A show the whole family can watch and be entertained while learning, "Vet School" on Nat Geo Wild shows what it really takes to become a veterinarian. Follow along with a group of first- and fourth-year students attending one of the top vet schools in the country, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, where they encounter the nitty-gritty, up-to-the-elbows (literally) reality of it all.
Students raise awareness about their field as they are put to the test dealing not just with a few species of animals but a broad variety, from repairing a horse's bone fracture, to removing abscessed teeth, to a giving a dog a pacemaker. It's a non-glamour, hands-on experience with real, live domestic and exotic patients in life-or-death situations and sometimes funny and sometimes awkward circumstances.
Headlines & Global News recently chatted with Executive Producer Adam Freeman and fourth-year student Aziza Glass to gain some insight into what happens on the screen and behind the scenes of "Vet School."
Why a show on veterinary medicine?
Adam Freeman: We thought that veterinary medicine doesn't get as much credit as it deserves. When you are going to medical school, you're dealing with humans. One species. And humans can tell you I have a pain in my stomach, my calf muscle hurts. Vets have to learn from mice to racehorses. And they can't tell you what's wrong. [Veterinarians'] diagnostic skills are more CSI than anything else. We were really impressed by that.
How did you decide on Cornell University?
Freeman: It's easy. They're the best. Even though they'd hate me saying that because they're very modest. They actually asked us never to say they are the best in the show, which I thought was very selfless of them. But in the research that we did, we looked into the top vet schools in the country and we started at the top. We were prepared to work our way down, but Cornell went. Cornell's in such a unique position because they are a teaching hospital at the same time, so there's really a lot of hands-on experience. Learning by doing, by watching what their superiors do. They do a lot of class work as well, but what we were really drawn to was all the different classes they do. From small animals to exotic animals. Everything.
Aziza, How many years does it take to go through veterinary school?
Aziza Glass: Well, if you include undergraduate degree, it's about eight years. And I say "about eight years" because certain schools like Cornell have early acceptance programs where if you complete all your prerequisites for all of the required basic courses that just apply to that school, then you have the opportunity to be accepted without an actual bachelor's degree. For the most part, it's an eight-year process.
Since being on the show, what's been different for you?
Glass: One thing that's been very rewarding is all of the feedback that I've gotten from people that I don't know and people that I do know that have said "you have inspired me because of this." It ranges from people who are in college to children as young as 5 and 6. Especially the ones that are children. Especially the ones that look like me; I'm a black American woman, and to see that and to hear those compliments, it's the best compliment that I can receive. I recognize the fact that being on "Vet School," being on Nat Geo Wild, has caused me to be a role model to people that I'll probably never meet. I am very honored to be able to hold that torch.
Looking back, is there anything you would have told yourself in your first year of vet school?
Glass: I think if I were to talk to myself as a first-year, I would tell myself that it's going to be OK. I would tell myself to find peace in prayer much earlier. I would tell myself that any anxiety that I am feeling, which I think is inevitable, even if you're the number one student at the top school or program, there's going to be a point in time where there will be anxiety. You want to do so well, but in the back of your head you don't know what's going to come. I would tell myself also that any anxiety that I feel and experiencing is walking my faith with your eyes wide open. Do your best and God will take care of the rest.
The next new episode of "Vet School" will air at 10 p.m. EST on Friday, Jan. 1. For more information, visit the show's website or Facebook page.
