Vet Cetera magazine 2015

2015: Margi Gilmour, DVM, DACVO
A
teacher can be defined as a person who shares information or a specific skill.
But Margi Gilmour, DVM, DACVO, a veterinarian and professor at Oklahoma State
University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, takes the title of teacher to a different level.
“For me, the first thing, I want to have a rapport
with the students and they understand
I see them as colleagues and we are in this
together,” says Gilmour. “Secondly, I want them
to understand the value of what I’m going to
teach them. I explain why it is important they
know ophthalmology and what it means for
them as practitioners and why it is worth them
to invest a lot of time and energy in this course
because I am going to ask them to do that and
then make the subject very relevant.”
She calls her teaching philosophy fairly
simple. She wants her students to walk away
from the class with two things: confidence
and competence.
“The students’ goals for the core (ophthalmology)
class is to be confident and competent
in performing an ophthalmic examination, …
and be able to come up with a diagnosis,” she
says. “But most importantly, the first key is giving
these students the confidence and competence
to do that initial eye exam. You have to
be comfortable with that.”
Gilmour didn’t head straight back to the
classroom after graduating with her veterinary
degree from Michigan State University. Instead,
she worked in private practice for several years
before realizing she missed teaching students.
She found the perfect fit at OSU’s CVHS,
where she has been for 14 years.
“The beauty of this position is I still have my
patients and my clients, so all that I had in private
practice I still have here, but in addition to
that, I get that feeling of giving back to my profession
and my specialty because I get to teach
students ophthalmology,” says Gilmour. “OSU
didn’t have a very developed ophthalmology
department at that time, so the idea of being
able to come in and be on the ground floor of
that was really exciting to me.”
Gilmour realizes not all of her students have
a passion for ophthalmology like she does. She
hopes students realize the importance of eye
exams for their patients.
“Students are bombarded by a lot of material,
and there is so much new information in
the medical fields,” says Gilmour. “I don’t want
them all to be ophthalmologists. I want them
to be very good, solid general practitioners who
can do a good eye exam and know the basics.”
Gilmour was recognized in 2015 for her
achievements and work with students in the
classroom with the Zoetis Distinguished Teaching
Award. Gilmour says receiving the award
makes her feel very humble.
“For students to think that I did that good of
a job for them, that is just amazing,” says Gilmour.
“We all go in, and we all do our best. We
have great faculty here, and everyone is interested
in teaching and doing a good job, and so
to have that honor and to be singled out one
year is really special. Because I am in a sea of
wonderful instructors, I appreciate it so much.”
Since 1963, CVHS has given the Distinguished
Teaching Award, sponsored by Zoetis,
to a professor nominated by the students and
faculty. Winners are selected based on their dedication,
character and leadership.
Gilmour’s influence expands beyond the
classroom, and she keeps in touch with graduates
and practicing veterinarians who have
taken her classes.
“The most exciting aspect for me as a teacher,
is when my students who have graduated call
me or email me or write me notes about using
what they’ve learned in their practice,” says
Gilmour. “That just makes it all worth while
to me. That to me is the best.”
But what’s her favorite part of teaching? She
pauses, her face calm before a sparkle reaches
her eye and a smile grows.
“I always ask my students to give me their goals
for the three-week rotation. In the middle of the
rotation and at the end of the rotation, we discuss
them and make sure the goals are being met,”
says Gilmour. “We figure out a way together to
work on them so that almost everyone achieves
their goals. … That makes me feel good because
they have done what I think they should do as
well as what they want to do, which gives them
that needed confidence.”
BY KAROLYN BOLAY
2015 Oklahoma State University 39