Vet Med addresses a service need early on

Large animal veterinarians are difficult to find in Iowa and across the nation. The College of Veterinary Medicine is trying to change that with a new mandatory course for all first-year students.

In its first semester, "Large Animal Clinical Skills" introduces 140 first-year vet students to sheep, cattle, hogs and horses. The addition of the course complements the small animal course already in place.

"For a lot of our students, who don’t have a farm background, they may not have had an opportunity to try any of this," said Rachel Friedrich, clinical associate professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine. "This is exposing them early on in their career to, hopefully, help them consider it as a path."

The shortage of rural and large animal veterinarians has only grown since the farm crisis of the 1980s. Rural and large animal practices have the disadvantage of lower salaries and longer more uncertain schedules. Friedrich said if two or three students decided on large animal as a career path after graduation, it would mark a strong start for the course. 

Early feedback is promising.

"I had a student who sent an email after the swine section, saying she never thought it was something she could do, but after a few hours on the farm she is considering it," Friedrich said. "It's about getting that idea out there that the large animals are not as scary as they look – and anyone can do it."

Previously, most vet med students did not interact with large animals until their fourth-year clinical rotations, long after they'd made a decision about their career path, Friedrich said. Earlier interactions were mostly in classroom settings.

The course

In the new large animal introductory course, students separate into groups of about 20 and cycle through three experiences for sheep, cattle, hogs and horses.

• Hands-on live animal
• Clinical skills with models
• Certifications for proper animal care

The large number of students necessitates a team teaching effort of 15-20 instructors during the semester, Friedrich said. Students learn how to do a physical exam and how to move and restrain each animal species. The instruction focuses on normal behavior of each animal during the hands-on portion as well as how to spot sick livestock and when they pose a threat. Students also learn basics like where to position a stethoscope to listen to the heart and lungs.

A variety of teaching methods help students learn, including an epidemiological version of tag among classmates to demonstrate how quickly disease can spread in an animal group.

"We teach them points of balance or places you can position yourself alongside an animal to have it back up or go forward," Friedrich said. "We train that brute strength is not always the best way, and we follow ergonomics. It really is 'work smarter, not harder.'

"We want people to enter this career and be there for a long time," she added.

Students also certify in beef and pork quality assurance, confirming they know the proper needle size and injection sites on each animal. 

Virtual reality's instructional role

Vet Med instructors often use animal models to demonstrate giving shots or drawing blood. Euthanasia is a skill taught to familiarize students with the process so it's not a surprise when they are in the field. For the first time, virtual reality is being used to teach this skill so every student gets a realistic experience without hurting an animal. Students approach the virtual animal in the simulator, perform the act and receive immediate feedback.

"For students, it's a low-stress, low-consequences practice," Friedrich said.