CVM Offers Large Animal Instruction at College Station, West Texas 4-H Camps
The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) joined with four other departments and organizations to host the 4-H Veterinary Science Camp in College Station and West Texas in June and July.
The Veterinary Science Camp allows Texas 4-H members ages 13 to 18 years old to learn about large animal skills as they work to become Certified Veterinary Assistants (CVA), a certification through the Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA). As part of their certification, they have to master 78 clinical skills.
The camp was created in 2015 as a collaboration with Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service, Department of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab (TVMDL). Dr. Joe Mack, an assistant professor and extension specialist for Youth Veterinary Science, came up with the camp after he found that a lot of young students in urban areas were struggling with courses related to large animal skills.
“When I took this position, I decided that we needed to do something to help out, and we came up with this camp,” Mack said. “When Dr. (Dan) Posey, a former professor and program director at Texas A&M, moved to West Texas A&M University (WT) as a clinical professor in the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center (TVMC), I felt there was a need to move a camp there, too.”
During the two camps held each year, 50 students receive instruction in clinical skills areas that include a Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification; the results, in terms of the knowledge and what 4-H students are taking away from the camp experience, have been positive.
“We’re very pleased to have the collaboration that we have and the partnership that allows us to work here at College Station and at WT,” Mask said. “In College Station, (the CVM’s) Dr. Michael Martin helps me out with the equine section. We are also assisted by Dr. Tom Hairgrove, Dr. Joe Paschal, Dr. Ron Gill, Dr. Jennifer Zoller, Ms. Chelsie Huseman, and Dr. Tryon Wickersham from TAMU Department of Animal Science and Dr. Terry Hensley from the TVMDL. Also, when we’re in College Station, we get to offer a veterinary school tour, as well as a tour of the TVMDL. So that’s a big part of the learning. We are very appreciative of our partnerships.
“Having Dr. Posey and Dr. Dee Griffin there at WT and Dr. Lance Keith as the department head, I think this opens up a new avenue for young people who can see that starting at a smaller university like WT, they still have the same opportunities,” he said. “It gives those living in West Texas an opportunity to get an education there at home, being close to WT, and then come to College Station for veterinary school, and possibly going back to West Texas because they have that rooted background in the Panhandle.
“We’re all in this deal together,” Mask said. “We’re all working for the same goal. We can work together and we can partner and collaborate. That’s what makes the university system so good, because we do have that opportunity.”
“We were so excited here at WT to have Dr. Joe Mask partner with us to offer a 4-H Veterinary Science Camp on the WT campus,” Posey said. “We were very lucky to have 23 young men and women participants in our camp this year. It was an extraordinary three days for Dr. Griffin and me because we were able to share some of our large animal knowledge and expertise and the opportunities in veterinary medicine in Texas Panhandle and rural areas of Texas. The energy and excitement of this camp made this three days a fun time in veterinary education; we can’t wait until next year.”
