Principal investigator Valerie Ragan, director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine (CPCVM) and associate professor of practice in the Department of Population Health Sciences, and co-investigator Cassidy Rist, CPCVM assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences, have been awarded a two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to continue the center’s effort to enable other colleges of veterinary medicine to offer public practice courses, to offer competitive travel stipends to U.S. veterinary students, and to assist veterinarians to transition into public practice careers.

TITLE
Training the Veterinary Public Practitioner

FUNDING AGENCY
USDA/NIFA

TOTAL AWARD
DIRECT: $241,000
INDIRECT: $0

DURATION OF AWARD
June 1, 2021 — May 31, 2023

KEY FACULTY PERSONNEL
PI/PD
: Valerie Ragan
CO-PI: Cassidy Rist

SIGNFICANCE
The Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) Education, Extension and Training competitive grants program of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides funding so that veterinary students, as well as veterinary professionals, can acquire the guidance, knowledge, skills, and abilities for careers in public practice. This project continues Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine work sponsored by a previous grant, with the overall objective to establish a national Center of Excellence in public and corporate veterinary medicine.

Specifically, this grant focuses on:

  • Expanding access to public practice-related veterinary courses to other U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine that wish to supplement their current curriculum;
  • Expanding opportunities for veterinary students in the U.S. to explore careers in areas of public practice through competitive travel stipends to relevant conference venues;
  • Expanding current offerings in continuing education and career guidance for veterinarians seeking to transition into a public practice career; and
  • Creating a formal online certificate program for veterinarians interested in public practice careers by developing course content, as well as short-term experiential opportunities with partner agencies, businesses, and organizations.