One of the things that attracted me to the University of Minnesota (other than the fact that they wanted me, of course) was the way I was treated during the interview weekend last February. Other than the interview itself, the weekend was largely run by the students themselves, and they seemed to genuinely enjoy both the “welcome weekend” and the school itself.
From day 1 of vet school, we’ve had classes that focused on vet-client interaction in addition to the traditional science-heavy curriculum courses. The school recognizes that communication between veterinary professionals and their clients is a vital skill for success in the veterinary field. Incredibly, we are one of the few veterinary schools to have such an emphasis on vet-client interactions, or so we’ve been told. Later this semester we will be subject to a videotaped analysis of our communication skills (or lack thereof) when we must play the “vet” in response to an actor and his/her pet that serve as our clients.
Sorry for the delay in posting - we were immersed in a rather brutal immunology test. There are only two tests for the entire class, so the first one covered 14 lectures, hundreds of pages of reading, and countless Powerpoint slides. Not too many people are anxious to see the results of that test.