If you ask a classroom of kids what they want to do for a living someday, you’ll get a wide array of answers—doctor, video game designer, police officer, YouTuber, etc. Every answer will have one thing in common: the careers they dream about seem within reach because they have met or observed professionals in those fields.
To help meet growing staffing demands in veterinary medicine, universities, professional organizations and veterinary health companies are working together to help more young people achieve their dream careers of caring for pets. This past summer, VCA Animal Hospitals partnered with the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine to help offer a unique experience for high schoolers to be immersed in the world of veterinary health for a full week at Gator Vet Camp.
Opening Doors
Even for kids who love animals, it can be difficult to picture themselves in veterinary careers if they have never experienced the joy of pet ownership or observed someone who looks like them working with animals. It’s something that VCA veterinarian Devon Otero, DVM, MPH, understands from his own childhood.
“I am a person who has been defined by many labels—first generation, Latinx, Black, queer, low income, etc. All of the experiences afforded by these identities have certainly made me more resilient, culturally apt, and a more competent clinician. However, they also meant that growing up, I had absolutely no schema for [veterinary medicine] or higher education. No one in my family had gone to college, let alone become a doctor. I had never met a veterinarian who resembled my likeness—complexion, my hair texture, my manner of speech, etc. I had no example to follow and no professional role models,” he says.
Gator Vet Camp aims to expand opportunities in veterinary medicine for students from all backgrounds, including those who would be first generation college students or are from low-income families. The program offers talented students an enriching learning environment, supports college readiness, and opens new pipelines to careers in veterinary medicine. Scholarships are available to cover program tuition, which includes lodging, meals, staffing, transportation, and program-related materials.
The experience is offered over two one-week camps; one for Florida youth entering their sophomore and junior years, and another for those entering their senior year.
Immersive Learning in Veterinary Medicine
With the goal of exposing students to a little of everything, Gator Vet Camp offers the opportunity to experience large, small and even exotic animals, surgical procedures, lab work and food safety. In addition to leading hands-on experiences, instructors focus on college readiness, helping students to understand how courses like math, science, English and reading contribute to the comprehension and problem-solving skills they’ll eventually need in a veterinary technician program or vet school.
Dr. Otero—who also happens to be a University of Florida graduate—jumped at the chance to volunteer at the camp and serve as the “real life” example he never had growing up. He was one of four veterinarians from VCA Animal Hospitals to serve as instructors at the camp. Dr. Otero and colleagues Carlos Campos, DVM, Susan Zobler, DVM and Beverly Miller, DVM, led sessions in the Clinical Skills Lab that included sterile prep and gowning for surgery, CPR basics and cardiovascular physiology and suture practice with simulated skin tissue. VCA donated all supplies used for the sessions from sterile surgical gear, suture materials, CPR mascots and other equipment.
According to the program’s organizers, the Clinical Skills Lab sessions with VCA were well-received by students, receiving very high overall scores on the post-camp surveys. “Very fun and exciting, loved that we all got our own gowns and suture pads to work on/put on,” commented one student. “Demonstrators were very nice and open to questions.”
The VCA instructors say the experience was mutual.
"These groups of children took so well to our instruction, and I felt constantly impressed at their ability to absorb vet school-level material and put it rapidly into practice,” says Dr. Otero, who added, “It was also a blast reviewing Gen Z-approved CPR playlists!”
Sharing Love of the Veterinary Profession
Dr. Miller, who is VCA’s director of veterinary equity, inclusion and diversity (EI&D) programs, stresses how important it is to the future of veterinary medicine to have professionals out in the community, sharing their love of caring for animals.
“I encourage anyone who works in the veterinary profession to go out and spend time with today’s youth,” says Dr. Miller. “Acknowledge their love of animals and encourage them. We want veterinary medicine to be seen as a viable career option available to anyone interested, whether as a doctor, credentialed technician or other support roles.”
Dr. Miller stresses the importance of reaching out to historically underrepresented communities to create a future where veterinary medicine reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve, pointing to a vet camp sponsored by VCA Canada as another recent example. The first-ever in-person Indigenous Vet Camp took place at the Atlantic Veterinary College in August. The camp was tailored to reflect the unique relationship that Indigenous people have with animals.
Dr. Michael V. Bowie, assistant dean and one of Gator Vet Camp’s founders, expressed his gratitude to VCA and the volunteer instructors who he says served as role models to students, helping them to envision a future in veterinary medicine.
“The opportunity to learn from and be inspired by VCA’s passionate team has been invaluable to our campers, and I am confident it will have a lasting impact on their educational journeys,” says Dr. Bowie. “VCA’s dedication to fostering the next generation of veterinary professionals is inspiring, and we are thrilled to continue this meaningful collaboration."
Dr. Otero hopes that the number of programs that expose young people from all backgrounds to veterinary medicine continue to grow.
“I hope these programs work to shine spotlights on communities of scholars who have historically been considered ‘uncommon’ members of veterinary medicine teams, and I hope they assist our profession in creating a more accessible, more unified, more resilient, and more culturally competent workforce,” he says.
VCA Animal Hospitals is committed to caring for the future of veterinary medicine by helping to make the profession more inclusive and accessible to all. Visit our website to learn more.
