History and Origins
The Stanford University Pre-Vet Society was formed almost 20 years ago by Dr. Donna M. Bouley, DVM, PhD, DACVP, (“Dr. B”), a Professor Emerita in Comparative Medicine. Dr. B. realized that Stanford undergrads interested in veterinary medicine felt somewhat isolated in a “sea” of pre-med students. It became her mission to distribute information regarding career opportunities in veterinary medicine and to provide information on the specific requirements needed to apply to the highly competitive veterinary colleges.
Since 2003, quarterly dinner meetings, field trips, individual counseling, and a series of Expos have offered Stanford’s undergraduates a way to meet, learn from, and interact with fellow pre-vet enthusiasts. Associated with the Department of Comparative Medicine, the SUPVS also draws upon the experience and background of its 11 faculty and staff veterinarians who are specialized in some of the less commonly well-known fields such as Laboratory Animal Medicine, Anatomic Pathology, or Anesthesiology.
It is the goal of the SUPVS to provide enthusiastic undergraduates with opportunities to meet departmental and local practicing veterinarians, receive guidance regarding veterinary career choices, and to share common pre-veterinary experiences.
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Pre-Vet Expo
The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford, and the Department of Comparative Medicine have sponsored bi-annual symposia open to the public, in order to provide information about “the path” to becoming a veterinarian, and illustrating the diversity of the profession.
These conferences target upper level high school students, college students, academic advisors, and anyone else interested in learning more about vet school requirements, ways to gain experience, and the different veterinary disciplines. Since 2008, the Department has hosted six pre-vet expos.
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One Health Symposia
Major innovative breakthroughs in human health are possible through the use of a “One Health” approach to medicine and research. So what exactly is “One Health”? Diseases affecting humans do not occur in isolation. They occur in populations that interact with animals and the environment. The solutions to many diseases affecting human health globally require cooperation of human medical doctors, veterinarians and environmental scientists. While the veterinary profession has long embraced this interdisciplinary approach to enhance their field, the “human” medical profession has been slow to follow this concept. No Ivy League school without a veterinary school has an active One Health program, demonstrating silos that often separate human and veterinary medicine and research.
The Department of Comparative Medicine in Stanford’s School of Medicine has hosted three One Health Conferences (2014, 2016 and 2018) in order to educate and promote awareness of the benefits of a One Health approach to solving global health issues. Initially focusing on diseases that affect humans and animals, and eventually including the environment in the mix, these conferences have brought together human medical and veterinary researchers, human and veterinary clinicians and environmental researchers whose fields of study overlap. These meetings have helped to strengthen collaborations with the larger veterinary community, encourage innovative research programs, enhance environment and human health research on campus and provide unique training opportunities for trainees to integrate knowledge from human and veterinary medicine.
