5 minute read
These Docs Make Barn Calls
These Docs Make Barn Calls
Veterinarians at ISU's Lloyd Medical Center provide quality care on campus and on the farm.
By Darcy Maulsby
It’s been said that good veterinarians talk to animals. Great veterinarians hear them talk back.
Many of these dedicated veterinarians, skilled in the art and science of large-animal care, are educated at Iowa State University (ISU) College of Veterinary Medicine. Some go on to grow their careers at the large animal hospital at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at ISU.
“The depth of expertise found at the Lloyd Medical Center cannot be matched elsewhere in the state,” says Dan Grooms, DVM, PhD, and the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard, Dean of Veterinary Medicine at ISU.
The Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center team comprises board-certified veterinarians, veterinarians focused on a specific specialty area, residents and interns, fourth-year veterinary students and registered veterinary technicians. Some of these professionals work at the facilities in Ames, while others provide on-farm services to livestock producers in central Iowa and beyond.
“We offer 24/7 emergency care — including holidays,” says Grooms, who notes that the team also works with the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. “People can bring their animals to us, or we can come to them through our ambulatory service, which covers about a 40-mile radius around Ames.”
Serving Animal Patients Across the Midwest
Veterinary medicine has a long history at ISU. The ISU College of Veterinary Medicine was founded in 1879 as the country’s first public veterinary school.
“The College of Veterinary Medicine has provided care for all species of animals from the beginning,” Grooms says. “Today, about 40 to 50% of our students are interested in a largeanimal or mixed-animal practice.”
The ISU College of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary colleges in the U.S. “About one-third of our students come from Iowa, while another third comes from our two contract states — Nebraska and North Dakota — that don’t have a College of Veterinary Medicine,” Grooms notes.
The remaining one-third of ISU’s vet-med students come from various states, from California to Massachusetts to Florida. “We also have some international students,” says Grooms, who adds that about 80% of veterinary medicine graduates nationwide are female.
Students at ISU have the opportunity to work in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, which was built in 2008. This facility has approximately 130 staff, including animal caretakers. Roughly 50 veterinarians work in the center’s hospitals, including the large animal hospital.
“Our large animal hospital provides state-of-the-art care for both food animals and equine patients. As a teaching hospital, it also provides a clinical setting for our students to become proficient at diagnosing and treating health abnormalities,” Grooms says.
That might mean treating a calf with an infected joint, a goat or lamb with pneumonia, a horse suffering from lameness or colic or a large animal with a broken bone. The Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center team also conducts fertility exams and provides advanced reproductive services for large animals. This can involve embryo transfer (ET), which allows a livestock producer to quickly multiply the genetics of the top females in the herd.
“Our animal patients come from across Iowa and the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and other states,” Grooms says. “Some of these patients are highvalue animals economically, like show pigs or embryo-transfer calves. Other animals are high value because they are special to the owner.”
On-Farm Visits Fill a Niche
Sometimes, farmers and others with large animals need Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center veterinarians to make a “barn call.”
Equipped with four fully stocked mobile veterinary trucks and eight full-time clinicians, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Field Services team provides individual animal and herd health veterinary care for beef, dairy, swine, horses, sheep, goats and camelids (alpacas and llamas).
“Our ambulatory unit fills a niche, from large farms to hobby farms,” says Dr. Pat Gorden, an ISU College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member specializing in dairy production medicine. “Our goal is to get more students out on farms and give our clients options, too.”
Some clients want a second opinion or consultation, while others rely on the ambulatory unit for routine veterinary services. Sometimes, clients need on-farm visits, although many issues can be handled over the phone. “The ambulatory unit has really grown in recent years,” Gorden notes.
This service reflects two of the three missions of ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, including education and extension that aims to bring the university's knowledge to the people of Iowa.
“The College of Veterinary Medicine also conducts research to provide answers to key questions that the people of Iowa have about animal health and public health,” Grooms says. ISU has been a national leader in developing vaccines, from kennelcough vaccines for dogs to vaccines that help control swine diseases.
The Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center staff works year-round to make animals’ lives happier, healthier and more productive, Grooms adds. “If there’s a problem, we’re here to help.”
