Support the College of Veterinary Medicine
Skip to Main Content

College of Veterinary Medicine

Related Sites Looking for the hospital?
Menu

Food Animal Medicine Student Symposium

Posted April 27, 2017

by second-year DVM student Rachel Baumgardner

The Ohio State University and Zoetis hosted the Food Animal Medicine Student Symposium (FAMSS) on April 1, 2017. No April Fools here: this symposium was a great way for veterinary students to connect with each other and practice valuable skills for food animal practice in the future. We also had the pleasure of hearing many interesting talks about animal welfare and the media, how to improve ourselves professionally and personally, and got a great lecture from Dr. Temple Grandin
Food Animal Student Symposium
Although the weather was the classic Ohio overcast and chill, MSU students really enjoyed the learning experience of FAMSS. Left to right: Rachel Peterson, Travis Breunig, Caitlin McNichols, and Caelah Doerr. Front: Christa Finley and myself (Rachel Baumgardner). All class of 2019.
Food Animal Student Symposium 2
One of the labs allowed students to learn how to perform a physical exam on alpacas, a species that MSU students do not get to work with often. Here I am posing with a disgruntled alpaca named Mr. Goodbar.
Food Animal Student Symposium 3
Alpacas are smaller than llamas, and have different fiber (fur) consistency. They are notoriously difficult to work with, but these alpacas were used as blood donors at Ohio State, so they were (sort of) used to us. Pictured here is Rachel Peterson (2019) and her newfound friend.
Temple Grandin
At dinner, we had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Grandin and ask questions or purchase any of her many textbooks on autism, animal behavior, or cattle handling. Left to right: Christa Finley, myself (Rachel Baumgardner), Alex Strauch, Dr. Temple Grandin, Travis Breunig, Caitlin McNichols, Rachel Peterson, and Caelah Doerr.
Group Famss
The symposium had more than 16 veterinary schools represented this year, the most that they've had since hosting at OSU. We enjoyed socializing with peers and networking with professionals in the food animal medicine field all weekend.