Veterinary students attend VMX for free

Compassion-First Pet Hospitals covers VMX student registration costs.

More than 1,000 veterinary students were able to attend this year’s Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Fla., all thanks to Compassion-First Pet Hospitals' partnership with the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC).

According to a press release from NAVC, student attendance at VMX increased by 35% this year as a result of the grant.

“We are thrilled to support the educational growth of the next generation of veterinarians and technicians by learning from the profession’s very best at the largest conference in the U.S. We also hope to expose students to as many new career opportunities as possible when they graduate,” Compassion-First said in a news release.

Ryan Buck, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Compassion-First, says many veterinary students carry significant debt ... making conferences like VMX unaffordable. “By providing free registration to VMX, our goal is for every veterinary student to feel empowered to expand their learning into new and innovative areas, expand their knowledge of the profession as a whole and spend time with thought leaders in animal medicine,” Buck said in the NAVC release.

Compassion-First Pet Hospitals is a family of nearly 50 hospitals across 14 states, including the most recent addition of three Florida hospitals: Specialists in Companion Animal Neurology (SCAN) in Clearwater and Naples, and First Coast Veterinary Specialists and Emergency of Jacksonville Beach.