Traineeship In Small Animal & Equine Nutrition
Gent Area, Belgium
Over a 3-month period, I was deeply engaged in providing nutritional consultations for healthy and ill dogs, cats, and occasionally horses, managing around 75 cases with diverse nutritional needs, including obesity, renal and hepatic diseases, food allergies, IBD, pancreatitis, hypercalcemia, homemade diets, and urolithiasis. Under the mentorship of two ESVCN residents and two ECVCN diplomates at a university clinic and nutrition laboratory, I developed skills in taking detailed nutritional histories, adjusting existing nutritional plans (e.g., for the intensive care unit), calculating new dietary recommendations, comparing various diets to find the most suitable for each patient, and designing homemade diets for dogs and cats.I started with simpler cases, progressively handling more complex ones and achieving the ability to manage most independently by the end. In my final month, I engaged in owner communications, addressing common issues like excessive treat giving, under my mentor’s guidance.Additionally, I participated in weekly residency meetings (case discussions and journal club), monthly companion animal nutrition research group meetings, assisted in collecting and processing samples for a PhD student's in vivo canine study, and contributed to organizing a nutrition stand at a veterinary expo/fair.