Sofie Now Free for Veterinary Medical Students. Here’s Why.

To help veterinary medical students with the high cost of veterinary education, we are currently offering the advanced veterinary medical search tool Sofie for free. Here’s why we feel this is important information both for veterinary students and practices to share with students they know or with whom they work.
The cost of veterinary medical education has only been rising. In its 2011 report Roadmap for Veterinary Medical Education in the 21^st Century: Responsive, Collaborative, Flexible, the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC) found that the average student loan debt of a graduating veterinarian in 2010 approached $134,000. In 2016, according to the AVMA, the average educational debt for veterinary school graduates was $143,757. And in 2020, the AVMA reported that while the average debt of 2019 veterinary graduates hovered around $150,000, 10.7% of 2019 graduates reported debt over $300,000.
Given the numbers, veterinary medical students certainly do not need one more cost added to their education, and they should not have to feel financially restricted from tools and resources that can help them in their studies. So, to help veterinary medical students, interns, and residents in their courses, case studies, and in-clinic work placements without adding cost to their veterinary medical education, we are currently offering a free subscription to Sofie for any student currently enrolled in an accredited veterinary doctorate program.
Used by thousands of veterinarians across North America, Sofie helps clinical team members save time and improve efficiency by providing instant online access to the most current and credible veterinary medical information. Powered by IBM Watson®, an innovative, cognitive computing system that uses augmented intelligence to rapidly search and deliver information from Sofie’s vast information library of over 40,000 pages from the most popular veterinary textbooks, journals, and conference proceedings, Sofie provides lightning-fast clinical answers at the point of need. So, a complimentary student subscription to Sofie (accessible on any Internet-enabled device) provides free access to a trusted veterinary medical search tool used and proven in the real world, and saves time manually flipping through textbooks.
As an example of how Sofie helps veterinary students in their studies, third-year Texas A&M University student Brianna Boyle explains in the below short video how using Sofie makes her veterinary studies easier. Boyle says that, while she initially thought Sofie may be difficult to use, “but it’s actually really to use—very much like a search engine.”
[arve url=”https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/75gm46n4r8?videoFoam=true” /] The feature that made Sofie so easy for Boyle to use is the same feature that sets Sofie apart from other online veterinary diagnostic tools. Sofie is designed to respond to natural-language questions (just like you would ask a fellow student or colleague) and delivers results based on context instead of keywords. This makes searching and finding answers even easier and quicker, making Sofie an indispensable virtual DVM assistant.
In terms of dollar value, Sofie’s extensive knowledge base contains over $5000 worth of veterinary medical content and includes ongoing updates. So, veterinary students always have up-to-date knowledge and information at their fingertips—in the classroom, in-clinic, or remotely—to support their studies. The complimentary student subscription to Sofie also represents an annual value of $475.20.
Students get all of this for zero dollars when they sign up today for the Sofie Free Student Subscription.
To assist as many veterinary students as possible, please share this blog with your network.