Rarebreed was proud to be the premier sponsor of a two-day Vet Exploration Summit (VIP) in April coordinated by Zach Innis, a fourth-year, pre-vet student at U-Maine Bangor. Zach is the president of the pre-vet club at U-Maine Bangor and the founder of Veterinary Immersion Plan (VIP), which strives to diversify the veterinary profession by exposing underrepresented communities to the field through exploration, learning, and connection. He hopes that this will also help the Maine veterinary workforce shortage. So far, his program has proven to improve academic performance and engagement in its students.
Rarebreed’s Dr. Sarah Horn and Peg Wheeler, and Dr. Vigue from Lakeside Veterinary Clinic in Oakland, Maine, were among the speakers. The summit included in-person and webinar presentations and activities, with the morning focused on presenting different paths (veterinary technicians and large animal veterinarians) and specialties including aquaculture/aquatic medicine and USDA/FSIS.
The afternoon focused on clinical skills, such as small and large animal triage and medical math. The goal of the clinical skills training was to help provide the students with knowledge that will help them ease into and exceed at entry-level positions if they pursue jobs in veterinary clinics prior to obtaining licensure in the veterinary field.
The students were engaged, asking and answering questions, and chatting with the presenters during breaks. Some even expressed interest in job opportunities working in Rarebreed hospitals as assistants while on school breaks.
As a bonus, the event forged a great connection between the University of Maine Orono’s pre-vet program and the University of Maine Augusta’s vet-tech program.
Zach’s goal to engage and inspire his fellow pre-vet students was certainly achieved!
