Dear Director or Coordinator:
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians (AZVT) is offering a scholarship competition open to any student currently participating in an accredited veterinary or medical technology program or internship who has an active interest in zoo medicine. The student(s) must develop a scientific paper and, if chosen as the scholarship recipient, present that paper at the annual AZVT conference. The paper will also be published in full in the Proceedings of the conference.
The Laurie Page Peck Memorial Scholarship Fund will pay expenses up to $1,000 for the winning student(s) to attend the conference. This year’s meeting will be held in Los Angeles, California and hosted is by the Los Angeles Zoo. Detailed information regarding qualification criteria, topic selection and deadlines for submission is enclosed. Please post this information and bring it to the attention of any students you feel might be qualified to enter the competition.
We are confident that the Laurie Page Peck Memorial Scholarship offers a unique opportunity for technician students with an interest in zoo medicine to challenge themselves, to explore zoo veterinary technology as a career, and to meet and interact with technicians who are currently practicing in the zoo and exotic field.
The AZVT was established in 1980 as a means for veterinary and medical technicians employed in zoos to communicate and share their specialized veterinary knowledge. The Association publishes a quarterly newsletter in addition to sponsoring the annual conference, a grant program, and the scholarship competition. The Laurie Page Peck Scholarship was instituted in 1993 to honor the memory of Laurie Page Peck, senior veterinary technician at the North Carolina Zoological Park, who succumbed to cancer at the age of 37 in August of 1992. Laurie worked at the zoo for 12 years, dedicating herself to the care of exotic animals, and was a member of AZVT from 1986 through 1990.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the Laurie Page Peck Memorial Scholarship or the AZVT.
Sincerely,
Grant Fuhrman, RVT
LPP Scholarship Committee Chair
Houston Zoo, Inc.
1513 N. MacGregor
Houston, TX 77030
Tel: (713) 533-6632
gfuhrman@houstonzoo.org
WIN A TRIP TO THE ANNUAL AZVT CONFERENCE
Los Angeles, California
October 14 – 21, 2010
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians is sponsoring a scholarship competition for any student currently enrolled in an accredited veterinary or medical technician program and those students participating in veterinary technology internships. The Laurie Page Peck Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established to allow a deserving veterinary or medical technology student with an active interest in zoo veterinary technology to attend the annual meeting of the Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians. This year’s conference will be held in Los Angeles, California, November 14 – 21, 2010.
The winner(s) of the scholarship must develop a scientific paper for presentation at the association’s annual conference. The scholarship fund will pay expenses (up to $1,000 U.S) in order for the student(s) to attend the AZVT conference and present the paper.
Information regarding criteria and submission guidelines follows and is also available on the AZVT website at www.azvt.org.
CRITERIA
Students submitting papers for the scholarship must be enrolled in a veterinary technician or medical technician program. If the student is enrolled in a veterinary technician program in the U.S., the program must be accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Proof of enrollment status may be required upon request. Students participating in internships associated with a zoo or in other veterinary technology internships are encouraged to compete as well.
The paper must be written by the student(s) submitting it. More than one student may co-author a paper. However, the allotted honorarium must be shared between students.
The topic selected by the student(s) MUST pertain to zoo veterinary technology. The topic should be medically oriented and not limited to husbandry. Broad categories may include a case report; a retrospective study; clinical pathology of zoo animals or wildlife; hospital procedures/diagnostics; innovations and updates in veterinary medicine or other prominent material as determined by the scholarship committee.
TOPIC SUBMISSION
Students must submit topic proposals to the scholarship committee for approval in abstract form. The purpose of an abstract is to provide a clear, concise summary of the information to be presented in greater detail in the paper. An abstract contains some of the major components of the paper, in 200 words or less. (A sample abstract is attached to this announcement).
The abstract format is as follows: All abstracts must be submitted in English. The title of the paper should appear in CAPITAL LETTERS, at the top of the abstract page (not as a separate title page). After a double space, the name(s) of all authors should follow along with school affiliation and current address where they may be reached. Include home phone number and e-mail address. Follow with the body of the abstract.
The title is important and should convey as concisely as possible the subject to be discussed. The body of the abstract begins with the objective, and should be stated in one or two sentences. The abstract should end with conclusions drawn from the paper. The conclusion should be no longer than three sentences. Abstracts should be unified, coherent and logical in their progression from one section to the next.
E-mail submissions are preferable. Attach submission as a Word document please.
Submit abstracts to:
Grant Fuhrman, RVT
Houston Zoo, Inc.
1513 N. MacGregor
Houston, TX 77030
gfuhrman@houstonzoo.org
DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS
MARCH 8, 2010
Abstracts will be: a) reviewed and accepted; b) accepted with revisions; or c) not accepted. The review process will encompass topic relevance, content, format and grammar. Each author will be notified and informed of the decision made regarding his/her abstract. Recommendations for editorial changes and the complete AZVT paper protocol will be sent to authors of approved abstracts by March 22, 2010. Only papers on approved topics will be considered in the scholarship submission process. In addition, if the paper involves work done at a sponsoring zoo or aquarium, the author must submit, with the abstract, written permission from the sponsoring institution to submit the paper.
PAPER FORMAT
Authors of selected abstracts will receive complete guidelines for manuscript formatting by mail or e-mail.
DEADLINE FOR FIRST-DRAFT PAPER SUBMISSION
APRIL 26, 2010
SELECTION PROCESS
Immediately following deadline dates, manuscripts will be distributed to members of the selection committee. Papers will be reviewed for content, format and grammar and the scholarship recipient will be determined. All applicants will be notified of the selection committee’s decision.
DEADLINE FOR FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER
JUNE 11, 2010
The Association of Zoo Veterinary Technicians reserves the right to select a qualified student(s) according to the guidelines set forth above. This scholarship fund is based on merit selection and is not necessarily awarded on an annual basis. The decision of the selection committee is final.
AWARD
Recipient(s) of the Scholarship fund will be notified in writing. Arrangements will then be made for the winner(s) to present the paper at the AZVT annual conference. The student(s) who writes the paper must present it.
The AZVT will arrange for conference registration for the winner(s) of the scholarship. The AZVT will assist in arranging transportation, lodging and meals for the student(s) who receives the scholarship award. The student(s) will also receive a $50.00 grant (each) to be used according to the student’s wishes. The total expenses, including the $50.00 grant, will not exceed $1,000.00 (U.S. funds).
The recipient(s) of the scholarship will be required to maintain a detailed log of all expenses incurred. The student(s) must also retain and submit all receipts in order to be reimbursed. The student(s) will not be reimbursed for undocumented expenses. All documentation shall be presented to the Chairperson of the scholarship committee or AZVT treasurer no later than 30 days after the annual meeting.
