[January 19, 2011; Kennett Square, PA] – They are bright, curious, driven, share a love of living things and have come to Kennett Square, PA from across the country and around the globe. They are the 103 students from the Class of 2012 of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania currently in Large Animal Block. The students, about 93% of the total class, have chosen to spend eight winter weeks at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center studying food, farm and fiber animals.

At this stage in their education, the students have spent two and a half years on the West Philadelphia campus of Penn, in the classroom, the lab, and the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital. For those students who have chosen to be a part of what is called Large Animal Block, January and February are spent in the company of horses, cows, pigs, llamas, sheep, goats and some of the premiere lecturers in the large animal veterinary world. In addition to the faculty at New Bolton, students are privileged to hear lectures from visiting experts, many of them Penn Vet alumni, from around the country as well. Their learning encompasses surgery, pathology, reproduction, herd management, infectious disease and other relevant topics. Penn Vet is considered one of the premiere veterinary schools in the nation, and New Bolton Center’s George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals has one of the biggest caseloads of any large animal hospital in the country.

A highlight of the two months is a series of labs, classes that take place in the barn, in the clinics or in the hospital. In labs, students, under the supervision and tutelage of New Bolton Center clinicians, have an opportunity to see for themselves the diagnosis and treatment of large animals. The teaching animals, permanent residents of New Bolton Center, are available to allow the students, for example, to listen to a heart murmur, observe behavior or learn how to perform an ultrasound. In addition to labs, the course uses traditional lectures and individual and group case study projects.

According to Rose-Nolen Walston DVM, an Assistant Professor at New Bolton Center and organizer of the Large Animal Medicine course during block, “Large Animal Block begins to bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge that students have obtained and the world of clinical medicine that they will encounter in veterinary hospitals, and throughout their careers.”

Michel Edelmann from Ocean, NJ is one of the participants in Large Animal Block. As part of a neurology lab, she watched Max, a brown and white gelding, walk up and down the courtyard outside of his barn. While slipping him a peppermint treat she explains, “I plan to become a small animal vet, but wanted more experience around large animals. They are very cool! And the teachers at New Bolton Center are especially enthusiastic and dedicated.”