
UCalgary vet med students represented UCVM in the student case presentation competition.
Dr. Claire Windeyer
Jan. 30, 2018
Erik Burow’s case presentation on hardware disease in cattle was good fodder for his future in bovine medicine.
Hardware disease is the common name for traumatic reticuloperitonitis. This potentially fatal condition occurs when cattle inadvertently eat sharp metal fragments, like bits of wire or nails, in their feed. Once ingested, this "hardware"’ can puncture the reticulum (first stomach), causing peritonitis.
Burow — a third-year student in the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) — won first place in the student case presentations at the recent Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP) conference in Calgary.
“My presentation described a single case I worked up this summer while working at Feedlot Health Management Services, as well as an investigation of a peritonitis outbreak at a client feedlot in the U.S.,” Burow explains. “The presentation shed some light on the investigation process, and the possible sources of hardware in a feedlot that had to be ruled out.
“As a student, being able to recognize common diseases in a feedlot environment through first-hand exposure to cases was really valuable.”
Dr. Claire Windeyer says presenting at the WCABP conference is a great opportunity for students. “It’s a chance for our students to engage with the community of bovine practitioners,” says Windeyer, an associate professor in the Department of Production Animal Health at UCVM. “They learn about current issues within the profession and lend their voices to those discussions.”
Along with Burow, three other students represented UCVM at the western Canadian conference.
“Our students did an exceptional job representing UCVM. I was really proud of them,” says Windeyer.
Dr. Gordon Atkins says a highlight of this year’s conference was a student-practitioner activity that gave veterinarians a chance to meet future colleagues and “students the opportunity to learn about the current state of bovine medicine and identify practices that could make their veterinary dreams a reality.
“As a clinical instructor for almost 10 years and a bovine practitioner for almost 45 years, it was particularly gratifying to see the passion and enthusiasm shown by both students and practitioners,” says Atkins, a professor of teaching at UCVM.
UCalgary vet med students represented UCVM in the student case presentation competition.
Dr. Claire Windeyer