Introduction to Veterinary Medicine

By: Kaitlyn Shanks and Brittney Vidal, M&M TIPsters

As we entered the small hallway of the veterinary medicine lab, we were anxious to see the dissection of the pig eye. Early in the classroom we sat invisible to the students, while they went over the procedure and the different parts of the eye. The class was excited but not nervous; they have done many dissections before.
Thirty-two white and blue latex gloves were snapped on as the students surrounded a black top lab table and the dissection kits were handed out. Sixteen students divided up into teams of two or three as they prepared to start this somewhat daunting task. We started setting up our equipment as they got out the silver trays and lined them with paper towels. Next, they received their tools: scalpels, scissors, and a pointer.
“The dissections.” Hunter Selton, a rising 9th grader at Episcopal High School in Fernandina Beach, Florida answered immediately when asked what his favorite part of the class was. Many students agree with him as they can learn a lot from hands on activities.
“My favorite part of this class is all the hands on experience that we’re getting…” Arianna Evans, a rising 11th grader at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida explains. She loves the science classes offered at Duke TIP, and even though she is not interested in becoming a vet, she enjoys the class.
“I would say, probably, hearing from the experts, umm, I know a lot about stuff in general but we have got some really good experts here at UGA that have come in and talked to the kids about their specialties”. This is what Cassandra Peterson had to say when asked what she thought was her student’s favorite part of the class. Ms. Peterson is in veterinary school, she will complete her degree in two years. Ms. Peterson is from St. Joseph Illinois. She loves teaching the TIPsters. “I love working with these kids, they are all excited!”
Though this class has its golden moments, it also has its time in the trenches. When asked what his least favorite part about the class was Hunter Selton said,” The hardest part, umm, is maybe the, uhh, research projects.” Many students responded to this question similarly.
The students all said “Yes” when asked if they were happy with their overall class. Congratulations to Ms. Peterson and her TA, Mark, for running a successful class.