Cornell hosts 16th annual New York State Veterinary Conference

Monday, October 30, 2023 - 12:25pm

A crowd of conference attendees mingling in the CVM atrium — This year's New York State Veterinary Conference welcomed 626 attendees on site and 289 virtually, alongside numerous sponsors, vendors and volunteers. Photo: Robyn Wishna/Provided

From Oct. 6-8, hundreds of veterinary professionals journeyed to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for three days of continuing education provided by the New York State Veterinary Conference. The conference is consistently the largest continuing education event in the region; this year saw 626 attendees on site and 289 tuning in virtually, alongside numerous sponsors, vendors and volunteers.

Cornell co-hosts this three-day event with the New York State Veterinary Medical Society. Now in its sixteenth year, the conference offers attendees over 100 RACE and New York State Continuing Education credit opportunities, as well as on-demand content and credit. This year, there were tracks for emergency and critical care, equine, ophthalmology, practice management, production animal, veterinary technician, bioethics and more. In addition to presentations and discussion panels, attendees could also register for various labs happening during the weekend.

A veterinarian performs chest compressions on a model dog while three others observe — Attendees participate in a lab on a model dog during the weekend. Photo: Robyn Wishna/Provided

Anonymous feedback collected by conference organizers praised the event’s session offerings and the beauty of both Cornell and Ithaca. “I love the onsite and online access, and ability to participate both ways. The speakers have all been amazing, informative and well prepared,” offered one attendee.

Conference-goers could also participate in extra activities like a sunset tour of the Cornell Botanic Gardens, various wellness walks and movement sessions, mixers and a variety of special topic discussions.

A hallmark event of the New York State Veterinary Conference is the DeeDee Arrison Concert for the Animals, featuring violinists Tim Fain and Francisco Fullana, accompanied by pianist Robert Koenig. Now in its fourteenth year, the concert is animal-friendly and showcases pictures of attendee pets. It is held in conjunction with the DeeDee Arrison Holistic and Integrative Wellness Seminar component of the conference, endowed in 2010 by Clement and Karen Arrison in memory of their 10-year old Briard, DeeDee. The seminar aims to strengthen the understanding of integrated medicine, blending holistic and traditional veterinary medical care.

The New York State Veterinary Conference is sponsored by Chewy, IDEXX, Monarch Business Consulting, Dipaola Financial Group, SaiberVet, Guardian Veterinary Specialists and the National Veterinary Law Group at Mandelbaum Barrett PC.