Washington Middle School Veterinary Medicine Students Visit Humane Society of Missouri
Stefanie Virgen's Veterinary Medicine classes at Washington Middle School took a career-based field trip to the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis Friday, October 7.
The students, several teachers, and the Mercy Cardiology staff also made significant donations to meet needs listed as critical by the Humane Society due to an influx of strays and rescues.
With the overall goal of the field trip being to engage students in veterinary-related activities and provide an age-appropriate glimpse into the life-saving field of veterinary medicine, staff there set up station-based learning set up for the students, which were tied directly to the School District of Washington’s ACI (areas of career interest) learning standards involving collaboration, research, critical thinking, hands-on learning, and especially career-area focus.
During the field trip, students observed a surgery with a veterinary surgeon, interviewed a veterinary technician, toured the medical center, and rotated through hands-on career stations to solve real-world problems: identifying parasites under a microscope in a parasitology lab, performing a mock spay surgery, examining shelter dogs for physical health and reading to them to increase mental health, and examined and analyzed diagnostic tests.
Follow-up activities back at school included a 3-2-1 exit ticket, survey, and day-closing "Circle Time."
Quotes from students about this experience:
Lucas Frick said, "I learned a lot about instruments used in vet med, like a scalpel, and different parasites that infect dogs. Something that stuck with me is that the Humane Society has around 60 animals come to them every day." [Students identified parasites under a microscope then prescribed the best medicine to treat those parasites].
Cara York said, "I got to watch a surgery, and I will never forget that." [Students were able to observe a tumor being removed from a dog then the process of suturing as the vet surgeon sewed the wound closed].
Conrad Glastetter said, "I learned how to do a spay surgery and how to check a dog's heartbeat." [Students performed a spay operation and did examinations on real dogs].
Colter Vollmer said, "I learned about suturing a dog's wound. I think this is a good way for students to learn hands-on skills."
Aaliyah Williams said, "I learned how to use a microscope and how to approach a dog without scaring them." [Students processed microscope slides and interacted with shelter dogs, including reading to them].
Addie Short said, "This inspires kids to want to learn." and Olivia Edsel agreed, "Doing field trips like this will help kids learn even more."
Hanna Welter said, "I'll never forget the surgery I saw."
Braden Johnston said, "Do this again in the future, because this was super fun and we really learned."
Photos from the field trip to the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis are below.
