Samantha Edwards

To better prepare myself for large animal practice post graduation, I have elected to pursue an individualized VME4 CAE in Bovine Medicine. My rotations at Ohio State will include two weeks in each of the following areas, Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery, Marysville Large Animal Field Services, Equine Community Practice and Equine Emergency Services. I have further arranged off campus food animal rotations at Select sires Inc., Chimera Veterinary Services, TK veterinary Services PC, Urban Livestock and Equine Veterinary Services, Mid-Texas Veterinary Associates, Alpine Animal Hospital, Salt Creek Veterinary Clinic.

Following graduation I plan to join a pre-established large animal veterinary practice. I hope to not only meet the daily health needs of these animals but to be involved in emergency cases, reproductive cases and farm advancement discussions. As I gain more experiences and develop my practical skills I plan to integrate advanced reproductive techniques into my herds, making these options more accessible to herds of all sizes. This will allow my clients better access to superior genetics and allow them to make faster changes to the genetic quality of their herds. Striving to improve the quality and diversity of these herds will benefit not only the individual producers but the industry as a whole, raising national standards.

Once established I plan to allow veterinary and non-veterinary students interested in the food animal field shadowing opportunities. For the veterinary students I aim to provide them with opportunities to work through cases and to practice necessary practical skills. For non-veterinary students I hope to provide them with knowledge of food animal production and a chance to see first hand how veterinarians and producers are working together to provide a healthy and sustainable future.

I also plan to continue my work with local 4-H and FFA groups. By working with these young individuals I hope to provide them with access to knowledge of advancements in production methods and to instill good management habits, ensuring that the next generation of food animal producers will be profitable and sustainable. 4-H and FFA provided me with the opportunities and experiences necessary to pursue a career in food animal veterinary medicine, which I hope to provide for future generations. I hope that by supporting these organizations I can help to educate the public about the importance of food animal farming and to assure them that veterinarians and producers are working together to ensure that farming is being done in a humane and sustainable manner.

Finally, I plan to create a series of children’s books that teach the importance of farm animals while expressing how proper husbandry and veterinary medicine is used to improve the quality of life of these animals. Through the production of these books I hope to provide good publicity for the food animal field while providing much needed education to the general public starting at a very early age. I hope that these books will help to inspire the next generation to pursue a career in the food animal industry