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                Auburn University - University Relations
                            (334) 844-9999
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6/6/95                                  Sam Hendrix, 334/844-3698 
(hendrj1@vetmed.auburn.edu)

AUBURN, TUSKEGEE VET SCHOOLS TEAM FOR DRUG ABUSE CONFERENCE

      AUBURN -- The Auburn University and Tuskegee University colleges 
of Veterinary Medicine will co-sponsor on June 16-17 a conference at 
Auburn on drug and alcohol abuse.
      The conference, "Preventing Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse 
Problems: The Challenge for Veterinary Medical Education," will be at the 
AU Hotel and Conference Center.
       Dr.  Sam Vaughn of Louisville, Ky., who admits he was an 
alcoholic while in veterinary school at AU, and California veterinarian 
Dennis Voorheis, who also had an alcohol problem, will speak.
      "In my judgment, the veterinary profession is in extreme denial 
that we have  substance abuse problems," says Vaughn, a 1984 Auburn 
graduate.  "In my Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, which is a health 
professional recovery group, I'm the only veterinarian."
            The Auburn conference is funded through the National Institutes 
of Health, with support from Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. and CIBA Animal 
Health. Every veterinary medicine program in North America will 
represented at the conference, which will educate veterinarians and 
veterinary students on how to prevent substance abuse.
        "Our focus is on the role colleges and schools of veterinary 
medicine can play in preparing veterinarians to prevent alcohol abuse and 
other drug problems," says Charles Hendrix, an associate professor of 
pathobiology at the AU College of Veterinary Medicine.  "There is so much 
pressure on these students to perform well in a rigorous curriculum, and 
that pressure sometimes does not stop when they graduate and begin to 
practice. We want to give them information that will stay with them and 
help them stop a potential problem before it starts."
        Health professionals and students from all areas of medicine and 
science are encouraged to attend.  The registration cost is $125, but the 
charge will be refunded at the conference registration desk. Meals are 
included, and practicing veterinarians can receive a complete set of 
notes and up to 19 hours of continuing education credit.
        Among the key topics to be discussed are the role of the 
veterinarian, the role of the veterinary college and recent advances in 
prevention.
        Contact Charles Hendrix by telephone at 334/844-2688 or e-mail 
(hendrcm@vetmed.auburn.edu) for more details or for registration information.
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