SUNY Delhi Veterinary Students Visit Nicaragua
A team from SUNY Delhi’s Veterinary Science Technology program recently spent spring break in Granada, Nicaragua as part of the World Vets International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) program. Eleven students and five faculty and staff members participated in the service-learning experience.
Delhi students worked alongside Nicaraguan veterinary students, giving vaccinations, prepping animals for procedures, administering anesthesia, and monitoring patients recovering from procedures. During the week, they spayed and neutered 85 dogs and provided medical and surgical care for 65 dogs and cats and 35 horses.
“It was a very productive trip,” said Barrett Meckel, dean and professor of SUNY Delhi’s School of Veterinary and Applied Sciences. “This was the second year we brought our students to Nicaragua and they did an excellent job.”
Some animal diseases that the group encountered in Nicaragua are unique to the region and don’t exist in the United States. Parts of the country also lack access to treatments. Meckel recalls a dog with a large venereal tumor on his head. The dog was bleeding from his eyes. “We gave him chemotherapy. After the first dose, he already looked much better.”
Senior Liliana Gonzalez said the surgery classes she had taken at Delhi were a great preparation for the various procedures. However, since the monitoring equipment available in Nicaragua was very minimal, the experience also helped her gain confidence in her ability to monitor patients manually.
“At school, we’re taught to use monitoring equipment to assess patients but to also learn to determine depth of anesthesia manually by observing the patient’s heart rate, respiration, and reflexes,” Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t until this trip that I understood the importance of manual assessment, and I definitely feel more comfortable now monitoring patients without relying solely on equipment.”
For Gonzalez, one of the most memorable experiences of the trip was the group’s outreach day – traveling to a very rural town where local residents brought in cats, dogs, goats, and horses to receive care. The students gave vaccinations, administered flea and tick prevention, and de-wormed animals.
“It was wonderful to be able to help out a small community like that. Everyone seemed really grateful,” she said.
During the trip, the students also took a historic tour of Granada in a horse-drawn carriage and enjoyed a boat ride around some of the hundreds of volcanic islands in Lake Nicaragua. Some students went zip lining and paddle boarding and visited an active volcano with magma flowing inside of it.
“It was an incredible trip,” said Gonzalez. “I can’t wait to go back.”
