Life as a Vet Student
- First year at University - "Pre vet"
- First year in the Faculty
- Learning environment
- Extra Mural Practical Work
- Animal experimentation
First year at university
As a ‘pre-vet’ student, or as an aspiring ‘vet’ student in science, you will be in a large faculty, which is very different from school. Everything is on a larger scale. You will have more personal responsibility to make sure your enrolment is correct, to work out your timetable, to motivate yourself to attend all lectures, tutorials, seminars and laboratory practical classes, to make sure your work is in on time, and to prepare for examinations. Lectures in most courses at first-year level can be very large. You might be sitting in a lecture with several hundred other students. Practical classes are arranged in smaller groups and tutorials are usually smaller again.
The University provides services to students that help them to cope with the transition from school to university. Make sure you use these services to help you succeed in your studies.
First-year in the Faculty of Veterinary Science
By the time you reach the first year of the veterinary science course you will have experienced university life. Even if you enter the course from another Australian or an overseas university, from first-year science (or the pre-veterinary year) or as a graduate, you will be aware of your responsibility to use the learning environment wisely. This should include being able to ask for assistance to solve academic or study problems.
Extramural work is required between academic years and semesters to a total of 25 weeks over the whole course. If you need to have paid employment during the academic year, please balance this against the study demands of the course which are heavy. You will certainly have to be well-organised and have a disciplined study regime. The general advice is that if you work more than 10 hours per week you could be putting your studies at risk. In the clinical years of the course it is more difficult to sustain any paid employment, partly because of the Werribee location and partly because of rostered out-of-hours clinical rounds.
Learning environment
Learning is through formal lectures, laboratory practical classes, clinical rounds, small group discussions, seminars, tutorials and multimedia and computer-assisted learning sessions. Formal class hours are listed under ‘Subjects and class contact hours by year of the course’, But a lot of learning at University is done out of formal class time. You need to spend time reviewing lecture notes, searching for references in the library and preparing practical reports and assignments. Assessment includes formal written, practical and oral examinations, open book tests, computer quizzes and assignments.
Attention is given to developing problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills through problem-based learning exercises in syndicate groups from first year. Class sizes of up to 120 for lectures and practicals reduce to groups of approximately seven for syndicate group exercises and for clinical teaching.
Students are exposed to live animals and professional requirements from first year.
Health and safety issues involving animal handling, chemical and biological laboratory hazards and zoonoses are dealt with at the commencement of the relevant practical classes.
Clinical teaching is undertaken at the Veterinary Clinical Centre at Werribee where students are in attendance for the final two years of the course. Case material is provided through the Veterinary Clinic and Hospital, which conducts a primary and referral veterinary practice. Agricultural animals are accessed through a livestock consultancy group within the Faculty and an associated specialist dairy practice.
A Practitioner in Residence program at Werribee assists students with the transition to the workforce.
Animal experimentation
Study in Veterinary Science does involve the use of animals in a non-recovery situation, or of animal tissue, in practical work. You should be aware that this use of animals in teaching is an essential part of this course and exemptions are not available. The University’s Animal Welfare Committee has approved all practical classes, where animals or animal tissues are used. (The Committee membership includes community members with animal welfare interests).