Winter/Spring 2012 Aesculapian Magazine - University of Georgia ...

Photo by Sue Myers Smith
The College of Veterinary Medicine hosted Boy Scouts from
Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina on March 5, 2011 to
teach them about veterinary school and the veterinary profession.
The Scouts’ visit was part of the Boy Scouts of America
Cherokee District Advance-A-Rama, an event hosted twice a year
by the Warnell School of Forestry. The daylong event gives 11- to
17-year-old Boy Scouts the chance to attend classes taught by
UGA faculty; the classes are designed to help them earn one of
several merit badges in various areas.
The CVM has participated in the event for five years. Scouts
visiting the College get hands-on experience through tours of the
Veterinary Teaching Hospital, demonstrations and group sessions,
all of which help them acquire the Veterinary Merit Badge.
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Boy Scouts learn about veterinary medicine for badge
The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine
“The class taught at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine
is one of the highlights of our event,” said John Doyle, event
manager for the Advance-A-Rama. “If we present the kids with
these opportunities, who knows what we can spark in them.”
Michelle Barton, a professor of large animal internal
medicine and Fuller Callaway Professor of Large Animal Internal
Medicine at the CVM, leads the event every year and recruits
veterinary students, staff and faculty to help with educational
breakout sessions. Scouts get a taste of the veterinary profession
by seeing dissections, examining samples under a microscope,
practicing canine first aid and CPR, and learning how state-ofthe-art
diagnostic equipment works, among other things.
“The best part about working with the Boy Scouts is seeing
their enthusiasm for the future and the expressions on their faces
after seeing something unique or seeing something for the first
time,” said Barton.
According to Barton, most of the Scouts who sign up for
the Veterinary Merit Badge are already interested in becoming
veterinarians or want to explore the idea further. To help them
understand the process of applying to veterinary school, Barton
and the volunteers lead tutorial sessions on what it takes to get
into veterinary school, what life is like as a veterinary student,
what jobs are available for veterinarians or veterinary technicians,
and how Scouts can prepare for veterinary school, even while in
high school.
“It will be an absolute thrill when one of those Scouts
graduates from college, is accepted into our program, and
becomes a veterinarian,” said Barton.
Photo by Sue Myers Smith