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| In the jungles of southern Mexico, UGA veterinary students Gaby Flacke (right) and Trish London (second from right) worked with veterinarians and students from other countries on projects designed to protect endangered native animals. |
College of Veterinary Medicine offers certificate program with international focus
dsparer@vet.uga.edu
In 1998, Keith W. Prasse, dean of UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine, appointed a
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Corrie Brown
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Columns: What’s the reason behind this international effort?
Brown: There are two main reasons. First, the new university mission statement emphasizes the need for globalizing education. Second, I think it’s critical that we internationalize our profession. It’s a growth area in veterinary medicine and, if we ignore it, we could be in trouble. I tell my students, “There are two ways you can get famous when a foreign disease comes into the United States—one is to recognize it, and the other is to miss it.”
Columns: If those are the main reasons, there must be other reasons as well.
Brown: Yes. Pharmaceutical companies—many of which are international corporations—are hiring European veterinarians because American veterinarians don’t have the background to function in this area. We want to make sure that we’re preparing our students for these international jobs.
Columns: Are students aware of careers in international veterinary medicine?
Brown: No, they’re not, and that’s another reason why our international programs are important. If you look at the statistics, 30–40 percent of veterinarians work outside of private practice, and we need to prepare our students for untraditional careers—particularly international careers.
Columns: What kinds of activities have been launched so far?
Brown: The first thing Dr. Moore and I did was to create an international certificate program and a course in international veterinary medicine which is part of that program. Students can earn the certificate along with their D.V.M. We’re the first veterinary college to do this, and I’m very excited about it.
Columns: What does this program entail?
Brown: Briefly, there are four requirements: to take the course in international veterinary medicine, to spend some time doing something international, to pass a proficiency test in a foreign language, and to take an additional six or eight credit hours of related course work, some of which is taught on campus.
Columns: When will this program start?
Brown: The certificate program was approved in early December and is now a reality. The required course on international veterinary medicine has been approved and will be taught for the first time in March and April.
Columns: What does the course involve?
Brown: Students will go to different parts of the world with our new digital video camera. They’ll learn about everything from malaria in India to veterinary practice in Europe or Nairobi. When they come back, they’ll create training modules online about their experiences.
Columns: What other activities are planned?
Brown: We have about six different grants for a variety of projects. About 50 or 60 students are involved and about 40 of them are members of our international veterinary student association. We expect five to 10 students a year to take part in the certificate program.
Columns: How are you sharing the knowledge they bring back?
Brown: All our activities involve construction of Internet modules. We have our own Web designer, and we keep her very busy.
Columns: What is the address for the Web site?
Brown: The address is www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/ia.
Columns: You sound like you’re enjoying working with students in this program.
Brown: Absolutely. Watching students go through these life-changing experiences in another country and seeing how they look at things differently when they come back is very rewarding.
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