91快色

When Dr. Renate Weller, DVM, PhD, opened the email saying she was to receive Alberta鈥檚 Queen Elizabeth II鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee Medal for her 鈥渟ignificant contributions to Alberta鈥� 鈥� helping increase the number of veterinarians 鈥� she had to read the message twice.

鈥淚 first thought, honestly, is this real? They can't mean me!鈥� Weller says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a team sport where you have a whole team on the pitch, a whole support team around you, and you score the goal and everyone cheers. This is an honour not of me, but credit goes to the whole team that鈥檚 addressing this challenge.鈥�

That challenge is dealing with the critical shortage of veterinary professionals not only in the province, but also across the country and around the world. Having too few veterinarians in Alberta threatens the health of domestic animals and livestock and also the province鈥檚 animal production industry and public health.

鈥淭here are many animals that require veterinary care, ranging from pets for our enjoyment and well-being, animals that work for us such as service dogs and horses, and animals that feed us, such as beef, dairy, poultry and pork,鈥� Weller says. 鈥淭his constitutes a massive economic factor in Alberta.

Let鈥檚 not forget the importance veterinarians play in ensuring food safety and working closely with our human counterparts in protecting the population from zoonotic diseases.

As Weller started her role as UCVM dean in 2021, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (ABVMA) had just published a thorough analysis of the issues surrounding the shortage. 鈥�I was asked by the government how the faculty can contribute to solve it. One of the ministers rang me and said, 鈥極kay, we have this shortage. What can we do? What's the solution to the problem?鈥欌��

Scholars and staff at UCVM worked closely with the ABVMA to come up with a six-initiative plan to address the veterinarian shortage in Alberta. With the help of $59 million in , 鈥淲e have started delivering on this,鈥� she says. One aspect of the plan already underway is increasing the number of students UCVM accepts every year into its DVM program and ensuring it's ready to accept 100 students annually by 2025.

鈥淲e are running as fast as we can,鈥� says Weller. 鈥淲e will open our doors in September 2025 to double the number of students. The degree in veterinary medicine is a four-year program so it takes a while for those people to hit the market. In the meantime, we are working with the ABVMA, employers and rural municipalities to get a recruitment, onboarding and mentorship program going that will allow us to bring international veterinarians in to alleviate the problem in the short term.鈥�

The Platinum Jubilee medal, awarded to Weller on Dec. 20 in Edmonton, recognizes these efforts. Weller plans to display the medal 鈥渟omewhere where everyone can see it,鈥� with a sign that says: 鈥淭his is a team award.鈥�

A personal connection to the Queen

Weller is one of 7,000 Albertans to receive the medal as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee year celebrations, but she鈥檚 likely the only recipient to have tended to some of Her Majesty鈥檚 horses.

鈥�It was pleasure to meet Queen Elizabeth II on a few occasions and I've also done some work on her animals,鈥� says Weller, who worked in the U.K. as director of veterinary education at a large veterinary services provider, as well as professor at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London.

鈥淭his is doubly meaningful to me as it is named in her honour. I feel very personally connected. This means a lot to me, and I am very honoured.鈥�