The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics WALTHAM Student Essay Award
The Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics (SVME) is dedicated to increasing dialogue and understanding of ethical values and issues facing the veterinary profession. In order to foster and encourage future veterinarians to develop their interest and understanding of veterinary ethics, the SVME sponsors an annual essay contest.
For 2008, the SVME has partnered with The WALTHAM Center for Pet Nutrition. The support from WALTHAM will allow for $1000 for the essay contest winner and up to $1000 for travel and expenses for the winner to attend the AVMA conference and SVME plenary session.
The theme of the 2008 Essay Award is “The Veterinary Practitioners Role in Animal Cloning”. The cloning of food producing animals has been readily available for a number of years and recently, the banking of tissues of companion animals has been marketed to pet owners. How should a veterinary practitioner respond to client requests for tissue collection for the purposes of cloning? Students are encouraged to develop their own topic and may contact the Award Committee Chair with any questions regarding a proposed topic.
The winning essay will be published in the SVME Newsletter and selected essays of significant merit may be posted on the SVME web site.
Award Candidates
· Students must be currently enrolled in a veterinary school
Instructions for Essay Submission
· Essays must be written in English.
· Essays must be no longer than 3000 words excluding name, title, and references.
· Essays must be formatted as follows:
o Times New Roman 12 pt font
o Justify left, page margins set at 1 inch
o Number references consecutively in the order that they appear in the text
· Essays must be submitted to the Awards Committee Chair electronically as an email attachment (Word document preferred).
· Essay submission must include the author’s name, address, veterinary school affiliation, year level, telephone number, and email address in the title page of the essay document.
· Submission by multiple authors are not permitted
· Submissions must include in the email subject line ‘SVME Essay Award”
· Submissions must be received no later than March 30, 2008
Criteria for Selection
Essays will be evaluated on the following criteria*:
· Students are encouraged to develop their own perspective on the topic through sound and compelling arguments towards a certain position (pro or con). However, students must identify and address notable opposing views clearly and explicitly.
· Style and clarity
· Formatting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation
· Inclusion of relevant research including but not limited to: relevant ethical codes, principles, and legislation; empirical ethical research; and seminal normative articles.
Award
The recipient of the award will receive a certificate of recognition, a cash prize of $ 500.00, and publication of his/her essay in the Summer edition of the SVME Newsletter.
The successful candidate will be notified via email or in writing no later than May 10, 2007.
Awards Committee Chair
Dr. Gary Block
Email:
gbylc@aol.com
* An award may not be offered annually if the Awards Committee does not receive any entries of sufficient merit.
2007 Winner
Ms. Christine Ehlers a student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University was awarded the 2007 SVME Student Essay Award. Ms. Ehlers will receive a certificate of recognition and a $ 500.00 cash prize. The SVME received over 30 essay submissions from students in North America.
Previous Winners
2006 Winner
Ms. Gwendolen Reyes-Illg a sophomore attending the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida was awarded the first SVME Student Essay Award for her outstanding essay entitled 'Animals in Veterinary Medical Education: Increasing Coherence between Principles and Practice’.
She also earned a B.S. in Zoology in 2002 from the same school. In addition to publication of her essay in the May issue of the SVME Newsletter, Ms. Reyes-Illg will receive a certificate of recognition and a $ 500.00 cash prize. The SVME received over 100 essay submissions from students in North America and the United Kingdom.