And, we also had the chance to view the Necropsy lab in action. If you, like some of our teachers, are unaware of what the word necropsy means - it means we were watching animal autopsies. There was a cat that died from cancer and the tumorous obstruction caused a 2" x 7" hairball which made it impossible for the cat to eat. The owners had to put it down. There was also a horse who came in with chronic lameness but died of a ruptured stomach while at the hospital. You can now be grateful this post does not include smells either! Oh, the smell! They were in the process of dissecting the leg from the hoof up to determine the cause of the lameness.
Later, we were able to see a Labrador Retriever in physical therapy as he walked in a water tank to recover some strength after having a spinal tumor removed. That was less smelly and more entertaining. Most OSU students are oblivious to the fact that we have a working animal hospital on campus. It was a great tour.
A few facts about OSU vet school (as relayed by our tour guide):
- It is a four year program where the first two years are mostly book work and the last two years are mostly labs, rotations, and clinical experiences.
- Last years entering class was made of 56 students - one of the smallest programs in the country.
- Of these 56 students, 16 were from outside of Oregon. Only 6 were male.
- We are one of the only vet schools that does not allow students to specialize in either small or large animal care. Most are choosing rural practices where you need to know both anyway.
- Because our students study both large and small animal care, we had a 100% pass rate on the licensing (NAVLE) exam last year on the first attempt.
- The OSU vet school only takes cases by referral from another veterinary practice and usually because they are particularly complex or unique.
No comments:
Post a Comment