St. Matthew’s University School of Veterinary Medicine, which admits its first class in September 2005, will help fill a growing worldwide need for veterinary universities.
Dr. Scott Harris, a consultant for Cayman’s new veterinary school, said the shortage of veterinary universities makes it difficult for many students to get accepted into schools in the United States.
‘There are very few states that have more than one (Veterinary Schools of Medicine) and there are many states that don’t even have one,’ he said.
‘Only about one-third of applicants are accepted, which means a lot of people who want to go into the field aren’t given the opportunity,’ he said.
There are only 27 schools of veterinary medicine in the United States and four in Canada.
The numbers dwindle even further in Europe, where only a reported one in 10 applicants to veterinary schools is accepted.
Compounding the problem is a shortage of veterinarians specialising in specific disciplines like large animals and birds.
St. Matthew’s will also offer admission to more students than most veterinary schools accept.
‘We see the Veterinary School eventually having the same number of students as the School of Medicine, with about 500 students,’ said university president Dr. Michael Harris.
The Veterinary School has taken space on the ground floor of the Regatta Office Park.
Although there will be some sharing of infrastructure between the Veterinary School and the School of Medicine such as with the residence halls and sports playing field, there will be no co-mingling of classrooms or other learning facilities, Dr. Scott Harris said.
Unlike the School of Medicine students, who only stay in Cayman the first two years of their studies, the Veterinary School students will remain here for three years before heading overseas for clinical rotations.
Once the Veterinary School is up and running, it will seek accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Educational Committee of Foreign Veterinary Graduates.
Dr. Harris said the University was sensitive to local issues
‘We will not be doing anything that will affect the livelihood of the local vets,’ he said. ‘There is no danger to them.’
One body that could reap the benefits of the new school is the Department of Agriculture.
‘We will be letting our students help (the Department of Agriculture) with things like research,’ he said. ‘We want to be part of the agricultural community and to help where we can.’
Dr. Harris said he expects the Veterinary School to make a positive impact.
‘I think this is really going to be an asset to Grand Cayman,’ he said. ‘We’re going to make every effort to see that it is.’
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