The Wildlife Medical Clinic would like to express our extreme gratitude and congratulations to Dr. Zachary Ready, Zoological and Aquatic Animal Resident, and Dr. Balbine Jourdan, Zoological Medicine Specialty Intern, for their time and dedication to the WMC. Over the past year, Drs. Ready and Jourdan have been incredible additions to our team and spectacular educators to our student volunteers. We asked Dr. Ready and Dr. Jourdan to reflect on their year spent at the WMC.
Dr. Zachary Ready:
It has been an honor serving the students, volunteers, and patients in the Wildlife Medical Clinic! It has been wonderful getting the opportunity to learn and be challenged by the diverse caseload seen here at UIUC. I have enjoyed having the opportunity to work with students and share mutual passion for utilizing each case as a learning opportunity. One of my favorite memories in the WMC is doing an orthopedic fracture repair on a bald eagle chick with several students and mentoring them through the process of placing intramedullary pins and cross pins to re-align bone fragments. My goals for post-residency include clinical practice in zoo, marine mammal and/or aquarium medicine with opportunities to continue research.
Dr. Balbine Jourdan:
I want to thank all the students and faculty for this amazing experience over the last year. It was a pleasure to work with you all – I learned a lot not only about treating central Illinois wildlife, but also about myself as a doctor and a teacher. My fondest memories are all the wild animal releases I was able to be a part of. I will never forget my first successful raptor fracture repair… and in a snowy owl nonetheless! I look forward to taking all my new skills with me as I transition to emergency medicine. I plan to continue to make an impact in wildlife medicine and care through my research and collaborations abroad with the Veterinary Initiative for Endangered Wildlife. Stay in touch!!
We are so thankful to Drs. Ready and Jourdan and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors!!!
Written by Maura Ryan, class of 2024.
