massey News

Staff Changes

t he inimitable Nick Cave is leaving massey after around 18 years of teaching (plus time as a resident). Nick graduated in 1991 as part of the class that spawned many academics (Wendi Roe, Janet PatersonKane, Susan tomlin, Stefan Smith and myself) and private specialists (Andrea Ritmeester, Jenny Donald, Angus Fechney, Alexander macLachlan, Richard mcKee). I look back and reflect that maybe we all took those paths in part due to the influence of the generation of teachers we were inspired by (Hilary Burbidge, Steve Fox, Colin Wilks, Stan Fenwick, Prof. Jolly amongst others). In that same way I think there will be many massey BVSc graduates that can reflect that Nick Cave challenged and inspired them along the pathway they have led. He has been a huge part of the fabric of the BSVc.

After graduation Nick left massey for private mixed practice which was followed by a stint in small animal practice working alongside the late Frazer Allan and todd Halsey in Hamilton. He joined the medicine team as a resident under ex-HoI Grant Guilford during a very productive period of gastroenterologybased clinical research. He then headed to the university of California, Davis and completed a second residency and PhD in small animal nutrition before being invited to come back home to join the medicine department in 2005. He later established a research programme in small animal nutrition and created residency positions which have led to two further specialists in this field. He has been a huge part of the academic life of the BVSc degree at massey and supervised masters and doctoral students. many former students with be able to attest to how Nick enlivened their learning with his passion for teaching. He is always at his best with an audience, captivating and witty, and a favourite on the CPD circuit as well as with undergraduates. Nick, leaving as an Associate Professor, has an international reputation in his discipline and declined many offers over the years to join the more financially lucrative private sector, preferring to devote himself to teaching the next generation of veterinarians. Now he is moving on from his massey career; to new challenges that may yet inspire him to even greater things and we hope he will remain an active part of the veterinary community in New Zealand. t here will be an official farewell for Nick Cave and his last day is at the end of may. I am sure there will be many massey graduates out there that will want to acknowledge his contribution to their education when next they meet. Go well Nick.

Andrew Worth

Additional staff changes: l Hiroki Sano, recently returned from Hong Kong to the anaesthesia department is set to return to Hong Kong to a private specialist hospital. Hiroki has been a prolific researcher alongside his heavy clinical load and has contributed much to the V t H. l Sandeep Sharma is also leaving anaesthesia for a position at the university of Sydney. t he anaesthesia department will be making use of the part-time services of Paula Larenza (a melbourne-based specialist anaesthesiologist) and locum cover whilst we recruit into the open position. l Frank Gold and Rhea Jagdhane, both former interns and recently staffing the internal medicine service under Nick’s tutelage, are both moving on, seeking residency opportunities elsewhere. Frank and Rhea have provided an excellent service to our referral clients, rapidly acquiring expertise in their chosen discipline and we wish them ongoing success. l Andre Grafas, also a previous intern then ECC clinician, is leaving us for an oE and we thank him greatly for his contribution to the V t H. Best of luck, Andre.

New specialist in the surgery team

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Sacha Devereux, former resident and now faculty member, passed her European Boards examination at the first attempt and is now a specialist small animal surgeon. Her chief supervisor Kat Crosse and co-supervisors Lee and Andrew are justly proud of her achievement. t hat gives the V t H four specialist surgeons when Kat returns from maternity leave. our final year resident Sasha Polak is now running her own service with supervisor backup and hopes to credential later this year in anticipation of fellowship examination next year. t he surgical caseload is good with a few weeks waitlist for some non-urgent cases. urgent and semi-urgent cases are able to be handled according to need.

Small Animal Referral Services

As a result of our current inability to recruit specialists in internal medicine, the muV t H cannot currently offer a specialist small animal medicine referral service. We appreciate the need to still have a pathway for clients’ animals to access advanced diagnostics, emergency medicine and anaesthesia. We are recruiting veterinarians with a special interest in internal medicine to back up the referral specialist SA Surgical and ECC teams and hope to be able to handle outside medicine referrals on a more limited basis than previously.

Price Rises For Clinical Services

t here have had to be substantial price rises in the fees for veterinary services provided by the muV t H. t his mainly reflects the evolving financial structure of the university and the requirement for the Veterinary School to return more income for all operations to cover the increasing cost of delivering the programme. t he V t H, like most university clinics in the world, is not a profit generator as it might be in the private sector, due to its training role and less efficient case through-put. At the same time, we are being asked to reduce the losses and recover more costs hence the price rises. Please do not rely on historical fees and quotes when advising clients on future referrals. l