Purdue veterinary careers program renews federal grant
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A Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine program seeking to address the national shortage of veterinarians was given a big boost recently after the federal Health Resources and Services Administration renewed a $3.2 million grant.
The program, called Vet Up! National Health Careers Opportunity Program Academy for Veterinary Medicine, was established in 2018 with a goal to pull more underrepresented communities into the profession as well as help subside the shortage in Indiana and across the country. It disseminated programming and partnered with high schools, historically Black colleges and universities and state agencies to connect students with the often inaccessible curriculum.
Through the five-year grant’s renewal, Purdue plans to expand the program to provide a more comprehensive approach to eliminating student barriers. Vet Up! will also focus on community-based experiential health professions training and work in underserved communities.
“With these components interwoven as one, Vet Up! will create an equity-minded, diverse veterinary workforce with the medical and social expertise needed to solve complex healthcare problems,” Marsha Baker, assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion and the principal investigator on the grant, said in a news release.
Vet Up! currently has several offerings, including a cohort for a year-long online learning curriculum, support for five students to earn a degree, a summer program preparing student for college applications and a pre-matriculation program.