written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

I ™ve been given the opportunity to be a guest lecturer at Mrs. Anna Bates’ brand new veterinary science class at San Luis Obispo High School. Mrs. Bates and I attended Cal Poly together, and she is now a very popular teacher in the Agriculture Education department at SLO High. When she started planning this class, she asked for my input on how to make it fun and exciting for the students. We have enjoyed working together to come up with ideas for this class. I ™ll be visiting their class several times this trimester to give lectures or demonstrations. On my first visit, I brought my dog Mico with me to demonstrate some of the equipment we use to monitor anesthesia at Animal Care Clinic. On my second visit, I demonstrated sterile techniques used during surgery. Future visits will include lectures on wound healing, first aid, suturing, and bandaging, just to name a few!

By visiting the classroom, I hope to spark interest in the veterinary profession in these young minds. I also hope to educate them on other professions that are available to them if they don ™t want to be a vet, but still want to work with animals. I also hope to help them realize the importance of their science and math education. In addition, I hope to share with them how much of my job is about working with people, not just the animals. The Agriculture Education Department and Future Farmers of America (FFA) do focus on teaching communication skills, and I hope that I can emphasize the importance of these skills in the veterinary profession as well.