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College launches global program
Broadening and strengthening the curriculum
in international veterinary medicine is the goal of the College's
new multidisciplinary international program.
This international effort was launched first because the new
university mission statement em-phasizes the need for globalizing
education.
Secondly 'I think it's critical that
we internationalize our profession,' says Dr. Corrie Brown,
Professor of Pathology. "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 U.S. - one is to recognize it and the other is to miss
it.'"
In addition, pharmaceutical companies - many of which are
international corporations - are hiring European veterinarians
because American veterinarians don't have the background to
func-tion in this area.
"We want to make sure that we're
preparing our students for these international jobs,"
says Brown, senior coordinator for international activities
The new program consists of an international certificate program
and a course in international veterinary medicine, taught
for the first time last February. "Students can earn
the certificate along with their DVM. We're the first veterinary
college to do this" Brown says.
Requirements are: to take the course
in international veterinary medicine; to spend some time doing
something international; passing a proficiency test in a foreign
language; and taking an addi-tional 6 or 8 credit hours of
related course work.
Students will go to different parts
of the world with a 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," says
Dr. Julie Moore, assistant pro-fessor, Parasitology, and junior
coordinator of the program.
About 60 students are involved currently in the program. "Because
everything we do is tied to the internet, it's available to
other schools and veterinarians worldwide," Moore points
out. For more information, see the program's website at www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/ia.
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