veterinary students handbook the first two years - Downing College

The Aims of the First Two Years of your Veterinary Education
It is sometimes difficult for veterinary students in the early years to see the relevance of the things
they are learning to their future careers as veterinary surgeons. With hindsight many wish they had
paid more attention to biochemistry as they struggle to understand the metabolic diseases of cattle
and sheep. Perhaps they did need to understand the physiology of the kidney as they sit up all night in
the intensive care unit with a dog in renal failure. Maybe knowledge of neurophysiology and anatomy
would help explain the uncontrolled twitching in the hind leg of a thoroughbred horse.
It is important for students beginning the veterinary course in year one to know that the clinical
course at Cambridge builds on the pre-clinical, relying heavily on knowledge, understanding,
problem solving and other skills developed in the first three years.
By the end of the first two years we aim to give you a sound grounding in the sciences needed for
veterinary practice and the basic knowledge and the skills to prepare you for the clinical part of the
course.
You will also learn technical skills, but there are other skills - notably listening and talking to people,
and being able to handle animals in a careful and safe manner - which are essential for a veterinarian.
We expect you to practise and develop these skills, and one of the best ways to develop your
communications skills is in the supervisions arranged by your College. Do participate in supervisions
- they are not just teaching sessions, they are learning sessions, and learning requires self-expression.
Also, ask questions in practical classes; the demonstrators are there to help.
Although most of the teaching that you receive during years one to three is under the supervision of
the Faculty Board of Biology, it is the Faculty Board of Veterinary Medicine, working through the
Director of Education in the School of the Biological Sciences (Dr David Good) and the Director of
Veterinary Teaching at the Veterinary School (Mr Andrew Jefferies), that is formally responsible for
overseeing the professional aspects of the veterinary course.
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