USDA

Neanderthal Extern Loose in Washington, D.C!!!

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Be on the look out for a Neanderthal AVMA Extern sporting a Colorado State Veterinary Medicine shoulder bag, suit and tie.  He has been seen frequently roaming the area the House and Senate buildings near the Capitol, the Library of Congress,  many of the Smithsonian museums (from which we think he escaped), the special propaganda [...]

Public Practice

Monday, May 17th, 2010

USDA

For those of you that don’t know me, I am interested in working for a federal agency upon graduation from veterinary school.  Only about 75 of the 2,600 veterinarian students graduating annually consider working for a federal agency.  It is predicted that more than 510 Federal veterinarians will be eligible for retirement within the next [...]

D.C. Coincidences

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

After another incredible day, I felt the need to post and share how great this externship experience can be for veterinary students.
Yesterday morning, Gina and I went to a fundraiser breakfast along with a number of agricultural focused groups. We met with Representative Schrader of Oregon who is the only veterinarian currently in the House. [...]

Veterinary Medicine: The Future Is Now

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

It’s easy to criticize those who are responsible for making the decisions that shape America’s future. I find myself doing this on occasion. But it turns out that the challenges facing our nation’s leaders are much more complex than we often make them out to be. Sometimes proposed policies that most rational Americans would support require [...]

Here’s to an exciting and fast paced last week

Friday, May 1st, 2009

The past two weeks at AVMA-GRD have been a whirlwind tour!
It seems bittersweet that we have only one week to go until the end of our four-week externship. I am happy to see family soon but am sad to leave because I finally feel like I have a good understanding for the issues I am [...]

Below is just a sampling of the many things I’ve been doing…

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

There are many perks to working on the Hill. One of those perks is the abundance of free food. AVMA, like many businesses and organizations, strategically contributes to the campaigns of Congressmen and Senators who hold a short reception where the contributors get to speak directly with the candidates. I went to three of these [...]

Jaywalking & Jane Goodall

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

“Hey Lady! Stop right there!” roared the capitol police officer. I had adapted to the D.C way of jaywalking, but apparently at the crosswalk next to Capitol South metro it’s unacceptable. I later found out this officer is notorious for yelling at jaywalking pedestrians. Still on Monday at 8:00 a.m., I was shocked and there [...]

Another congressional negotiation

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Here we are at the end of week 3. Neither of us can believe how fast the time has gone. The last couple of days have been very busy for us, not to mention everyone else in DC it seems.
Ian already talked about yesterday morning, but I thought I’d fill everyone in on how we [...]

Here we go again

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

So, after a weekend of traveling and doing the tourist thing, Ian and I are back for the start of Week Two here at the AVMA-GRD.
We spent most of the day in the USDA/CSREES offices at a hearing to discuss the National Veterinary Medical Service Act’s (NVMSA) Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). AVMA-GRD Director [...]