News
University of Virginia Health Professionals Visit RUSVM
04/08/10
Faculty and students from the University of Virginia met with Dr. DeYoung and Dr. Krecek as part of their "Disaster preparedness in the West Indies" course and visited the RUSVM campus. (Photograph courtesy of R.C. Krecek.)
On January 9th, a total of 20 University of Virginia (UVa) students in nursing, pre-medicine, psychology, engineering, and anthropology and several of their faculty visited Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) to fulfill part of a three-credit course, “Disaster Preparedness in the West Indies.”
This is the second year that UVa has visited RUSVM. In addition to learning more about how to manage disaster preparedness, the UVa team wanted a first-hand look at the Research Department’s epidemiology program. Students studied the fundamentals of emergency care and disaster preparedness through a series of lectures, direct observations, skills modules, and exploration of the preparedness infrastructure currently existing in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Led by Dr. Marcus Martin, professor, emergency medicine and interim vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity, the UVa group also included Mr. Kostas Alibertis, AHA national faculty and director of the life support learning center; Ms. Elisabeth Wright, director of the School of Medicine Medical Simulation Center; Dr. Audrey Snyder, assistant professor in the School of Nursing; and Dr. Bill Brady, vice chair of emergency medicine at UVa.
Dean David DeYoung and Dr. Tammi Krecek, associate dean for research and professor for parasitology, met with the group. Dr. DeYoung gave an overview of the school and demonstrated how RUSVM handles emergency preparation situations, while Dr. Krecek spoke about the current research program at RUSVM and the public health and epidemiology area, including infectious and parasitic diseases in St. Kitts.
“This visit is the culmination of the development of our disaster preparedness program and our enhanced research program, both of which have become models for other schools to emulate,” Dr. Krecek said. “Our research program has developed to the point that others are traveling here to learn what we are doing and take that knowledge back to their own locations to build upon.”
