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Dr. Paul Gerding Named Clinic Chief of Staff
Dr. Paul Gerding Named Clinic Chief of Staff
"I am always looking for some new and interesting venture" says Dr. Paul Gerding, who was named chief of staff of the Small Animal Clinic at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital after Dr. Alan Parker's retirement in January (see the story on page 5).
As the clinic's services and physical structure have grown, so has the need for someone to facilitate standard operating procedures in the clinic. The chief of staff position was created so that day-to-day needs of clients, faculty, and staff in the clinic could be handled efficiently and responsively.
Dr. Gerding's areas of responsibility include overseeing the operation of records and cashiering; communicating with clients; facilitating cooperation among clinical sections; organizing site visits by accrediting agencies; assisting in strategic planning for finances, facilities, and equipment; and assuming leadership in the absence of Dr. Warwick Arden, head of the hospital and of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine.
Dr. Gerding says: "After two months I still find the position has a lot of potential. I look forward to working with a variety of people to solve problems."
He will continue teaching courses in ophthalmology and seeing patients as he works in his new position.
Education Outreach Puts Pain Management into PracticeFor nearly a decade Illinois's anesthesiology section has been helping to shape the emerging field of pain management. Now through the creation of a national consortium this expertise will be made more available to practicing veterinarians and their staff through continuing education at meetings and on the Web.
Dr. William Tranquilli, professor of anesthesiology with appointments in all three of the College's academic departments, is one of four veterinarians recently named to the national leadership council of the new Companion Animal Pain Management Consortium. The consortium, supported by Pfizer Animal Health as well as by Illinois and two other veterinary colleges, was created to promote excellence in companion animal pain management.
Members of the leadership council of the Companion Animal Pain Management Consortium, from left Drs. Steven Fox, William Tranquilli, James Gaynor, and Charles Short, were announced in February.Also on the leadership council, which was announced in February at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, are Dr. James Gaynor, Colorado State University; Dr. Charles Short, University of Tennessee; and Dr. Steven Fox, Pfizer Animal Health.
A primary goal of the consortium is education about effective pain management, not only for practitioners but also for veterinary students and technicians and animal owners. The consortium will provide continuing education programs to address excellence in medical practice, the ethical responsibilities of veterinary professionals to manage animal pain, and the appropriate use of analgesics. Guidelines to implement pain management protocols in daily practice will be developed and disseminated by the consortium.
Illinois's anesthesiology faculty have played a central role in championing the fundamental change to compassionate-based medicine to improve overall patient care. The College already includes pain management courses in the DVM and graduate curricula. A first-of-its-kind, one-year fellowship program focused primarily on pain management in companion animals is in the works.
Last year Dr. Tranquilli and anesthesiology residents Drs. Kurt Grimm and Leigh Lamont wrote Pain Management for the Small Animal Practitioner, published by Teton NewMedia. This year they developed a 5-hour continuing education program available through the College Web site at www.cvm.uiuc.edu/veo/. Topics covered in the handbook and Web site include the appropriate use of analgesic drugs and the management of acute and chronic pain in dogs and cats.
A new textbook from the Illinois faculty, Veterinary Anesthesia and Pain Management Secrets, will be published by Hanley and Belfus in late 2001. It will be edited by Dr. Stephen Greene, with contributions from Drs. Gordon Benson, Tranquilli, Grimm, and Lamont.
Working for the consortium, Dr. Tranquilli and the teaching hospital pain team plan to make a number of visits to veterinary practices and to continue speaking at veterinary practitioner and technician meetings across the country.
At the College's Annual Fall Conference in October, speakers from the College anesthesiology faculty and from the consortium will present a full-day seminar on pain management in companion animals.
Dr. Howard Gelberg Accepts Deanship at Oregon
"I think I'm about as ready as I can be to be a dean," says Dr. Howard Gelberg, associate dean for research. After 21 years of service at Illinois, Dr. Gelberg is leaving to serve as dean at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, effective July 1.
Dr. Gelberg considers his career a well-rounded one. A professor of veterinary pathology since 1980, he also worked for several years as a consultant in pathology and served as both associate dean for research here and assistant dean for research leadership in veterinary programs at the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
His work in industry, in private practice, and with the federal government has afforded him knowledge of the many opportunities available for veterinarians. Dr. Gelberg hopes to use his experience to make a difference in the future of the veterinary profession, and he believes Oregon State provides a wonderful opportunity to make that difference.
Dr. Tim White, provost at Oregon State University, says, "Dr. Gelberg brings a superb set of leadership skills and a clarity of vision about the future of the College. Howard also brings great enthusiasm and energy, and will be a strong advocate for the College."
Because Oregon State is among the smallest veterinary colleges, it has great potential for growth, notes Dr. Gelberg. He plans to work to increase research productivity and to establish a 4-year resident program to meet students' educational needs; currently students complete part of the veterinary program at Washington State University in Pullman.
Dr. Gelberg says he appreciated the good people that made our College a worthwhile place to be every day and he is grateful for his experiences here. "Having interviewed at several universities for deanships, I can say Illinois is a good place to be from--it's highly respected and a very good place to build a career," he says.
"Dr. Gelberg has for many years at Illinois demonstrated excellent performance as a teacher, researcher, and diagnostician," says Dean Ted Valli. "I am confident that he will provide vigorous and intuitive leadership to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University. We wish him every success in his new role."
Interim Pathobiology Department Head NamedInterim Pathobiology Department Head Named In late March, Dr. Wanda Haschek-Hock announced that she was stepping down as head of the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and returning to her role as faculty member. Dr. James Zachary (IL '77), professor of pathology, was named interim department head. A national search will be conducted to identify a new department head.
Sign Up Now for Next Swine EVPWhy should you sign up for the Executive Veterinary Program in swine health management that begins in October? Dr. Max Rodibaugh, owner Swine Health Services, LLC, in Frankfort, Ind., gave these reasons in his graduation address to his EVP classmates last year:
"Experts from numerous disciplines shared freely of their knowledge. Classmates shared freely of their experiences and knowledge. We learned of new opportunities in the pork chain and, because of EVP, we are better equipped to find and address those opportunities."
Dr. Rodibaugh delivered the Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture in February at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
To find out more about the Executive Veterinary Program at the University of Illinois, call Dr. Larry Firkins at 217/333-2907 or visit www.EVPillinois.org.
When Dr. Alan Parker came to Illinois in 1970, I-74 and I-57 weren't yet completed, the Small Animal Clinic was housed in an old beef barn, and women made up only 10 percent of the veterinary class.
A lot has changed since Dr. Parker joined the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine as an instructor. For one thing, his title changed: In January he retired as professor, assistant department head, and chief of staff of the Small Animal Clinic. While at Illinois he earned master's and PhD degrees, having already completed a veterinary degree in his native England and an internship at University of California-Davis.
But Dr. Parker says he derives more satisfaction from the advancements made by the veterinary profession than from any of his own accomplishments. Among the highlights he notes improvements in the Small Animal Clinic, the increased number of women entering the profession, and the development of veterinary medical specialties.
Dr. Parker has been very active in the neurology specialty of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine as well as the European College of Veterinary Neurology. In 1988, he was a strong proponent for starting the Internal Medicine Forum, which now funds more than 75 percent of the budget of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
He is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, has served on the editorial boards of veterinary journals, and has been a frequent consultant in private practice and industry.
The man who entered the profession with a strong desire to solve problems in challenging diagnostic cases plans to spend the next three years working each week at a referral practice in the Chicago area.
Then he will head to New Mexico and explore his options for a fun challenge.
"It's hard to drain the swamp when you're up to your neck in alligators," he says. "One needs time out of the rat race to decide a new course of action--scuba, duck races, endangered children, the homeless, scouting, selling used cars--who knows what?"
Internet Connects Veterinary Employers, Job SeekersThe College's new and improved online jobs database now allows veterinary practitioners to post and update employment opportunities themselves. The database can be accessed by selecting "Jobs" from the College home page at www.cvm.uiuc.edu.
Last year 4,000 jobs were posted on the database. Third-year veterinary student Abby Cowan, who co-chairs the Student Employment Committee, expects that the new faster and easier version will receive even more postings. "We are getting submissions every day," she says.
Practitioners can personally publish job opportunities on the database and have their position posted within a week of submission. The interactive Web site enables employers to keep job information current by adding, changing, or removing information from their posting.
Partial funding for the revised Web site was provided by the University of Illinois Alumni Association.
Cowan says the changes have made the database more user-friendly for students and others searching for a job, too.
The Employment Committee plans for the site to become completely Web-based, but currently submissions are also accepted by mail.
Also New on the College Web Site
Find the Answers to Your Financial QuestionsDo you know your practice's profit center? Are you using your staff effectively? Can you retire on the sale of your practice based on its current value?
Learn the answers to these and other questions by attending Financial Management in the 21st Century, featuring industry experts Roger Cummings of Brakke Consulting, Inc., Dr. Karen Felsted of Owen E. McCafferty, CPA, Inc., and Fritz Wood of Taylor & Wood, LLC. These three modules of the Executive Veterinary Program use small group interaction and practical assignments to allow you to apply the lessons you learn directly to your clinic.
The course meets May 16-18, July 25-27, and September 19-21 in Urbana. It is supported in part through generous contributions from Bayer Animal Health, Pfizer Animal Health, and Hill's Pet Nutrition.
For more information contact the Continuing Education and Public Service Office at 217-333-2907 or the Web site at www.EVPillinois.org.
Mark your calendars for the 82nd Annual Fall Conference for Veterinarians.
The activities begin Wednesday, October 3, with a job fair for veterinary employers, students, and recent graduates. Dr. Peter Weinstein ('86), who recently became the head of a national veterinary job placement service, will speak at the free seminar for employers that precedes the evening job fair.
On Thursday and Friday, October 4 and 5, veterinarians can earn 12 hours of continuing education geared toward their practice needs. Speakers will include Dr. William Tranquilli on pain management in companion animal patients and Dr. Temple Grandin on humane slaughter in food animals.
The Thursday evening banquet will feature an auction in support of student scholarships.
Stay Saturday for the tent party and football game against Minnesota. Make your hotel reservations now.
For more information, contact the Office of Continuing Education-Public Service at 217/333-2907. For football and tent party tickets, call Beth Erwin at 217/333-2762.
Volunteers from the Wildlife Medical Clinic gave several talks about their resident birds of prey at the Open House of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. The College of Veterinary Medicine was at the March event to distribute information about admissions and about its own Open House in April.
![[Dr. Paul Gerding]](images/Gerding.jpg)
![[Drs. Steven Fox, William Tranquilli, James Gaynor, and Charles Short]](images/Tranquilli.jpg)
![[volunteers from the Wildlife Medical Clinic gave demonstrations at the College of ACES Open House]](images/wildlife.jpg)