Veterinary Today Podcast: Illinois' New, Proposed College of Veterinary Medicine

Midwestern University in Downers Grove will be the home of Illinois’ proposed second college of veterinary medicine and teaching hospital.

Not since the installation of the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine in Champaign-Urbana in 1944 has there been a similar collegiate offering for doctor of veterinary medicine students in the state.

Coretta Patterson, DVM, DACVIM-SA, is the new dean of this college. In this Veterinary Today Podcast, Dr. Patterson outlines the steps currently being taken to establish this college, the expected timeline for approval and, when approved, when the first class of students may be expected to enroll.

Dr. Patterson also discusses the importance of Midwestern University’s proposed DVM teaching hospital and how having this facility is important to the success of its future graduates.

Dr. Patterson was recently interviewed by ISVMA’s Veterinary Today Podcast host, Dr. Joanne Carlson, Loving Care Animal Clinic, Palatine, about this exciting development.

Transcript

Welcome to the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association's veterinary Today podcasts. Every veterinary today podcast episode presents currents and developing trends in the veterinary profession so that veterinary professionals can better serve clients and their pets, maintain their livestock, manage their practice, all with the goal of establishing a more informed, knowledgeable, and engaged clinic staff.

I'm happy to be here with you. I'm Joey McLoughlin, your podcast moderator. Our host is Doctor Joanne Carlson, chief medical officer at Loving Care Animal Clinic, Palatine, and immediate past president of the ISVMA's board of directors. Glad to have you back, Doctor Carlson. Hello.

Thanks, Joey. Always great to be here with you. We're back, and we've got really exciting news to talk about on this podcast. I'm just thrilled. This is a really pivotal moment for Illinois. We have only had one veterinary school for, uh, the history of Illinois. I am just thrilled to have Doctor Patterson with us and, uh, it's going to be great.

Joey.

Yeah, I didn't know there's only one and we're getting another one. That's pretty exciting and doesn't happen every day, does it?

Sure doesn't, Joey. So, you know, the way it works is that we have, you know, historically there's been approximately 30 to 33 veterinary schools in the United States, and we are really seeing the need, uh, for more of us. So I am thrilled that we have Doctor Coretta Patterson with us today.

She is going to become the first dean of the recently announced College of Veterinary medicine program at, ah, Midwestern University in Downers Grove. And I must say, I know it's a fantastic university. I have very good friends who are physicians that have graduated from there. Uh, I know lots of folks who attend there.

And I am just thrilled that we're going to have a second college of veterinary medicine in Illinois. As we've gone through in, uh, you know, the United States. It seems as if our pet, uh, parents are increasing, and we're seeing that, uh, there's more of a demand for skilled veterinarians and in the country who really can provide for the small animals as well as the large.

There's, uh, been a shortage of veterinarians, and we're trying to manage the increasing demand for pet care services. So I know that we really, um, you know, we've had some ramped up times during the COVID pandemic, and in even though, uh, there was a surge in pet ownership, we're not really seeing that decreasing.

We're seeing that, uh, more and more people are, um, establishing, uh, pets in their home, and they're really part of the family, so we really need to get more of us out there and, uh, licensed and doing our good work. So let's get right to the heart of this podcast and let Doctor Patterson tell us about all the nifty things that are going on.

Everything about Midwestern University. Welcome, Doctor Patterson. I am so excited to have you with us.

Thank you, Doctor Carlson. It's wonderful to be here. I'm very excited to come and share with you and the ISVMA, um, what we have to offer at Midwestern.

Wonderful. So, you know, the first thing I have to say is that we are, uh, alumni. I think we just chatted briefly about the fact that I graduated in 1993. You graduated 95? So we must have passed somewhere in the halls of the college of vet Medicine. So nice, uh, to see you and to have that.

And why don't you just tell us about yourself and how you became the new dean of the Midwestern University College of Med.

Yeah. Thank you. So I am born and um, one of the questions I was asked was are you a native Illinoisan? And I am. I was born and raised in Chicago. So I'm a proud south side of Chicagoan from the Chatham neighborhood. Yes. Um, and I went to Whitney Young, um, and then I went to Illinois for undergrad and vet school.

And as you said, I'm a 95 grad of Illinois and back then most of us were animal science majors, right. Uh, because we were competing with a different demographic of student. Um, so got my bachelor's in animal science from Illinois, um, and then my DVM from Illinois. And I'm a little unusual in that I knew when I started vet school that I wanted to be a specialist.

So immediately after graduation I went to Michigan state, did my rotating internship, married, he was ah, in medical school. So we did his residency tour and then I came back to Michigan State to do my internal medicine residency. And um, then I stayed on this faculty there for um, eleven years after my residency.

And so when I left there, I was the associate dean for academic programs. And then we left and I've been in private specialty practice, I've been in corporate specialty practice. I've worked um, at Midwestern's Arizona campus, uh, worked at University of Georgia for a little bit. So I have, I'm not afraid of moving.

So we have moved around the country and I've worked at, I tell people I've been at five universities and four vet schools.

Oh my word, that is really something. So there's no doubt that uh, you and your husband are just uh, not much to sit on the couch

aboard a DBM. So that's intriguing. I will say one of the biggest um, issues when we think about it, you know, how many potential uh, veterinary students are, is there is a cap. And I know uh, Dean Constable is on our ISVMA board and I know about the, you know, the constraints and a lot of them are that physically you can only fit so many students in uh, a building, in a room.

And I know when I was in veterinary school we had I think 82 in our class. I know there are up to 100 and 5160 now and there is a maximum. And I try and emphasize that to clients that it takes a lot to educate us to become a veterinarian.

We're learning all of the species, all of the things. Um, I find it very interesting, Doctor Patterson, that you did know you wanted to be a specialist right off the bat. Tell me more about that. How did you ascertain that? I think that's intriguing.

Yeah. Well, I had a very, um, fortunate career path. Um, the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of undergrad, I did a summer program at Oklahoma State that has long since dissolved. Um, but then the summer between my sophomore and junior year, I did a program at Michigan State University called Vet were bound.

And the program went on to exist for maybe 40, 45 years or so. And it was for, um, either underrepresented students or students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. And you'd go to MSU and you spend a summer there. You were there for maybe eight weeks, and you took classes and you shadowed fourth year vet students on rotations in the hospital.

It's, um, actually where I met my husband. He used to be a pre vet before he went to the hospital. Yeah. Um, but because of that program, I just spent time in a teaching hospital. You know, when you're in undergrad, like, who gets to do that? And I thought, this is really cool, I want to do this.

I think that's absolutely fascinating. And, um, you know, I know we're going to get to know you with the, uh, Illinois State Veterinary association, and, you know, I'm very proud that we have, we've got a very, very active DEI committee and we host a student event. Uh, they host a student event within the IASVMA m every year at our convention.

It is very well received. Um, I think we had over 40, uh, students from the inner city, from Chicago this past year, and they get a little taste of it. But, boy, I'd really like to see us develop something like that at, uh, the University of Illinois. I think that's a fantastic program.

And when you like what you just said, underrepresented, uh, individuals, these are folks that might not necessarily have any, uh, insight or ability to really know what we do. So what a great immersive opportunity that was for you.

I just think that was amazing.

So I hear that you were in the Glendale, Arizona campus. So what was your role there, and how was that? Um, kind of segued you into, uh, downers Grove.

So that's sort of an interesting story, too. We moved, when I left Michigan state, we moved to Nevada. My husband is a senator physician, so he was at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, um, as faculty, and eventually became the department chair there. Um, and I started a privately owned specialty practice.

It was two surgeons and myself, and I found that for me it was too small. I had been at Michigan state for so long, and I went to some place much smaller, and I needed something a little bit, I needed a little more community. So I ended up, uh, moving to, um, a VCA in northern California, where I was one of three internists rather than the own one.

And, um, I was working there in 2016. And Tom Graves, who actually was at Illinois for a number of years, was the dean. He called me, actually, and said the dean, the founding dean of Midwestern in Glendale, Arizona, was stepping down. Tom was going to become the dean. Um, and would I come and interview and I said, well, I live in Nevada.

That school is in Arizona. I'm not sure how this would work, but I said, tom actually was a resident at Michigan State, um, before me, but his last day of his residency was the first day of my internship. So I saw him once in my life. Right. It's just such a small world.

So I said to him, I will interview with you, because when someone interviews for a job, other people come and interview. So I'll just spur the interviews. So I go to and sidebar the associate dean for academic affairs. There is a dear friend and mentor of mine, Carla Gartrell.

So I got to see a bestie interview with Tom. And honestly, while I was there, um, I saw that they had built a. Teaching hospital. And, uh, it's one thing for someone to say they built a teaching hospital, but to go and see it brand new and shiny with something different.

And the first class was going to be going into clinics very shortly, and their clinic schedule wasn't quite done being built. So the person who took the job, it was the associate dean for clinical Education, would finish off building the clinic schedule for that first class that was going to graduate in 2018, build relationships with other colleges of veterinary medicine so the students could go and do rotations.

And that's really. I love doing things like that. So I interviewed for the job. Tom offered me the job while I was still there. I accepted the job while I was still there. Oh, my God. I flew in to Arizona every week and out for two years.

Oh, my word. And, uh, you know, I have to say, what I'm hearing is that you had an Illinois winter in quite some time. Doctor Patterson.

That's true. But I love snow. I really do.

You do?

Yes. Uh, it's depressing to me. At Christmas, if there's no snow.

We'll be right back with more of our conversation with Doctor Joanne Carlson and doctor Coretta Patterson on the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association's Veterinary Today podcast. Dive into the archives. The Veterinary Today podcast archives. Since the launch of the ISVMA's veterinary Today podcast in early 2023, episodes have been released, ranging in topics from state veterinary leaders discussing reports on important public health topics like rabies, to the invasion of the Asian Longhorn tick, to the discovery of h five n one in the states dairy cattle population.

Other topics that have received high numbers of downloads include the pharmaceutical clinical trials program at Northgate Pet Clinic in Decatur, how a, uh, USDA mandate for guidance stopped the public's access to over the counter drugs for animal care, and how it affected the veterinary profession, to earnest conversations with keynote speakers at the ISVMA's annual conventions to how to use social media to leverage a veterinary hospital's community marketing.

There's something for everyone on the Veterinary Today podcast. Tune in today, download any podcast episode from popular music and podcast streaming sites, and of course, the veterinary Today podcast website. Let's get back to our conversation with doctor Joanne Carlson and doctor Coretta Patterson on the Veterinary Today podcast.

So now we are, you know, the new Midwestern University dean of the College of Vet Medicine. What, um, sort of timeframe do we have, and what's, uh, what's the plan there? Because I'm just super excited about this whole process, so.

And I want to share the process a little bit with folks, because, again, U of I has been here since 1944, so nobody knows what. What one does. So you first contact the AVMa and say that you want to start a college, and then they send you some information.

And then they send you more information and say, we need to come and visit and see what you're building. Um, and so that's a consultative visit. So we have scheduled our consultative visit with the AVMa's council on Education for May 11 through 15 of 2000, and. So they'll come.

And in the meantime, I have this giant document that I'm working on where they ask me, how are you going to teach the students? What are you going to teach the students, what kinds of activities are the students going to have? Who are you going to hire? So we're answering all of those questions in this document that we send them that they'll read prior to coming to visit with us, um, in May of 2025.

Um, after that visit, they have a June meeting where they don't make any big decisions. They'll make a decision in September of 2025 telling us, yes, you did everything we think you should do, or no, you don't, and what you need to, what deficiencies you have. But I'm hoping that we'll get the yes and that we can move forward with, uh, seating a class.

How many students do you, are you projecting that you could possibly accommodate?

So our, uh, you have to tell the Coe that how many you want to have? And we want to have a class of 120 to start. You know, with the shortage everyone has, um, many schools have increased their class size, of course, to address the shortage. And, you know, at some point in time, I think Arizona is up to maybe 130 in a class.

But our goal, our target for the first class is 120. And the first class in Arizona didn't quite make the target. And I would expect that we might not make it the first year, but hopefully the second year we will.

That's exciting. And, um, when did the first class in Arizona graduate?

They graduated in 2018. And I love every one of them to bits.

That is amazing. I read some of your reviews, as a matter of fact, Doctor Patterson, I was doing my research and boy, those students just loved you to pieces out there. I mean, absolutely. Someone said they wanted to just hug you. You were the best teacher. I mean, I just can't wait to, uh, see you in action.

That is so amazing.

You know, I have to say, part of my time at Michigan state, um, I was hired as clinical track faculty and I was basically working in the teaching hospital, seeing cases with students. And it was internal medicine is a required rotation, um, but, uh, maybe two years in my department chair, ed vet schools are about teaching service and research.

So you need to choose one of those other things. You're really good at service in the teen hospital, choose one of those other things and get good at it. And I said, well, I don't think I want to do research. Well, how do I get good at teaching? And I admire this person.

He was the best boss I've ever had. He said, well you went to vet school for four years, so you've sat, you've seen a lot of teaching. And, and I've said to people now, I've done three teaching fellowships. I fly on planes all the time and I don't know how to fly one.

So having sat in a classroom doesn't necessarily make one a teacher. It makes one maybe know what you don't like in a teacher, but it doesn't make you a good teacher. And, and I've spent a lot of time teaching and a lot of time with students and I think the, the most important characteristic that students have told me that, that they need in a teacher is to know that you care.

And so I think that's one of the issues that we run into in this model of teaching service and research is we sometimes have people teaching that really don't want to be there and the students know. Right. Yeah.

I think we could think back, Doctor Patterson, to our time and uh, you know, definitely. And I think that it is integral now that, you know. Students are, uh, engaged, and they expect us to. To be likewise engaged with them. And, uh, they appreciate it and really, you know, demand it.

So I think that's fantastic. Good for you. Yeah, I wish you were one of my professors back in.

Well, you know, this is something that I had to learn over the years. Right. Like, but, you know, and I think, to your point, our students are paying more now than ever before. So, you know, it's a value add for their dollar that they have instructors that are committed to being instructors and that care about them.

So, doctor Patterson, I know there's lots of, uh, new proposed veterinary colleges in the pipeline. I understand that Midwestern will be one of those, fortunately, to have a teaching hospital which is invaluable to the students in their education process. Could you expound on that, please?

Yes, absolutely. And thank you for that question. Uh, though we do plan on having a teaching hospital, as I said, we're having it permitted now. Permitting now with the village of Downers group. I, um, personally think that, that teaching hospital experience is a very valuable part of the vet student education.

Um, and I think that because our name is Midwestern, we are, on occasion, confused with western a, um, school in California that doesn't have a teaching hospital. So of the new schools that are in the pipeline, I know that Rowan and New Jersey is planning, um, a small teaching hospital, and we will also have a teaching hospital, but we're not planning on it being small.

Wonderful. That is fantastic. Because what we really need is hands on training. There's nothing. I understand models can be very efficient, but when we really want to have somebody doing surgery and, uh, procedures, we really want them to have that first experience in the teaching hospital setting. Fantastic.

Absolutely. One of my favorite, uh, one of my former students actually would say to students, it is okay to be wrong here. And that's what we want in the teaching hospital. Make your mistakes here in a supervised area so they don't happen outside when you're out there on your own.

Exactly. So what, um, if we get through next September, and we get, hopefully, a very good report from the education council, what kind of target date for opening the door? Is there projected?

So that sort of depends on the. With the AVMa, if they said to me, next September, you can start seating people now, then we might actually try to start seating people in, uh, for the fall of 2026. If they, if they say that, if we get their blessing to do that, really, that's phenomenal.

If I'm, if I'm able to hire and have enough people that we need to staff the college, then. Yeah, we'll do that. One of the things that you alluded to is, yeah, there's a shortage of veterinarians, and we don't have enough people to service our small animals and our large animals.

But what we've also felt in the academic setting is there's a shortage of people that are willing to teach in colleges of vet medicine, and there's a shortage of specialists. And so that sort of most of the people teaching in vet schools are specialists. So it's this sort of confounding issue that we have to address by first making it appeal to people to be a teacher.

Right. And also encouraging more people to go to vet school. And I think those are sort of the, um. A lady of a certain age. And those are the certain things that. That I want to be sort of my swan song in the profession, right. That not only did we graduate people who were happy to contribute to the profession, but also that want to give back by being teachers.

You will definitely have quite the, uh, uphill battle trying to find folks like yourself and myself that have had experience and teaching and whatnot. You know, it's going to be challenging, I think that's so exciting. And, uh, I'm curious, as far as the, the community, are you anticipating, um, as far as getting the students surgical experience, like utilizing the neighboring, um, shelters or that sort of thing, or what kind of thoughts do you have about that?

Well, absolutely. We know that when we look at sort of the literature, they talk about day one ready vets and what you and I graduated, many surgeries we had under our belt compared to what students want now. We know that they want and need more surgical experience. We know that practitioners hiring want students that are more confident and feel that they're able to manage cases.

So I've already met with, I won't say where, but I've already met with one shelter, um, and said, you know, we would like to talk about a partnership. So, yeah, we want to be able to have our students feel comfortable doing mass removals, spay neuters, all kinds of basic surgeries that I think they should be able to do to be good general practitioners.

So. Absolutely.

I think that's wonderful. And I know in my area, I'm up north, um, I'm just right off the 53, off of Northwest highway in, you know, um, we have. We're seeing more of a significant need for, um, the low cost, um, spay neuter clinics. And I know that there's been multiple options, but I keep finding, you know, having to send people, you know, south or elsewhere.

And I'd really love to just send them 20 minutes down the road, you know, when they're not able. Because, you know, as we know, people love their pets, but they are expensive and everything has, you know, increased, unfortunately. I think overall, uh, we look at a nationwide basis, um, things have gone up about 30% in our profession, and it's becoming more and more difficult.

So I think that's a fantastic opportunity and.

Absolutely. And we will be a low cost option for you. Send them our way. Absolutely.

Wonderful. This was a really exciting conversation, and this new college really is going to open up the doors for, I know, um, how many people come to me and say, my daughter, my son wanted to go to veterinary school, couldn't get in to. I always say we're very fortunate in the midwest.

We're surrounded by them, which very few people realize. There's only currently 33, uh, in the United States. But this is just fantastic. And, you know, like, we talk about small animals, lab animals, the large animals, they all need us.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. And I look forward to meeting you in person.

Exactly. Me as well. I think we're going to get along famously.

Doctor Patterson, likewise.

Thank you, doctors Patterson and Carlson, for joining us. I'm Joey McLaughlin. Thanks for tuning in to the ISVMA's veterinary Today podcast.