UPWr veterinary student with the MSD Animal Health & FVE 2020 scholarship

The scholarship awarded under the MSD Animal Health & FVE program is $ 5,000. It is awarded to students of the third and fourth year of veterinary studies. To enter the competition, you have to submit an application, which this year, in addition to the usual self-introduction, had to include a 250-word essay on the topic: "How can we use our knowledge and experience in veterinary medicine in the face of a pandemic such as Covid-19?".

- Apart from this essay, it was necessary to present an opinion from your mentor and the dean of the faculty, but also to present your student and scientific activities – says Marta Kawicka, who in her essay on the impact of the pandemic on veterinary medicine, emphasized that the restrictions on the movement of people introduced in the spring of 2020 have reduced the transmission of the virus.

- This is a controversial approach, because it is related to a lockdown, closing borders and we feel this isolation in our lives, but as veterinary students we know that epidemics are relatively frequent among animals, so sanitary restrictions are a necessity – says Marta Kawicka.

She became interested in veterinary medicine as a teenager. She was 15 when she went to the veterinary clinic in her hometown to ask the doctor there what the treatment of animals really looked like, what was interesting in this area and what the real challenges were.

- I have nothing but praise for Marta – says prof. Agnieszka Noszczyk-Nowak, from the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinic of Diseases of Horses, Dogs and Cats at the UPWr Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. In the TopMinds program organized by the Fulbright Foundation together with TOP 500 Innovators, professor Noszczyk-Nowak was Marta Kawicka’s mentor. As part of the mentoring, they developed common goals and strategies that they have been implementing to this day.

- As soon as Marta received information about her admission to the university, she wrote me an e-mail asking if she could, from the first year, do an internship in the cardiology surgery. Usually, we do not allow such things for one simple reason – students have neither the knowledge nor basic skills at this stage. But in that introductory e-mail Marta included references from Magdalena Garncarz PhD from Warsaw, a respected cardiologist, with whom she completed internships while still in high school – emphasizes prof. Agnieszka Noszczyk-Nowak.

This is how Marta Kawicka's internship in her mentor's cardiology surgery began. Marta is also a member of the Chiron veterinary students’ science club of at the UPWr. And since June 2020, she has been involved in the efforts of a team doing research intended for human medicine on a pig model.

- As I’m a student, my area of ​​activity is limited. I do not yet have the knowledge, skills or, above all, the required qualifications, to perform certain procedures. However, I very often act as an assistant anaesthesiologist to dr. Skrzypczak, says Marta Kawicka, who, apart from veterinary cardiology, is fascinated by anaesthesiology and who would like to combine these two specializations in her future work.

- These are demanding and difficult specializations, but I have always liked challenges. That is why I chose veterinary medicine, because when I saw what the medical treatment of animals looks like, I also understood how rewarding it is, as it can be really difficult. You have to be able to talk to people, but also understand a sick animal. I am lucky to have met mentors on my way who both want and are able to share their knowledge – smiles Marta Kawicka. And prof. Noszczyk-Nowak adds: - She is committed, meticulous and responsible. She has been coming to the cardiology surgery since the first year and I must admit that she could put many a veterinarian to shame with what she already knows.

The scholarship awarded to 36 students from around the world is the result of a partnership between the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe and the MSD company with the support of the International Veterinary Students' Association (IVSA) and the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE). Its aim is to promote young people who will build the future of veterinary medicine. MSD Animal Health is a company operating in 150 countries, supporting research, but also producing medicines, apparatus and equipment necessary for the treatment of animals.

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