New TV series follows budding veterinarians

By Rashmi Shivni
Published on
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Nat Geo WILD logoNat Geo WILD premiered a reality television show following veterinary students as they learn the ins and outs of the profession.

The show, “Vet School,” debuted Sept. 19 and took place at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Nat Geo WILD followed first- and fourth-year students as they learned the basics and started moving toward hands-on activities, respectively. The show was filmed this past academic year.

According to a press release by Cornell University, the show followed first-year students Hannah Brodlie, Cristina Bustamante, and Dan Cimino. The fourth-year students were Sam Dicker, Singen Elliot, Aziza Glass, and Aria Hill. These students have different ambitions and aim to focus on specific areas of veterinary medicine.

Fourth-year student Aziza Glass gets a lesson in equine dentistry on Nat Geo WILD’s “Vet School.” The series premiered Sept. 19 and was produced at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. (Photos courtesy of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine)

The students were fielded and selected to be interviewed by Thinkfactory Media, a content production company, which helped Nat Geo WILD find potential students with specific interests, said Claudia Wheatley, a college spokeswoman at Cornell.

“First and foremost was each student’s ability to represent Cornell and the veterinary profession,” Wheatley said. “We also looked at the students’ areas of professional interest to make sure they represented a broad range of veterinary specialties, from large animals to small animals, pets to production livestock.”

The show portrays “the pressures, rewards and occasional sadness of life as an aspiring veterinarian,” the Cornell press release stated. This was a personal look at the struggles of transitioning from student to professional.

The network has some of the most popular shows about veterinary medicine and a large general audience interested in animal health and welfare.

Millie, a Bulldog with congestive heart failure, is prepped for surgery on Nat Geo WILD’s “Vet School.”

“We viewed this show as a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of the veterinary profession and to help the public understand the rigorous education leading to a veterinary degree,” Interim Dean Lorin Warnick said in the Cornell release. “We were honored to be asked to participate in the production and happy to showcase the experience of our students as they work to become veterinarians.”

The show consists of six episodes that are running every Saturday through Oct. 24. The episodes cover topics such as anesthesiology, cardiology, and dental surgery in both large and small animals.