College Connection Winter 2023 | Page 7

College Connection | Winter 2023

TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE

College fosters relationships with future professionals

The College is invested in student success at the Ontario Veterinary College ( OVC ) and fostering a positive relationship between student veterinarians and the College . Even if they become licensed to practice in another jurisdiction , their relationship with and understanding of their veterinary regulatory body is important to their success as a practitioner .

The transition into practice from being a student veterinarian is significant . This period includes a lot of change for graduate veterinarians . One aspect of the transition involves gaining licensure to practice . Having a licence means understanding the professional obligations and expectations of a licensed professional and having an appreciation of the important role they have in profession-based regulation .

Having an accurate understanding of the role of their regulatory body and appreciating the value of their engagement with the College throughout their career , helps to alleviate some of those early career jitters .

The College appreciates the opportunities to engage with and inform OVC students . College Council and staff have been invited to speak at OVC on several occasions and more opportunities are coming in 2024 .

In September , Dr . Lorie Gold , a Past President of the College , attended the Welcome Ceremony at OVC . This ceremony celebrates the incoming first year class . Dr . Gold delivered a heartfelt welcome to the future veterinarians on behalf of the Council . In 2024 , the College President , Dr . Wade Wright , will attend the White Coat Ceremony for the third-year students . This ceremony marks the students ’ transition into their clinical year at OVC . And the College has the honour of attending the June graduation ceremony of OVC students . Jan Robinson , Registrar and CEO at the College , presents an award , the CVO Ontario prize , to an OVC student at the graduation ceremony .

Also in September , Dr . Susan Sabatini , the College ’ s Practice Advisor , provided a lecture on continuing professional development ( CPD ) to the first-year class at OVC . In the Phase 1 Art of Veterinary Medicine ( AVM ) program , students are introduced to CPD and complete a CPD assignment that teaches them to set learning goals based on areas they have identified as needing further development .

Further , they identify learning activities to achieve their goals , participate in those learning activities and provide reflection on their learning and how it will impact their future practice . This assignment continues through Phases 2 and 3 in the AVM program .

In October , Dr . Kim Lambert , Associate Registrar for Quality Practice was a guest lecturer in the AVM program for the first year students and spoke about demystifying the role of the College . This lecture introduced the students to the concept of profession-based regulation , why it exists , and provided facts about the role of the College , which is often misunderstood .

In November , College staff delivered three lectures to the Phase 3 students in the AVM program . Shilo Tooze ,

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Homewood Health Program

Confidential Ontario Toll-free Line : 1-866-826-4440

The Homewood Health Program is a free , confidential service to support the health , well-being and resilience of veterinarians .

Stay Well - Your health is important to your competence .

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