A vital tradition of offering keynote sessions on Wellness and Diversity, as well as the special Jack and Naomi Stockton / Class of 1971 Lecture will continue at the 2023 Purdue Veterinary Conference. The conference will be held on the Purdue campus September 19-23.
The Wellness Keynote this year will feature Dr. Michele Gaspar, a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Feline) and human psychotherapist, who will speak Wednesday, September 20 at 1:10 p.m. in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall on the topic, “Veterinary Wellness: It’s More Than Bagels, Pizza, and Yoga.” Through Vets4Vets®, Dr. Gaspar works one-on-one with veterinary students and veterinarians on personal and professional issues. She also facilitates an annual online course on mindfulness meditation for veterinarians and other veterinary team members, as well as an annual mindfulness meditation retreat. Dr. Gaspar will share her expertise on how to encourage veterinary wellness at a time when professional burnout and questions about career sustainability among veterinarians across the career spectrum are at an all-time high. She will look beyond commonly used interventions to help attendees craft their own path to wellness and career sustainability.
The Diversity Keynote will be presented by Dr. Arnold F. Henry of Indiana University Health. Board certified in family medicine and fellowship-trained in sports medicine, Dr. Henry loves interacting with patients and their loved ones. As a lifelong athlete, sports medicine comes naturally to him. With his experience as a family physician, he is able to help his patients create balance between the physical and mental aspects of normal, daily life. During his presentation entitled, “The Influence of Diversity in Communication in Healthcare,” Dr. Henry will share how a lack of diversity in communication can lead to a breakdown in management and compliance between healthcare providers and their patients. He also will describe how it is important to recognize and appreciate the diversity in our system to optimize treatment and management of patients and to guide acceptance between all parties. The Diversity Keynote is scheduled for Thursday, September 21 beginning at 11:15 a.m. in Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center.
The third keynote will feature Dr. Jerome Adams, who will give the Stockton Lecture in his role as a Purdue University Presidential Fellow and Executive Director of Purdue’s Health Equity Initiatives as well as a Distinguished Professor of Practice in Purdue’s Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health. Before coming to Purdue, Dr. Adams served as the 20th US Surgeon General providing leadership through three back-to-back category 5 hurricanes, and a once-in-a-century pandemic. A regular communicator via television, radio, and in print, Dr. Adams has expertise both in the science and in the communication of science to the public, making the content relevant to various audiences. As a licensed anesthesiologist with a master’s degree in public health, Dr. Adams ran the Indiana State Department of Health prior to becoming Surgeon General. His talk on the topic of, “One Health and Health Equity: Why We Need Both,” will be followed by a question and answer conversation with Purdue Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed. The Stockton Lecture is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 21 in Loeb Playhouse.
Click here to register to attend these enlightening keynote presentations.