2020 NORTH AMERICAN VETERINARY COMMUNITY-AFRICAN SMALL COMPANION ANIMAL NETWORK
COLIN F. BURROWS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP REPORT
BY DR AMID ADETAYO
INTRODUCTION
I am indeed honoured and privileged to be chosen as the 2020 North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) Colin F. Burrows International Scholar and African Small Companion Animal Network (AFSCAN) Scholar. I am Dr. Amid Adetayo from Nigeria. I work primarily as lecturer, researcher and veterinary surgeon at the Department of Veterinary Surgery & Radiology, University of Ilorin and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the same university. It was an exciting moment for me when I arrived in Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, USA on January 17, 2020. The event saw an estimated 18,000 participants including veterinarians, nurses, technicians and office managers, as well as more than 500 exhibitors.
I departed Lagos, Nigeria at exactly 11:55pm on Thursday, January 16, 2020 and arrived in MCO, Orlando, FL, USA at about 2:18pm. After a week of educative, informative, eye-opening fun-filled events, I finally left Orlando, FL, USA on Thursday, January 23, 2020 to arrive in Lagos, Nigeria at 3:30pm on Friday, January 24, 2020.
THE EVENTS
I will like to give account of day-to-day events that took place at the 2020 Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX).
Day 1: Saturday, January 18, 2020
We had a VMX welcome session with Terry Crews at 10:15am, which was followed by VMX conference opening ceremony that featured Howie Mandel at exactly 7:30pm. We ended the day with a wonderful NAVC President’s reception at 9:00pm.
On this day, at Rosen Centre Hotel from 1:30pm to 5:30pm, I had a hands-on workshop on Regenerative Medicine and Intra-articular Injections of Platelet-Rich Plasma Protein in dogs.
Day 2: Sunday, January 19, 2020
I attended clinical review on laser focus healing delivered by Marlene Siegel before going for my Sunday breakfast. Cryosurgery for Small Animal Practices session that I had later in the evening was so educative and informative.
Day 3: Monday, January 20, 2020
We started this day off with a guided tour of Expo Hall at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). It was filled with over 500 exhibitors from across the world. The evening was fun-filled featuring entertainment and concert anchored by Jake Owen.
Day 4: Tuesday, January 21, 2020
An hour with Meslin Yimam on Botanical Alternatives for Reducing Inflammation and Protecting Cartilage in Cats and Dogs was incredibly amazing because I was pretty much exposed to innovative botanical treatments of joint diseases in Cats and Dogs.
The day ended fun-filled at Hyatt Regency Ballroom with a Game Night which started at 7:30pm.
Day 5: Wednesday, January 22, 2020
North American Veterinary Community board held a meeting with both the international scholars and their hosts to give a recap of events at the conference. The day ended with a Finale Party at exactly 7:00pm
CONCLUSION
Let me first and foremost ascertain that I am now highly dexterous in intra-articular injection of Platelet-Rich Plasma in Dogs and I would like to be a resource person for WSAVA, AFSCAN and SAVAN for continuing education to maintain professional knowledge and skills. VMX has also given the greatest opportunity to painstakingly examine how lecture sessions were strategically scheduled to accommodate that huge number of participants in various specialties and specializations. I make bold to say that it would not be difficult to adjust what I had learnt from the VMX experience to fit into the cultural norms and expectations of Africa. I also learnt that turning a veterinary association to a community of not just veterinarians, but also nurses, technicians, animal lovers and advocates would increase its strength and participation from these incredible creatures in the spirit of one health and one profession. It is noteworthy to say NAVC have chosen Orange County Convention Centre, Orlando, FL, USA as their permanent home for the VMX, which encourages easy organization of events and facilitates planning. This is a take-home message for me to be replicated in my home country Nigeria and Africa at large.
APPRECIATION
I am indebted to my mother and my late father, who encouraged me to follow my passion-Veterinary Medicine. All thanks to my wonderful wife-Rukayat, my daughter-Maryam and my sons, Adam and Ikram.
I will like to extend my sincere appreciation to the following people listed below.
- Professor Colin F. Burrows
- Cheryl Good, NAVC President
- K. Leann Kuebelbeck, NAVC Immediate Past President
- Paige Allen, NAVC President Elect
- Harold Davis, NAVC Vice President
- Laurel Kaddatz, NAVC Treasurer (My Host)
- Sally Haddock, NAVC Director
- Bob Lester, NAVC Director
- Jonathan Townsend, NAVC Director
- Karen Kline, NAVC Director
- Mark Russak, NAVC Director
- Jackie Hagenaar Kaddatz (My Host)
- Jorge Guerrero
- Gatz Riddell
- Eugene O’Neill, NAVC Interim Chief Executive Officer
- Jackie D’Antonio, NAVC Vice President of Media, Strategy & Operations
- Suzanne Savage, NAVC Vice President, Governance & Administration
- Meghan Golden, NAVC Vice President, Partnership & International Relations
- Gabriel Varga, AFSCAN President
- Professor Michael Day, AFSCAN Vice President
- Kunle Abiade, SAVAN President
- Tunji Nasir, SAVAN Vice President
- Aziz Nedum, SAVAN Financial Secretary
- Bolu Sarumoh, SAVAN Publicity Secretary
- Adekoye Adeaga, SAVAN General Secretary
