Our Terms & Conditions | Our Privacy Policy
WCVM first-year students celebrate after the 2024 White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2028—the college’s 59th class. (Photo: David Stobbe)
New diagnostic technologies, improvements in therapies, advances in animal health research and more veterinary specialities have been key factors influencing the veterinary profession. As well, a shift to larger-scale livestock production, globalization, and a rise in infectious and zoonotic disease have contributed to changes in both animal health and public health. An upsurge in pet ownership, a growing understanding of the human-animal bond, a greater recognition of work-life balance and other societal changes are also causing ripples throughout the profession.
It’s a fascinating journey that Muir has been part of for more than 40 years—first as a WCVM veterinary student, then as a WCVM faculty member, researcher and department head, and now as the college’s first female dean. She’s leading a regional veterinary college that has developed into a world-class institution with facilities and programs that continue to address the changing needs of its stakeholders.
In addition to its Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree program, the college operates the WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre—a full-service veterinary teaching hospital that serves as both a primary care and referral hub for veterinarians and animal owners across Western Canada. The WCVM is also known for its robust and wide-ranging research program that generated more than $14.4 million in new funding in the 2023/24 academic year. During that same period, the WCVM invested $4.2 million to support undergraduate and graduate student training and research activities based at the college.
A major part of Muir’s role as dean is to ensure that the WCVM’s education, research and clinical programs grow and adapt to the changing needs of its three provincial partners—Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia—as well as its stakeholders across Western Canada and the North.
Since becoming dean in 2020, Muir has visited alumni and industry representatives in communities throughout the West and Yukon. In 2023, she also travelled to Australia and New Zealand as part of a six-week leave during which she visited veterinary schools and WCVM graduates in the two countries.
“It’s critical for us to meet and listen to our provincial funding partners, alumni, livestock producers, animal owners and other stakeholders in the profession across Canada and in other parts of the world to understand and prepare for what’s coming in the next five to 10 years—let alone what could happen in the next six weeks,” said Muir.
For the WCVM, one major change was the recent renewal of its four-year DVM curriculum. The revised program incorporates competency-based veterinary education—an approach modelled on human medical education that has been adopted by veterinary colleges throughout North America.
Members of the Class of 2024 were the first students to experience all four years of the revamped curriculum, which includes more entry-level clinical skills and integrated use of simulation models as well as additional courses in areas such as professional skills and veterinary business. Many of these changes were based on feedback gathered through regular surveys of the college’s new graduates as well as recent alumni and employers of WCVM graduates.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Aggregated From –
Comments are closed.