Leesburg Vet Blog 
LVH in the Community: ‘Red Nose Day’ sets the tone for educational and entertaining vet-med course.
This past weekend, Leesburg Veterinary Hospital welcomed a group of area middle schoolers to the practice for our popular Introduction to Veterinary Medicine class.
Local students took part in exciting and stimulating workshops, giving them an inside look into the world of veterinary medicine and the day-to-day life at a full-service companion animal practice. From understanding the basics of a canine wellness exam to learning to read x-rays, ultrasounds, and microscope slides, and even practicing their surgery skills by suturing bananas, our veterinarians-in-training did an awesome job honing their animal expertise!
Dr. Boyle expressed her excitement with the success of the courses:
“I am so glad that we were able to offer an Introduction to Veterinary Medicine Course to local students. It was a fun event and I really enjoyed seeing how interested the students were in veterinary medicine. I was also very impressed with how well they retained the information – I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few future veterinarians in the group!”
Besides individuals from local middle schools, we were extremely excited to host children from several special organizations including A Place to Be, Evans Home for Children, and Loudoun Abused Women Shelter.
LVH also used this event to publicize the upcoming Red Nose Day campaign on Thursday, May 25th. Red Nose Day is an annual day that uses comedy to make it fun to raise money for children in the most impoverished areas of the United States and around the world.
To raise awareness about Red Nose Day, LVH’s Front Desk Supervisor, Kim Cupples not only decorated the hospital in hues of red but outfitted all of our two-legged and four-legged attendees in bright red noses.
She explains her passion for the cause:
“When I think of Red Nose Day, I think of using hope, optimism, and encouragement to help raise awareness of challenges like poverty, hunger, and lack of opportunities for youth. Our passion for veterinary science motivated us to get our “noses on” for our Intro Vet Med Class. The kids’ energy, humor, and desire to learn blew us away!
A simple red nose has the ability to show kids that veterinary science is cool, to turn a challenge into an opportunity, to illuminate the dark, and to turn frowns into smiles. We were thrilled to play a little part in making a “pawsitive” difference in the lives of children in our community!”
Leesburg Veterinary Hospital also donated a portion of every payment taken in on Thursday to the Red Nose Day campaign.
Our entire staff was honored to host these eager students. Take a look at some of the photos from the day. The course filled up quickly, but stay tuned for announcements on future workshops soon!
Penelope, the therapy pony greeted our students at the beginning of the workshop. She gave hugs and posed for selfies!
Dr. Boyle talks about a typical day in the life of a companion animal veterinarian, including some interesting case studies. On the right, she discusses one of our more mischievous patients, Elphie, who got very sick after eating sugarless gum. You can read more about Elphie’s story, here.
Our stuffed animal friends were used to demonstrate the basics of a canine wellness exam.
Our students listened intently to Dr. Boyle and reviewed their notes before practicing some clinical skills.
Perfecting those stitches by suturing bananas!
Thank you to our local partners, Lightfoot Restaurant Red Truck Rural Bakery, and Route 11 Chips for providing refreshments and lunch and contributing to the success of our day!
It was a blast entertaining and educating our local students. We can’t wait for the next workshop!
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