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The big news in 2022–2023 was that every veterinary medicine faculty across Canada resumed all academic and social activities. Student clubs organized countless conferences and numerous labs and workshops for students, and every faculty event that took place before the pandemic was back on the school calendar.
For the Students of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (SCVMA), the year started with organizing the ceremonies for handing out lab coats, which participants attended in person. In preparation for their clinical year, the lab coats were generously donated by the CVMA, as were the personalized badges.
The One Voice presentations were also attended in person. Each of the 5 veterinary schools across Canada organized a conference, with their own speakers, on a common theme selected by the previous year’s representatives. This year’s chosen topic was “Coping with failure.” La Faculté de médecine Vétérinaire (FMV) opted to serve Quebec’s famous poutine at the conference, which naturally was very well received by the students and provided the kind of comfort food that helped address a difficult — but extremely important — topic of how failure is an inevitable part of learning.
From January 19–21, 2023, the SCVMA Symposium was in Prince Edward Island. The Atlantic Veterinary College hosted veterinary students from the other 4 Canadian schools, under the coordination of Lindsay Gallant and her team of volunteers. This marked the return of personal attendance at the Symposium after 2 years of being held virtually. It was a beautiful weekend, and I can’t wait for the 2024 Symposium, which will be organized by the new senior FMV representative, Alice Cheng. I strongly encourage you to take part at least once during your veterinary studies!
The SCVMA worked hard this year to provide more visibility to the CVMA in its representatives’ respective faculties. At the FVM, one of the initiatives was an associations workshop, where all the provincial professional associations had the chance to introduce themselves to FMV’s student community. Needless to say, the CVMA was invited. The Quebec representative on the CVMA Council, Dr. Jordyn Hewer, had the opportunity to speak directly with the students and to tell them about the CVMA’s mandate and roles during their studies and later in their careers.
And that was the year in a nutshell, marked by wonderful events made possible by the CVMA. Special thanks to Janie Racette’s capable coordination of the SCVMA, for which I am deeply grateful.
In closing, I would like to thank the members of the SCVMA Committee: Lindsay Gallant (AVC), Allison Kwantes (UCVM), Andrei Madaras (OVC) and Laura Shaw (WCVM). Working with you this past year has been a great pleasure, and I am happy to count you among my future colleagues.
I look forward to seeing you soon in person at the FMV during the SCVMA 2024 Symposium!
- Adalaïs Gibert, FMV, Graduating class of 2024