More Opportunities for Veterinarians
Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine and other programs increase 2011 fall enrollment to help meet demand for skilled professionals.
Courtesy Amy Patterson Neubert, Purdue University News Service
September 17, 2010
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Veterinary medicine students Jeremy Cartagena and Cathy Faber begin the academic year with laboratory equipment training at Purdue University.
Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock
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West Lafayette, Indiana — The Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine is meeting a national need for a larger veterinarian work force in areas such as public health, biosecurity, food production and research by increasing its enrollment.
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"Changes in technology and expanding globalization are creating opportunities for more veterinarians," says Willie M. Reed, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. "While we join many of the other 28 U.S. veterinary schools that also are adjusting their class sizes to meet this demand, Purdue will continue to build on our school's strengths of one-on-one faculty and student interaction and a providing a variety of hands-on student clinical experiences.
"This also is an opportunity to attract more students from underrepresented backgrounds to study veterinary medicine. Increasing our school's diversity is a key goal in our strategic plan."
Starting in fall 2011, the school will expand its doctor of veterinary medicine class size by 20 percent, from 70 to 84 entering students. This larger class will graduate in 2015. The School of Veterinary Medicine will need to modify some of its classrooms and will offer laboratory courses in sections to adjust for the increased enrollment, says S. Kathleen Salisbury, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of small animal surgery. The enrollment increase will not change the admission process for students.
While some think of veterinarians as only caring for pets, there are many other opportunities for graduates with a doctor of veterinary medicine degree, such as in public health, biomedical research and regulatory medicine. Professionals in public health focus on zoonotic diseases, which are illnesses that pass from animals to humans; foodborne diseases; and epidemiology, which is the study of disease in populations. The area of regulatory medicine has a need for veterinarians because these professionals deal with food safety, disease surveillance and investigation of disease outbreaks, such as tuberculosis, that may appear in deer or cattle herds.