Local Veterinary Practice Holds Summer Camp at Penn State Berks

Veterinarians from the Wyomissing Animal Hospital have volunteered to provide the instruction for the Penn State Berks Discovering Veterinary Science Summer Camp, which will be held Monday, July 8?Friday, July 12, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Twenty high school students are enrolled in the camp, which is offered on both a commuter and residential basis. The camp includes both classroom instruction, which will be held in room 231 of the Luerssen Building, and several field trips.

This initiative is part of the Wyomissing Animal Hospital?s commitment to community service, and is coordinated by Dr. Boyd Wagner, an alumnus of Penn State Berks who went on to earn his BVMS degree from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. When asked why he decided to get involved and to ask his colleagues to participate in the veterinary summer camp, Dr. Boyd explained, ?My alma mater came and asked me for assistance. Veterinary medicine has been good to me; we need to give back.??

On the first day of the camp, Dr. Jaime Morey will introduce the students to various aspects of laboratory work, including taking cultures, setting up a data collection system, testing samples, and examining the results. She will also explain how the immune system works, parasite prevention, and biosecurity. In the afternoon, the group will observe Dr. Morey spaying a cadaver dog and dissecting animal hearts, with assistance provided by Dr. Wagner and Dr. Susan Monk, who retired as assistant professor of kinesiology from Penn State Berks in 2010.

On Tuesday, campers will take a tour of the Wyomissing Animal Hospital in the morning, led by Dr. Ashley Ramsey. In the afternoon, they will return to campus where they will complete charts of animal vital signs for various species, assess live animals, and complete online research.

Dr. Stephanie Becker will instruct the students in basic animal first aid and demonstrate how to use real patient files to diagnose illnesses and injuries on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon, students will practice a variety of suture types using bananas, learn how to administer medications by practicing injection methods on a roaster chicken, and learn to read medication labels.

On Thursday, the group will visit the Animal Rescue League along with Dr. John Melniczek, where they will learn about rehabilitative care. In the afternoon, they will visit Corner View ?Farm, a large-scale dairy farm located in Kutztown, and observe a ?herd check? for preventative medical care.

The last day of camp includes a discussion of careers in veterinary medicine with Dr. Wagner and Amy Tomes, veterinary nurse, in the morning, and a discussion of ethical issues in the debate over animal welfare vs. animal rights in the afternoon.

For more information, contact the Office of Continuing Education at 610-396-6225.