Student American Veterinary Medical Association Chapter (SAVMA Chapter)

The Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) was created in 1969 as the national organization of veterinary students, which enables the 35 individual Student Chapters representing over 15,000 veterinary student members and associate members to function effectively as a single unit on the national level. The University of Tennessee SAVMA Chapter acts as a link between the university and the AVMA, making available the many programs and opportunities this organization has to offer. All students currently enrolled in the College of Veterinary Medicine are encouraged to become members and add another dimension to their professional education. SAVMA members receive reduced subscription rates to the Journal of the AVMA and the American Journal of Veterinary Research, free advanced registration to the AVMA Annual Convention, access to the AVMA Veterinary Career Center, as well as insurance benefits. Members in good standing for all four years of veterinary school are granted automatic conversion to AVMA membership upon graduation. In addition to national representation, UT’s SAVMA provides a forum for its members to interact on a professional and social level, and to learn the medical ethics, conduct, and benefits of organized veterinary medicine. The UT SAVMA’s monthly meetings of their Executive Board and Council representing each veterinary club at UTCVM provide an opportunity for students from all four classes/years to meet and interact. SAVMA organizes dances and parties during the year and sponsors many college–wide events. SAVMA is dedicated to promoting friendly relations among students and between students, faculty, and the professional community. To join SAVMA, a student can come to a meeting and pay dues or contact his or her student SAVMA representative. SAVMA Class Representatives act as a liaison between classes, SAVMA, and the college and serve on the SAVMA Executive Board. They also collect membership dues and keep the Office of Educational Enhancement informed of SAVMA activities and actions that concern the college, etc. Time commitment – variable, with some positions being moderate to considerable.

Student Chapter of ACVIM

The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) is the national certifying organization for veterinary specialists in large and small animal internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, and oncology. Joining a student chapter of ACVIM is beneficial to those who plan to pursue board certification after graduation, as well as those who wish to work in a general practice setting. The student chapter organizes monthly educational lunch meetings with board-certified speakers in a variety of specialties, as well as holds an annual wet lab for students to gain more hands-on experience with different diagnostic techniques.

Aquaculture and Aquatic Medicine Club (now combined with Avian, Wildlife, and Exotics)

The Aquaculture and Aquatic Medicine Club provides students with an interest in aquatic animal medicine opportunities to learn more about this emerging field and ways to get involved in it. It is also a student chapter of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA). Throughout the year, the organization offers lunchtime lectures, journal and case discussions, opportunities for hands-on experience and learning, as well as planned trips to local aquariums and aquaculture facilities. They also provide a frequently updated list of externships and other opportunities in the field of aquatic animal medicine.

Avian, Wildlife, and Exotics (AWE) and Aquaculture and Aquatic Medicine Club (AAM)

AWE provides a forum for students with an interest in all aspects of avian, wildlife, pocket pet, reptile, and zoo medicine. Throughout the year, the organization offers lunchtime lectures, speakers for general SAVMA meetings, and opportunities for hands-on experience. It also provides a list of externships in exotic animal medicine.

Canine Club

The Canine Club was formed to provide students with a forum to discuss and learn about aspects of canine medicine, behavior, and other issues beyond those presented in the classroom. The club was organized and began operation as a SAVMA club in 1997. In 1998, the club took responsibility for organizing and operating the Canine Parade of Breeds portion of UTCVM’s Open House. The club holds bimonthly meetings featuring topics of interest to club members concerning canines. Speakers include members of the faculty, invited guests from outside the college, and veterinary students with dog-related expertise. The club is also responsible for one general SAVMA meeting during the year, which features an authority on a canine-related topic.

Christian Veterinary Fellowship

Christian Veterinary Fellowship (CVF) is a Christ-centered group that focuses on service. As a club, they meet every Monday during lunch and either have a speaker or hold a Bible study. Outside of that time, the mission is to serve the students, faculty, and community. Some of these services include sending encouraging notes before exams, providing free meals to faculty and students, and serving communities within and outside of the United States that need veterinary assistance such as rural Kentucky, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Equine Club

The Equine Club at the University of Tennessee is a student chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Bi-monthly meetings are held at noon (everyone is welcome to meetings, not just members!).

Other activities planned for the year include:

• Wet labs on endoscopy
• Bandaging
• Dentistry
• Foot trimming
• Field trips

Students can also gain clinical experience by becoming a member of the Equine Emergency Team. Members of this team are called upon about twice a month to help with any emergencies that come in after hours to the clinics.

Feed-a-Pet-Club (formerly Meals-On-Wheels)

Feed-a-Pet is a community service program that relies on student volunteers to deliver pet food monthly to aging and disabled pet owners who need assistance obtaining adequate nutrition for their companion animals. This club is a great opportunity to provide a service to the community, learn about body condition scoring, and nutrition, and form meaningful bonds with nearby pet owners in need.

Feline Club

Feline Club has lunchtime lectures about topics in medicine and surgery of domestic cats (and occasionally large cats). The club takes yearly trips to a large cat sanctuary in Tennessee. The club's lab experience includes common surgical procedures of feline practice including spays, neuters, and dental extractions.

Food Animal Club

The Food Animal Club is an organization for students who are interested in production medicine of cattle, swine, camelids, small ruminants, and poultry. They hold monthly lunch meetings with speakers and/or case presentations relating to these species, as well as perform hospital case rounds every Wednesday during the lunch hour. They also participate in national organizations such as the American Association of Bovine Practitioners and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and try to send students to these conferences each year. The club typically conducts a wet lab symposium one weekend during the academic year so that students can gain hands-on experience in several different aspects of production medicine. The club usually does several wet labs outside of their symposium. These range from palpation and feet trimming, to handling and calf processing labs.

Integrative and Behavioral Medicine Club (IBM) (Formerly Behavior and Alternative Medicine Club)

This club was started in 1993 and serves to inform students on behavioral medicine and the holistic method of treating animals’ health problems. Holistic topics include: acupuncture, chiropractic herbal or nutritional supplements and other alternative modalities from the traditions of both Eastern and Western medicine. Topics are based on the club members’ interests. Speakers include those in the UTCVM, Knoxville veterinarians who use integrative treatments, and once a year, a speaker from another part of the country visits to discuss behavior or alternative medicine topics. Behavioral medicine has been recognized as a specialty since 1993, and in 1996 the AVMA established guidelines with respect to alternative medicine. This club hopes to open doors for students who wish to further their knowledge of integrative and/or behavioral medicine. International Veterinary Students Association (IVSA)

IVSA is designed for students with an interest in international veterinary medicine. They provide an extensive list of international contacts for externship and volunteer opportunities, work with the international organization in assistance of student exchange programs, coordinate lunch lectures exhibiting a variety of world experiences, and plan a big social mixer every semester to build upon the school's natural cultural diversity. Every year, IVSA also offers a travel scholarship for 1–2 students performing veterinary services abroad!

Pride Veterinary Medicine Association (Pride VMA)

The Pride VMA is a professional organization that celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2013 and has a long-standing relationship with the AVMA as well as other veterinary associations. It was founded to represent and support those LGBT individuals and allies within the veterinary field. Similarly, the goal of the UT chapter is to serve as an organization that fosters acceptance, inclusion, and leadership for veterinary students, veterinarians, faculty, and veterinary technicians of all sexual orientations and gender identities and their allies through community development, professional advocacy, and personal empowerment. All individuals are welcome and encouraged to join and participate, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, religious beliefs, occupation, education, etc. This club’s hope is to enhance the UTCVM experience for both LGBT individuals and allies. Meetings, speakers, and events are related to LGBT and allied areas both within the veterinary profession and within the community with a focus on enhanced diversity, acceptance, and awareness.

One Health Club

Vision: Interdisciplinary cooperation for improved health of humans, animals, and the environment.

Mission: To provide students with educational opportunities and practical experience in collaborating with other disciplines to improve the health of individuals and populations.

Values: We believe that the only way to properly treat any human, animal, or ecosystem is to understand the interplay between the three. By approaching health issues as a manifestation of various contributors, we hope to provide better and more successful care long-term.

Strategy:

• engage other clubs (SAVE, IVSA, WDA) and organize joint meetings
• discuss emerging infectious zoonotic diseases
• organize a mock outbreak so members can see the interplay of various disciplines in that type of scenario
• recruit speakers (USDA vet services and wildlife services, state veterinarian etc.)
• celebrate world rabies day and provide information to non-member students about current rabies issues worldwide
• provide bat lab necropsy and pathology identification in regard to potential infectious diseases
• connect students with Vets for Pets with Homeless Owners and Companion Animal Initiative of Tennessee to provide exposure surrounding the human-animal bond
• provide informational materials for incoming students about the Masters of Public Health (MPH) graduate program

Pain Management

The Pain Management Club seeks to educate veterinary students on traditional and non-traditional forms of analgesia and anesthesia for small and large animals, as well as exotics. Monthly meetings are held for lectures on various topics, and lunch is often provided. Hands-on opportunities are available once per semester to learn techniques previously lectured on during meetings.

Pathology Club

Pathology is the study of the origin and processes of diseases, from the cellular and physiologic level to the whole animal. Pathology is exciting because it unifies all aspects of medicine. Pathologists study all diseases: infectious, neoplastic, metabolic, inflammatory, or otherwise… and study all species and organ systems, from cardiology to neurology to dermatology and more. Pathology is fascinating, pathology is important, and pathology is beautiful! The Pathology Club at UTCVM stimulates student interest in clinical and anatomic pathology. It offers many fun activities and great ways to get involved!

PAWsitive Impact

PAWsitive Impact is a service-centered wellness club focused on addressing the prevalence of poor wellness within the veterinary community. PAWsitive Impact’s mission is three-fold: to promote veterinary wellness within UTCVM and the public through service and education, to educate members on recognizing and preventing poor wellness, and to improve wellness among its own members. Meetings include lunchtime lectures, service projects, and de-stressing activities. “Wet labs” include continuing education such as suicide prevention training and canine and human CPR training. PAWsitive Impact is now integrated with HABIT and is the college’s official human animal bond club.

Radiology Club

The Radiology Club is a group for students with an interest in veterinary radiology. Lunchtime lectures focus mainly on X-ray radiography and ultrasonography, but also touch on modalities such as magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and nuclear medicine. The club organizes one wet lab during the academic year to provide club members with the opportunity for hands-on experience.

SAVE

SAVE is a club that shares and holds true to the principles of our parent organization Alliance of Veterinarians for the Environment (AVE). This organization is for veterinarians and others interested in building upon the connections between animal health and well-being and environmental and ecosystem health. They are dedicated to promoting environmental health and the conservation of nature through education and research within the veterinary profession. Throughout the year, the club offers informational meetings with unique speakers for topics that are rarely thought of or covered during course lectures, such as: “The Importance of Honeybees & Our Civilization;” “The Human Impact on the Salamanders of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” The club is geared toward raising awareness of our impacts on our environment as veterinarians. To help relieve students’ stress, they also have outings such as paddle boarding, hiking, and social events.

Shelter Club

The Shelter Medicine Club is open to all veterinary students, especially those who are interested in small animal medicine, spay and neuter surgery, and animal sheltering issues. We are a chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, which means that students can apply for scholarships to attend national conferences and other national opportunities through our club. The club works closely with the Companion Animal Initiative of Tennessee helping them with fundraising for their projects and educating the general public about animal shelters and spay/neuter at the UTCVM Open House every year. Each year a wet lab is organized for members of the club to learn high quality, high-volume spay/neuter methods. In the spring, a fundraiser is held to sell personalized lab coats and scrubs for students, faculty, and staff at discounted prices, and the proceeds are donated to animal shelters. Every month a lunch meeting is held with a variety of speakers talking about various issues in shelter medicine.

Student Chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (SCAAEP)

SCAAEP provides opportunities for students interested in equine medicine and surgery. The club offers lunch and dinner meetings with a variety of equine-related lecture topics throughout the year. Wet labs for each class year, as well as an AAEP-sponsored lab are organized for students. Additional opportunities include attending conventions, volunteering at nearby equine events, and other ideas members may have that pertain to their particular interest area in equine practice.

Student Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (SVECCS)

The SVECCS is a student-run organization that was re-introduced to the university in 2013 after a hiatus. We are a chapter of the national organization VECCS. The purpose of this club is to promote the education and involvement of veterinary students in all aspects of emergency and critical care medicine. The club has informative lunch meetings with doctors in the emergency/critical care field, promotes involvement by allowing students to volunteer in the critical care unit throughout the semester, and holds wet labs.

Surgery Club

The Surgery Club allows students to gain more exposure to small animal, equine, and production animal surgery. Activities include lunchtime guest speakers, hands on laboratories, and shadowing opportunities.

Theriogenology

The Theriogenology Club serves as a way for members to gain experience in theriogenology of various species. Guest speakers and wet labs provide insight, information, and training in all aspects of this facet of veterinary medicine, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, gestational management, parturition assistance, common reproductive problems and diseases, pregnancy detection, estrus synchronization, etc. Students with interest in both small and large animal theriogenology are given the opportunity to learn more about these topics in their fields of interest. Lunch meetings are held monthly, and there is normally a wet lab for students each semester, along with various events coordinated with Food Animal Club, Wildlife and Exotics, and SCAAEP at UTCVM.

Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA)

VBMA is a student-driven organization dedicated to advancing the profession through increasing business knowledge, creating networking opportunities, and empowering students to achieve their personal and professional goals. VBMA aims to expand student awareness and knowledge by scheduling speakers for meetings and organizing seminars to cover relevant topics to veterinary practice that lie outside the current veterinary medical curriculum. By networking with professionals within and outside our discipline involved with business management, finance, leadership, marketing, law, and communication, VBMA ensures quality and relevant information for students in the way of financial affairs, entry into the job market, personal management skills, and opportunities that are available to persons with a DVM degree. VBMA also offers a nationally recognized Business Certificate Program as an additional membership to those willing to participate that consists of attending meetings for an allocated total of business education hours. Completion of the program then rewards students with validation by certification to present to future employers for increased hire-ability, not to mention in the process, giving each individual more opportunity for priceless networking with peers and professionals in the industry, and a more successful future in our profession.

Veterinarians as One for an Inclusive Community for Empowerment (VOICE)

VOICE is a student-run organization that seeks to increase awareness and respect to differences among all individuals and communities in the field of veterinary medicine. VOICE also aims to celebrate diversity within our profession, to encourage campus environments that embrace diversity and promote the success of all students, and to emphasize the importance of cross-cultural awareness in veterinary medicine in order to meet the needs of our diversifying clientele. Lastly, in order to ensure a more diverse future for veterinary medicine, VOICE chapters provide leadership and mentorship to youth, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, who are interested in careers as veterinarians. Come celebrate the beauty of diversity, and build a stronger veterinary community!

Wildlife Disease Association, Student Chapter (WDA)

The mission of the WDA is “to acquire, disseminate and apply knowledge of the health and diseases of wild animals in relation to their biology, conservation, and interactions with humans and domestic animals.” Chapter mission statement: The student chapter specifically wants to promote the idea of “One Health” (humans, livestock, and wildlife) by providing an opportunity for all disciplines to work towards a common goal. The club wants to educate students about career and research opportunities, qualifications required, skills needed to promote wildlife health, and connect students interested in wildlife health to mentors and professionals in the field. If you would like to become a member (open to all UTK undergrad and graduate students) please email utkwda@gmail.com for more information. Dues are $5. Please join the chapter’s UTK GO page to receive up-to-date information about events and activities: https://utk.collegiatelink.net/organization/wda.