When students in the School of Veterinary Medicine graduate in May, some will go straight into jobs caring for livestock such as cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and alpacas.

Before they fly the coop, so to speak, a group of fourth-year students interested in food animal medicine will have ample opportunities to put into practice what they have learned throughout the past few years during a month-long, intensive surgical and medical rotation for livestock at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.

“In March, the idea is to give students a concentrated experience in managing medical cases and performing common surgeries that they’ll encounter routinely when they’re working in practice after graduation,” says Raymond Sweeney, chief of large animal medicine and ophthalmology.

The program, in its 26th year, is offered to fourth-year vet students concentrating in food animal medicine. The current cohort is made up of 14 students. From March 2-27, they are taking major roles in performing surgeries and managing medical care for farm animals. They work under the supervision of Sweeney and Marie-Eve Fecteau, an assistant professor of food animal medicine and surgery at Penn Vet, and also gain experience communicating with clients about their animals’ care.

To ensure that there are enough cases for the students to work on over the course of the month, the New Bolton Center spreads the word to farmers through local referring veterinarians and through their own Field Service, and offers reduced rates to clients who bring in their animals for procedures such as dehornings, castration, or hernia repair. One of the more common procedures, a correction of a condition known as “twisted stomach” that commonly affects dairy cows, is offered to clients at no charge.

Such procedures are typically done by vets on the farm, but Sweeney says clients who allow students to work with their animals know that there is a benefit beyond the reduced fees.

“Our clients seem to appreciate the importance of contributing to the education of the vet students,” he says. “Though the charges for surgery or medical care might be reduced, I think most have more than just a financial incentive at heart. And we’re very thankful.”

As a result of the program, Sweeney says the New Bolton Hospital sees roughly three times as many of these routine cases in March as they do in a normal month.

“All of our staff—our veterinarians, interns, residents and technicians—work really hard this month,” he says. “It takes a full team to launch our students from participant-observers to full-fledged veterinarians.”