Meg Butterworth is a fourth-year student at the vet school at Virginia Tech, the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and a veterinary assistant here at Town and Country. In Episode 2 of The Vet School in Our Backyard, she explains what an exam room teaches that a classroom cannot.
Town and Country made the series together with the college. Episode 2 shows why the college matters to you and your pet, from the first day of vet school to the Fear Free Appointment where your pet meets the team.
Register for the free October 14 webinarBook a Fear Free Appointment
Call or text us at (703) 273-2110.
How do vet students get hands-on experience?
In clinics, and as early as possible. Dean Dan Givens says the college moves new students “very quickly into what we call experiential learning,” working with doctors in its teaching hospitals. This fall the college welcomed the Class of 2030, and he says the newest students arrive asking whether they will be able to learn all they need to learn to be a good veterinarian.
“It is so critical just to have your hands on the animal,” the Dean says, “to be in the environment of that exam room when you’re seeing the question on the face of the client.” Meg gets that time here, as a member of our team.
How is a clinic different from vet school classes?
Classes go one body system at a time. “At school they have a very structured curriculum,” Meg says, “and so you’re kind of working through body system by body system.” Students learn breathing and circulation, then eating and elimination, then reproduction.
An exam room asks for all of it at once. “Learning in a clinical setting somewhere like here at Town and Country, you don’t get to just see a patient and worry about one body system at a time,” she says. “You get to see from nose to tail, and you get to assess all of it at once.”
What did one cat teach Meg?
One day a doctor asked Meg to carry a cat back to its owners. She knew nothing about the cat’s history. “I said, oh, he’s so sweet, he’s so soft, he’s so precious,” she remembers, “and the owner just kind of broke down.” The cat had heart disease and did not have long to live.
Meg could relate, because one of her own cats has heart disease. “I think that empathy is something that I have been able to experience and learn a lot here,” she says, “interacting with the clients and the patients face to face.”
She values the people around her, too. “Having somebody to fall back on, who you know you can rely on and who will save you if you need saving,” Meg says, “is the best feeling ever.”
What does that mean for your pet’s Fear Free Appointment?
A Fear Free Appointment at Town and Country starts with that kind of hands-on, nose-to-tail exam, from a team that pays attention to how your pet feels and how you feel. Town and Country is a Fear Free Certified Practice, and our owner, Dr. Reed Hall, is a 1996 graduate of the college Meg attends now.
How can you learn more about the college?
The college’s teaching hospital sees more than 16,000 pets a year, and Virginia Tech has approved a $63 million project to renovate and expand it while it stays open. Virginia Tech is hosting Expanding Into Tomorrow: Approved and In Motion, a free live webinar about the project, on Wednesday, October 14, from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Zoom. Dean Givens and members of the college, including the lead architect, will share the plans and take questions. Dr. Reed Hall is on the panel. You can register free on the official event page.
What comes next in the series?
Episode 1, There’s a Vet School in Your Backyard, tells how Meg found her way to the college. Episode 3, Building What’s Next, covers the teaching hospital expansion and is coming soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do vet students get hands-on experience?
Through clinical training in teaching hospitals, which the college calls experiential learning, and through work in clinics, like Meg’s job as a veterinary assistant at Town and Country.
Is Meg Butterworth a veterinarian?
Not yet. Meg is a fourth-year student at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and a veterinary assistant at Town and Country.
Is the October 14 webinar free?
Yes. It runs from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Zoom, and you can register free on the official event page.
Is Town and Country Fear Free Certified?
Yes. Town and Country is a Fear Free Certified Practice. Book a Fear Free Appointment online or call or text (703) 273-2110.
How do you book a Fear Free Appointment at Town and Country?
Book a Fear Free Appointment online at townandcountryanimalh.com/schedule-appointment, or call or text us at (703) 273-2110.
Register for the free October 14 webinarBook a Fear Free Appointment
Call or text us at (703) 273-2110.
Need help after hours?
Our sister hospital, Columbia Pike Animal Hospital & Emergency Center in Annandale, is open 24/7 with no additional emergency fee. Call the 24/7 ER at (703) 256-8414
Town and Country Animal Hospital, 9836 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030. Love People. Love Pets.