Students at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies have been awarded official Charter status by the Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA). Image Presentation of the SAVMA Charter This means that ‘Dick Vet SAVMA’ now joins the ranks of 36 other schools from the United States, Canada, Caribbean and the United Kingdom who hold an official chapter. Dr Stacy Pritt, Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Dr Caroline Cantner, AVMA’s Assistant Director for Student Initiatives, travelled to the Easter Bush Campus to make the award. Dick Vet students will now have access to a wealth of benefits offered by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which includes access to insurance for US-based placements, use of the AVMA Career Centre and free registration to the annual AVMA convention. Becoming a chapter also gives Dick Vet SAVMA access to the ‘All for Students Funds’, which provides funding for events throughout the year. Deputy Head of School and Director of Veterinary Education, Professor Susan Rhind, said: “This is a great achievement, one that has been made possible by lots of hard work by our students. We were delighted to welcome our AVMA colleagues, Dr Stacy Pritt and Dr Caroline Cantner, to Edinburgh to meet our students and talk to them about what this Charter means for them.” President of the Dick Vet Students’ AVMA, Amy Fish, said: “We are so excited to get our chapter off the ground. It has been a lot of hard work, but we are really pleased to have achieved our aim which brings real benefits for our students. We have an exceptionally dedicated group of students on our committee and we are looking forward to planning many fun events this year and in the years to come. As we are one of only three UK veterinary schools to be AVMA accredited, this is a great chance for our students to take full advantage of all the opportunities this affords us.” During their visit Dr Stacy Pritt and Dr Caroline Cantner presented to the students on the Student AVMA and career management, before awarding the official Charter, which was followed by a networking lunch. This article was published on 2024-09-02