Student Experience

My “last free summer”

by Annie Marlowe, University of Illinois

In veterinary school, the summer between your 2nd and 3rd year is unofficially deemed your “last free summer”. Meaning, that once 4th year clinicals start, and subsequently your career, you won’t have any more summer breaks! This, of course, is slightly over exaggerated, but I kept this in the back of my mind in planning my summer activities.

I decided this summer was going to be focused mostly on recharging for my 3rd year of vet school, with a few weeks of externships and working. While relaxing at home, most of my time was spent going to garage sales, swimming at the pool, or training for a marathon. I had a fair amount of travel as well, attending weddings, crossing state borders to see family, or vacationing to Belize for a week. It was a much needed break from studying and great to relight some hobbies of mine.

The first half of the summer, I was a POD leader for the Summer Bridge Program; this program is open to incoming first year students and others that want to build some clinical critical thinking skills in preparation for vet school. This 6 week program went through several clinical cases based around body systems where I lead students through important questions to ask when uncovering a case. Overall, this was a great learning experience for me in leadership and my own system of going through cases!

I also spent time externing at a general practice clinic about an hour from school, where I learned some new skills and refreshed my memory on some old ones. I followed doctors into rooms and learned what questions are important to ask to owners and assisted techs in the treatment area with blood draws, catheter placements, and ultrasounds. My favorite thing I did was perform my first few spay surgeries on some kittens! It was a tricky process at first and I had some assistance, but in the end I did the full surgery on my own and I feel very confident in my abilities!

Lastly, I shadowed at an integrative medicine general practice clinic in Indiana. This is something that I wanted to gain more experience in as it likely will be a part of my future career. I learned a lot of new ways to approach medicine, such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, ozone therapy, and nutrition. My favorite part of my time spent here was the focus on preventative medicine and making sure clients and patients are set up for success with diet, weight management, and routine blood work.

Overall, my “last free summer” was a success and the perfect mix of relaxation and productivity. I look forward to what my third year of vet school has to offer and I feel even more prepared to tackle a year of surgery and medicine!

Creative Corner

Submitted by Sarah Gainer, Iowa State University

SAVMA Chapter Award

A big congratulations is in order to Michigan State University, University of Tennessee, NC State... they have tied for winners of the SAVMA Chapter Award for this issue of the Vet Gazette! WAY TO GO! For those of you who are not familiar, the SAVMA Chapter Award is awarded to the school's chapter with the most submissions to an issue of the Vet Gazette (EXCLUDING TRIVIA). They receive a check for $150 to be used towards SAVMA events all throughout the year, and your school could be next! Make sure you promote the submission window for Volume 59 Issue 2 so YOUR school can be the next winner!

International Veterinary Experience Scholarship Recepient

Submitted by Alyssa Valentine, North Carolina State University

This internship was with the United States Department of Agriculture, under the Food Safety Inspection Service.As a Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) Intern, I inspected animals ante and post mortem to protect the public food supply. PHVs work directly with producers and commercial food processors. PHVs are at the forefront of protecting our food supply from known and unknown threats. PHVs have educated conversations about best practices for public health and evaluate public health programs and policies in food processing. 

On December 2nd, 2023, I traveled overnight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I ended up sleeping in on the third to prepare for my drive to Arecibo. That night I got my hard hat, cut gloves, timer, and ID badge ready because I would be up bright and early to go to my first processing plant. On Monday I was stationed at Ganaderos Alvarado, a Beef Slaughter & Processing plant in Arecibo. Every plant has its own identification number, where M6682 denoted this plant. The “M” in front defines it as a meat slaughter plant. “Meat” includes, for example, cattle and pigs. If it were a chicken or turkeys, then a “P” for “Poultry” would be the first character. I was able to work with Dr. Neftali Soto, a very experienced and knowledgeable veterinarian. We went through the process first viewing the animals in the barn to look for signs of external disease, including neurological signs, lameness, or sores. If an animal cannot stand and walk on their own, they are not allowed to move forward in the process and must be humanely euthanized. We were also able to observe animals being unloaded from trucks. There are regulations in place that dictate how fast animals are allowed to be moved and with how much force. Not only are we there to ensure animals are free from disease but to also ensure animals are treated humanely under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. We watched animals being moved inside and I was interested to see a Temple Grandin style chute network. Animals were led inside one at a time so that they were isolated into a metal box with the top open. Their head was restrained, and a plant employee applied the captive bolt. Plants are only allowed one shot. Upon a second immediate shot, they are written up in the form of a Humane Handling “Non-compliance” (NR), which can lead to a visit from the District Veterinary Medical Officer (DVMO), being shut down, or in other cases of NRs a “Food Safety Assessment” (FSA). If the plant fails to effectively captive bolt the animal and do not have a second captive bolt ready, they are issued an Egregious Humane Handling NR and forced to stop the process until they can be reviewed. After the animal was down, one of the sides of the box lifts to allow the carcass to drop. The carcass is then hoisted and bled. Some plants choose to save blood and it can be sold and used for sausage or other types of products. The animal moves down the line and the feet are removed, head is removed, and then the hide is pulled using hydraulics in most cases. The head is presented to the Food Inspectors (FI) to check the lymph nodes for signs of disease (like abscesses), the cheek meat for discoloration, the tonsils (they should not be there), the tongue for Wooden Tongue Disease, and the head in general for milk, feed, or feces. Similarly, the internal organs are presented to USDA officials, including the intestines, liver, lungs, and spleen. After the plant employees have trimmed the carcass, it is presented to FIs to look for other signs of disease such as cystic kidneys, reactive lymph nodes, fibrosis, pleuritis, etc, and again milk, feed, or feces. When the various parts are passed, they go to the freezer to be cooled according to the plant’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan, which is an approved procedure for preventing disease in their process. After freezing, carcasses are moved to be processed into different cuts of meat and parts like livers and stomachs are sent to their respective buyer. Sanitation Performance Standards (SPS) are in place to make sure that the plant is kept in a sanitary condition. Likewise, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) are regulations that prevent the direct adulteration of food products.

The rest of the week I traveled around the Arecibo Circuit which is led by Front Line Supervisor (FLS) Dr. Khali Jones. Tuesday, I went to Ganaderia Santiago, a Beef and Swine Slaughter plant. Ganaderia Santiago, M6678, was in Yauco. It was beautiful driving there. I was again able to work with Dr. Soto, as he is a relief PHV, and travels between plants that have openings for PHVs. This process was similar. However, pigs are boiled in the scalder to soften the skin and hair, before going through a dehairer and nail puller. From there on the process is very similar to cattle. Wednesday, I worked with Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) Adrian Machado at Elaboracion Felo, M7359, in Aguadilla which makes Pastelillos. I also traveled to Elaboraciones Fiesta, M21357, in Moca, which was also a processing-only plant. Thursday, I worked with CSI Roberto at Eurocaribe, M6717, in Vega Baja. They had multiple HACCP categories that I was able to learn about including RI/RNI/NHT-SS/HT SS/FC NSS/HT NFC NSS. Friday, I met CSI Francisco Irizarri at Alcor Foods, M44941, in Bayamon. This plant made raw pork and poultry sausages for patties and sold ground raw sausages and smoked pork. I was going to go to Goya, M1128, in Bayamon which has Thermal Processing but unfortunately, they were not running USDA inspected foods that day.

The next week I was in Carolina Circuit, run by FLS Dr. Geraldine Vidal Covas. I started

in import plant I-119 with Angel Centeno. We also went to processing plant M46798 in Canovanas that had heat treated products including canned sausages. Tuesday, I met Dr. Daniel Olivera at To-Ricos, P7374, a Poultry Slaughter and Processing plant in Aibonito. Here I learned how traditional poultry processing worked. I also went to Macelo Central, M18867, which is a Swine Slaughter plant and Rico Pastel, M46683, which makes Pasteles in Aibonito. Wednesday, I worked with Dr. Enid Aviles at a Beef Slaughter plant, M32170, in Naguabo. I also went to see Caribbean Snacks, M44065, which makes Pork Rinds. The next day I worked with CSI Linoshka Pacheco at plant M7883 in Guaynabo. This plant was undergoing an FSA which was very interesting to see. Finally, on my last day interning I worked with CSI Ismael Rivera. We went to Century Packing Corp, M6707, a Thermal Processing and Export plant in Las Piedras and Numeat, M5369, a Ready To Eat (RTE) and Heat Treated plant in San Juan. Here it was very interesting to see how blood sausage was made. The side was very strict on PPE. We had to use their gloves and coats, then we also had to go through an electronic boot wash with boots provided by them in order to enter.

Overall, my experience was incredibly eye opening. Not just into the realm of food safety and animal welfare but also to the incredible culture of Puerto Rico. In my free time I was able to go to the beach, go camping in the mountains, and try phenomenal local dishes like plátanos amarillos, pastelón de plátano maduro, pastelillos, pasteles, mofongo, tostones, and more. I practiced my Spanish and worked to learn about their way of life including housing, politics, and religion. This internship was truly breathtaking, and it would not have been possible without scholarships like The International Veterinary Experience Scholarship. After crunching the numbers this trip initially seemed unattainable, but IVEC gave me the opportunity to see it come to fruition. 

Photography

Submitted by Hannah King, North Carolina State University