristol.

How much of a problem is racism and sexism at vet school?

One in five female veterinary students have experienced some form of sexism while at vet school claims a new report from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).

Over 5000 sudents were surveyed across 28 vet colleges. 14% said they had experienced some form of harassment while at vet school and, unfortunately, as many as 90% did not report the harassment. This may stem from a figure of 35% students believing they had no member of staff they could confide in.

Alison has written about her experiences with sexism in the profession here. Have you encountered harassment while at vet school, and if so what did you do?

Read the full story on DVM360.

Animal Abuse

This week we had lectures on something horrible, but something completely necessary for us to learn: abuse of animals.

I think what shocked me the most was how widespread it is. I sort of classed it with other things that rarely happen at the back of my head. In 2009 1,153 people were convicted in cases brought about by the RSPCA, plus 612 people cautioned for offences under the Animal Welfare Act (2006). For a nation of pet lovers, this is a lot.

Read more

Good luck with your exams!

Exam season will be hitting for many of you soon and Vetstart wishes you the best of luck whether you’re taking mocks or final year assessments.

Vetstream provides free trials for Vetstart members and has a wealth of material ideal to help during revision. There are also numerous exam help topics on The Student Room.