THE WORLD OF ANIMALS IN THE 21st CENTURY
Education at The Animal Medical Center
By Dr. Ann Hohenhaus
As part of The Animal Medical Center’s outreach and education programs, I recently visited a preschool in New York City to talk to children about safety around dogs during National Dog Bite Prevention Week. The children I met told me about the pets in their lives and were so excited to have the opportunity to interact with Eddie, a 1-year old French bulldog. Some of the children told me that they wanted to grow up to be veterinarians. I certainly hope they do. A more emotionally and intellectually satisfying field would be difficult to find.
Education is a lifelong process for a veterinarian. Four years of doctor veterinary medicine training follows a 4-year bachelor’s degree. Specialists, such as myself, pursue optional, additional internship and residency training. Every veterinary attends continuing education seminars designed to update and improve their knowledge and skills. As part of their veterinary medical training, they learn to critically evaluate the scientific literature and apply new knowledge to patient care.
Recent breakthroughs in veterinary science have run parallel to the explosion of medical knowledge in human medicine. Advanced techniques and biomedical innovations are now available for the treatment of companion animals, in ways inconceivable only a few years ago. Our ability to understand and treat disease in animals has grown exponentially and the Animal Medical Center in New York City—as one the world’s premier veterinary institutions, disseminates this information through programs from prestigious international summits and cutting edge clinical trials, to community outreach programs, such as my trip to the preschool.
The Animal Medical Center supports the education of students in higher education who are pursuing a career in veterinary medicine by offering high-quality, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate educational opportunities in clinical veterinary medicine to veterinary students at all levels, including the Internship Program, the Residency Program, the Graduate Veterinary Clinical Practices Program, and the Veterinary Technician Internship Program and Social Work Internship Program.
As a doctor of veterinary medicine, I have built my career around the care and protection of companion animals. While my efforts are focused on the medical treatment of the animals, everyday I see the emotional, social and health benefits of the human-animal bond on the individuals and families who love these pets. As an educator, I believe there is much that animals can teach all of us, especially children. I have found that children learn valuable lessons about respect, self-control and responsibility by interacting with and caring for animals. These traits can enhance and improve their ability to understand and relate to other people and the world.
The Animal Medical Center has pursued a mission of animal welfare for nearly 100 years and through education and research, we will continue to improve the health and welfare of companion animals into the next 100 years.
Ann Hohenhaus, DVM, is the Chairman of the Department of Medicine, head of the Donaldson-Atwood Cancer Clinic, and head of the George Jaqua Transfusion Medicine Service at the Bobst Hospital of The Animal Medical Center, New York, NY.#
