2013-2014 Externship Recipients
Past Externship Recipients
2013-2014 | 2012-2013 | 2011-2012 | 2010-2011 | 2009-2010
My name is Robyn Smith, and I am a 4th year veterinary student at the
University of Illinois. I have a strong interest in large animal medicine, including equine, bovine, small ruminant, and camelid species. Last summer, I completed a two week externship in a private practice in Pennsylvania that works with alpacas, and I have grown to love these furry and friendly show animals. I particularly enjoy working with neonatal crias, assessing their passive transfer of colostral antibodies and caring for them during intensive and life-threatening conditions. This year I will gain experience during a two week clinical rotation with Annville-Cleona Veterinary Associates in Annville, PA, where I will work with llamas and alpacas on a daily basis to provide wellness exams, veterinary certificates of inspection, fecal exams and blood work, intraperitoneal plasma transfusions for crias, and IV fluids, medications and antibiotics for sick animals. I truly love working with these beautiful animals, and I appreciate this scholarship opportunity and the generous help it provides. Thank you!
Thank you and the Mid America Alpaca Foundation for this generous
scholarship, which will help financially with travel expenses, tuition, books, and NAVLE preparation and testing this year. I truly appreciate your support of veterinary students and the profession.
Sincerely,
Robyn Smith
University of Illinois
College of Veterinary Medicine
Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
My name is Carolyn Geis and I hail from a small farm near Wolsey, SD. I am a current 4th year student at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. As of now, my current career path is to be involved as a mixed animal practitioner in a rural community back in South Dakota. However, as far as my future goals are concerned, I would someday like to explore a career path within the field of regulatory medicine on a state-wide level. My ultimate goal and driving force is the desire to serve my community through the skills I acquire.
Much to my surprise, the region in which I am interested in practicing encompasses a substantial population of alpacas, as well as other species of camelids. Several producers in this area have also expressed their desire for new incoming veterinary graduates to have a more extensive knowledge base within this field. I believe this scholarship would provide me with a freedom to travel somewhere where I can focus on alpaca medicine in order to better supply clients with the best available care, especially in lieu of the fact that the veterinary practice in this area has focused so extensively on cattle production medicine. A greater involvement in this field would not only aid me in becoming a more capable practitioner, but also a more knowledgeable regulatory veterinarian. Since working for the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, I feel as though this industry is relatively underserved as many graduating veterinarians tend to receive little exposure to this discipline. I believe this opportunity extends beyond simply just discerning how to best treat these animals, but also to helping a community of producers and better understand how to serve them.
Kansas State University
Dr. Stephen Purdy, director of the Nunoa Project, spoke to us one evening about the camelid work he was doing in Peru, and his next trip conveniently fit with my fourth year clinical schedule. While in Peru, we selected breeding females for producers and distributed male alpacas owned by the Nunoa Project to producers selected by the town municipality. The overall goal of the project is to improve herd health and genetics, hopefully providing larger crias who produce more fiber for knit wear (Nunoan's primary income source). I have accepted a position to remain in the Midwest in a rural mixed animal practice. I hope to incorporate camelid medicine into that practice and would love the opportunity to continue working with the Nunoa Project. I thank you so much for the monetary award from the foundation; it was a tremendous benefit to help with travel experiences. If further information is needed, or if there are additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you again,
Elizabeth Covington
Oklahoma State University
I am currently in my fourth year of veterinary school at Oklahoma State University. I had not previously been exposed to alpacas before my veterinary school career but during the club fair my first semester I was convinced to join our small ruminant club and fell in love with them. I was able to attend an alpaca castration wetlab with the club during my first year and really enjoyed working with them. I decided to take Small Ruminant Production, Medicine, and Surgery as an elective course where I was able to learn a lot about camelid medicine. I also worked as an overnight student technician during my second and third years of vet school where I gained a lot of experience with alpacas and their crias in our hospital. I also served as an officer for our small ruminant club during my third year of vet school.
I have scheduled an externship at clinic with one practitioner who sees alpacas as part of her practice. I would also like to attend a camelid conference during the next year to learn more about camelid medicine. My eventual goal would be to enter equine practice and offer camelid services in the practice. Thank you very much for this scholarship!
Allison Herrmon
Since beginning veterinary school, I have remained active in parasitology, public health, and in small ruminant club activities. I commissioned in the US Army in 2013 on a veterinary scholarship as my career interests involve public health and international veterinary medicine. I plan to use the scholarship you have provided me to spend a clinical rotation block in Peru (February 2015) working on research regarding coccidian parasites in llamas and alpacas. These animals are vital livestock in that part of the world therefore efforts to maintain their health are of utmost interest. This will be an eye-opening and rewarding opportunity which will provide me with the unique learning environment and challenge which I desire.
Thank you so very much. I look forward to sharing the details of my travels with you in the future!
2LT Maren Mason, MPH, CPH
US Army Reserves, HPSP Scholar
DVM Candidate, Class of 2015
University of Georgia, College of Vet Med
Thank you for sponsoring my externship experience with Dr. Paul Jones at Woodburn Veterinary PC in Woodburn, OR from April 13-27, 2014. While under the direct supervision of Dr. Jones, I gained invaluable hands-on experience providing veterinary care to multiple llama and alpaca herds while also working in a mixed animal practice setting. During my stay I provided basic herd health exams (including physical exams, spring vaccinations, toe nails trims, and administration of dewormer medications), routine dental care (including incisor and fighting teeth trims and oral exams), and common surgical procedures (including retained incisor extractions and castrations) to well over 300 camelid patients. Between the knowledge I gained directly from Dr. Jones and the sheer volume of cases we worked on together, I feel confident in my ability to continue to learn to care for these wonderful animals and I look forward to remaining an active member in the camelid veterinary medical community. I am sincerely honored to be the 2013/2014 MAAF externship scholarship recipient from the University of Minnesota; thank you again for sponsoring this phenomenal opportunity.
Sincerely,
Nile C McGhie
DVM Candidate 2014
University of Minnesota
College of Veterinary Medicine
Texas A&M
Dear Mid America Alpaca Foundation,
Thank you so much for this amazing scholarship! I was thrilled to find out I was selected to receive this generous award. I am currently interested in a mixed practice that is predominately cattle, small ruminants, and camelids. This practice will hopefully be in San Angelo/west Texas area. I am from Wichita Falls, TX and grew up around horses and cattle. In high school, our Ag farm had a llama on the property. It was always a curious thing that I wished to learn more about. Camelid’s became even more of an interest of mine when I first started veterinary school three years ago. I was excited to find out I would be able to take a camelid elective my third year taught by Dr. Washburn. It was an amazing elective where I got lots of hand on experience with both llamas and alpacas! Also in third year, I had a lecture on camelids in our large animal medicine class by Dr. Jones. She really piqued my interest in all the unique characteristics they have. She taught us many tricks when it came to handling camelids. Currently, I am looking for externships with practices that work with camelids.
Thank you again for this amazing scholarship!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Probandt
TAMU Veterinary School
As a future veterinarian, I have learned to diagnose and treat a very wide range of species including my new favorites – alpacas and llamas. Although I did not know much about camelids before entering veterinary school, every time I work with these animals or learn about their interesting physiology or unique personalities, I find something more to like. In order to delve further into llama and alpaca medicine, I chose to complete the North American Camelid Studies Program – an instructional, hands on camelid course offered by Dr. Stephen Purdy. This course covered topics including dentistry, dermatology, pregnancy, parasite control etc. Additionally, multiple farm visits gave me the opportunity to practice and perfect physical, oral, and reproductive examinations as well as blood draws, ultrasounds, semen collection, and castrations. After completing this course, I feel much more confident in my ability to assist llama and alpaca owners with various medical and reproductive complications that may arise with their animals. I owe my greatly increased competence in camelid medicine to the generous donation of the MAAF members and board. Thank you so very much for supporting me – your assistance is greatly appreciated! I cannot wait to start using my new camelid knowledge and skills in practice to treat alpacas and llamas!
Kellyn McNulty
DVM Candidate 2015
Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
Before coming to veterinary school at Tufts University, my exposure to camelids had been essentially nil. From a few courses and outside opportunities, I quickly discovered my fondness for these animals and realized that I wanted to work with them in practice. Ever since then, I have been searching for opportunities to learn about their care and medical management. I am currently a member of several camelid organizations and have attended events such as neonatal birthing clinics and shearing. Recently, with the support of the Mid America Alpaca Foundation, I was able to participate in a weeklong intensive camelid course run by Dr. Stephen Purdy, Director of the North American Camelid Studies Program. This course has prepared me for the next step in my camelid studies, which is working with alpaca farmers in Peru to diagnose pregnancies and improve herd management. I am extremely grateful to have the support of MAAF and its members as I continue on my journey to become a confident and competent camelid practitioner.
Elissa Mopper
DVM Candidate 2015
Tufts University
To receive externships in 2014
Hello! My name is Larry Bardroff and I am currently a third year veterinary student from the University of Tennessee where I am hoping to become a mixed animal practitioner in rural communities. I was awarded $1000 from the MidAmerican Alpaca Foundation to help pay for a veterinary externship that involved camelids. This being said, I would really like to thank you for this support! This money allowed for me to spend four weeks in Standwood, Washington where I worked with a veterinarian who had several llama and alpaca patients where the services ranged from laceration repairs to alpaca artificial insemination. Though I was not at the clinic during the time that they were artificial inseminating, I did see my fair share of laceration and emergency cases. These situations made me realize the importance of camelid safety because throughout my time there, I saw many camelids that were attacked by dogs. Having llamas myself, I always viewed them as livestock guardian animals and this experience opened my eyes to the fact that they were also a prey species and needed a safe environment, away from dogs and coyotes. Additionally, even though some of these cases were depressing, I learned a lot in regards to wound management and anesthesia protocols. To me, the anesthesia protocols were very important to learn because dosing llamas and alpacas is different than dosing dogs, cats, and cattle and having a good grasp on anesthesia and pain management will truly benefit my future career. Overall, I enjoyed learning more about camelid medicine and can honestly say that I feel more confident in my ability to working with llamas and alpacas in my future.
Thank you again for this great opportunity!
Larry Eugene Bardroff II
I visited a mixed animal practice in the mountains of western Colorado in the spring of 2014. This practice has seen an increasing number of camelid clients over the last 2 years and demand for veterinarians that can serve these clients is quite high. During my short visit we saw two different camelid owners each needing herd health checks. One was a farm with approximately 20 alpacas and 10 llamas and the other was a group of less than 10 alpacas. Each group of camelids had feet trimmed, FAMACHA scores evaluated and body condition assessed.
Both clients were very responsible ones who obviously have dedicated time and effort in order to keep their animals as healthy as possible. The majority of patients had acceptable FAMACHA and body conditions. There were 1-2 from each farm that were more anemic and thinner than others and deworming protocols were discussed pertaining to these patients. One was new to its group and the owners felt that she was in poor condition when they acquired her and her health was improving. I really enjoyed getting to speak with these camelid owners in Colorado and see that their popularity is spreading across the country.
Sincerely,
Molly Brinkmann
Class of 2015
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Tennessee
First, thank you for providing the opportunity for me to go and experience mixed animal practice in a new area. I traveled to several places this summer to practice veterinary medicine, and I can confidently say that this was one of my best experiences. What got me interested in camelid medicine (and therefore your scholarship) was taking the camelid elective last year. After taking the elective, I thought to myself "I can learn more about these animals and really provide a needed service." I am sure you realize that many veterinarians are unsure about treating camelids because of the little we know about them in medicine. However, these guys are becoming more and more popular in the United States and they need care just like our other species. So I looked for a mixed animal practice where I could get experience with companion animals, production animals, and camelid species. What I found was a clinic in Redmond, Oregon. There are three veterinarians at the practice, two of which work with camelids. They have several clients with only a few pet llamas and/or alpacas, but they also have clients with llama and/or alpaca ranches. These ranches can house up to 100 camelids. Before traveling out there, I made sure some camleid cases were on the books, which they assured me there were. I was not disappointed. One of the clients owns a bed and breakfast with a herd of llamas and alpacas in the front lawn. They kept the males together at the bed and breakfast, and the females at their own ranch at home. With the group of males we did hoof trimming only. I learned very quickly that you have to really build up your hand strength to do that many hoof trims efficiently. And with the females, we trimmed hooves and treated a female with two very large abscesses. One abscess was on her lumbar region and the other her hindquarters. We took samples of both and sent off for a culture and sensitivity. The results came back with different bacteria for each abscess, but both were susceptible to trimethoprim sulfa. I learned the best way to give that medication is to dissolve it in water and mix with molasses, otherwise it tastes terrible. Along with antibiotics, we removed the abscess. Not your typical cut and drain, since these animals have heterophils. Therefore these guys have thick, caseous abscesses. I spent four weeks at that practice and saw about 50 alpacas and llamas combined. I also got to meet "Bubbles" the camel that they treat. Bubbles did not need any care while I was there, but I did get to feed her crackers. Overall it was a truly great experience. The veterinarians there felt really comfortable treating camelids and kept good textbook references on hand. It was great practical experience for me to take part in. And the owners of these animals are typically very happy to have a veterinarian who is interested in their pet. They love these animals and enjoy working with you to keep their animals healthy and comfortable. I really cannot thank you enough for the experience you gave me. Oregon was beautiful - I had never been there before! The family I stayed with was so welcoming. The medicine they practiced was supported with evidenced-based medicine. I highly recommend Redmond Veterinary Clinic in Redmond, Oregon to anyone looking to work in a mixed animal practice and with camelid species. It is an experience I will never forget, and will carry it on to my own practice one day.
Thank you again for your time and your support.
Sincerely,
Veronica K. Schultz
