Veterinary students, would you like to obtain experience in swine practice? The AASV Foundation can help! Students who complete an externship of at least 2 weeks in a qualifying practice can receive up to $500 in expense reimbursement. Access complete details and the application at aasv.org/students/externgrant.

To help locate the perfect opportunity, check out the roster of practices and companies willing to mentor students at aasv.org/internships/index.php.

AASV members, does your veterinary practice host students? Please contact AASV’s Alternate Student Delegate Hunter Everett (studentdelegate@aasv.org) to have your internship and externship opportunities included in AASV’s online listing. Make sure students who visit your practice are aware of the opportunity to join AASV and apply for the grant!

Benjamin achieves board certification in animal welfare

Dr Madonna Benjamin recently achieved board certification in the American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW). Dr Benjamin was one of the first recipients of the ACAW Scholarship Program funded by the AASV Foundation. The scholarship was established in 2018 to encourage swine veterinarians to undertake the challenge of board certification in animal welfare.

Dr Benjamin is Associate Professor, Swine Extension Veterinarian in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU), where her clinical activities include serving as a swine health extension veterinarian with the MSU Extension team. In her research and extension role, she contributes to swine welfare through training first responders on identification of compromised livestock resulting from accidents during transport, low-stress handling, digital imaging for body composition and locomotion scores, and using simulator pigs for training on effective, safe, and humane methods of swine euthanasia. Dr Benjamin’s research interests include human-animal interaction, the use of systematic observation techniques to identify compromised animals within a population, and factor determinants of timely euthanasia.

Dr Benjamin received her DVM from the University of Guelph (’95) and a master’s degree in applied ethology from MSU (’98). She was employed by Elanco Animal Health in research and technical support, with early research that included cause and effect of nonambulatory pigs during transport. Dr Benjamin established Veterinary Science Consulting Inc in Alberta, Canada, a swine practice with an “overarching goal to improve the well-being and prosperity of both livestock (pigs) and producers,” before returning to join the faculty at MSU.

Please join us in congratulating Dr Benjamin on her accomplishment.

The AASV Foundation Board of Directors continues to accept applications from AASV members seeking ACAW board certification. Applicants must have a DVM or VMD degree and at least 5 years of continuous membership in the AASV.

To apply, the applicant must submit a curriculum vitae, an ACAW-approved program plan, and 3 letters of reference (one of which must come from the applicant’s mentor). There is no submission due date, but there is a limit to the amount of funding available each year. A selection committee reviews applications as they are received.

The scholarship will provide annual reimbursements for actual expenses related to the ACAW program, including travel, course fees, and textbooks, with a maximum reimbursement amount of $20,000. Reimbursement will not cover lost income. An incentive payment of $10,000 will be issued upon successful and timely completion of the ACAW board certification.

For more information about the ACAW Scholarship program, or to apply, see aasv.org/foundation/ACAW_Scholarship.php.