Hooding ceremony recognizes new veterinary doctors

Vet students enter
Lindsay France/University Photography
The College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2016 enters Bailey Hall for its hooding ceremony.
Vets pledge
Lindsay France/University Photography
The class of 2016 takes the veterinarian's oath, which was led by Susan Wylegala, ’88 D.V.M., president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, not pictured.
Warnock speaking at hooding
Lindsay France/University Photography
Dean Lorin Warnick addresses the crowd at the 2016 College of Veterinary Medicine Hooding Ceremony.

The long haul of completing four years of study to become doctors of veterinary medicine is not without challenges. There are the long hours of study to understand and remember different diseases and species and to keep track of new discoveries, said 2016 graduate Kimberly Leidl. And the pressures to juggle school and clinical work while also trying to maintain a personal life, added Phil Medlin, who is graduating with distinction.

But now those particular challenges are over, as the members of the Class of 2016 were recognized at the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Hooding Ceremony May 28 in Bailey Hall and tomorrow will see their DVM degrees conferred.

In his address, Dr. Lorin Warnick, Ph.D. ’94, the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine, who was appointed earlier this month as the college’s 11th dean, pointed out that the medical treatment of animals and the role of veterinarians in society date back to early Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India. A 1700 B.C. clay tablet listed prices for large animal surgery, and Chinese records from the third-century B.C. include veterinarians among the four branches of the medical profession along with physicians, surgeons and dieticians, he said.

At Cornell, the first president, A.D. White, recruited veterinarian James Law, who went on to establish veterinary science as “one of the founding disciplines of Cornell University in 1868.” This led to the establishment of the College of Veterinary Medicine in the late 1800s, Warnick said.

“As a profession combining both intellectual and hands-on work, it brings us in daily contact with the practical problems of the world, and veterinary medicine fits squarely in Ezra Cornell’s vision of a university that would ‘combine practical with liberal education,’” Warnick said.

As a founding principle of the college outlined by Law, Warnick noted that the role of scientific inquiry and an evidence-based approach was vital for veterinarians.

“This is not to say that the ‘art’ of medicine plays no role. And as practitioners, we often need to make decisions with judgment and skill in the absence of direct evidence.” At the same time, veterinarians must refine approaches based on new research, while also using clinical observations as a basis of scientific inquiry and discovery, he said.

He added that communication, service, empathy and respect are at the center of the profession. “One of the things I like about the veterinary profession is that it attracts unselfish people who have chosen work that provides a valued service to other people and to animals, people who apply skill and knowledge to the health of their fellow creatures through this ancient activity of animal medicine,” Warnick said.

Following Warnick's speech, Susan Wylegala, DVM ’88, president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, led the graduating class in taking the veterinarian’s oath, then Warnick and Katherine Edmondson, assistant dean for learning and instruction, started the procession and placed the symbolic hoods on the new doctors.

After the ceremony, Dr. Meredith Miller, DVM ’07, who was named 2016 Zoetis Distinguished Teacher, spoke to the class. “James Herriot once said about being a veterinarian, ‘Animals are unpredictable things, and so our life is unpredictable. It’s the long tale of little triumphs and disasters, and you’ve got to really like it to stick it.’ If nothing else, remember to bask in the triumphs, learn from the disasters, and how lucky we are to do what we love,” she said.

At a reception after the event, Leidl reflected on the next phase of her professional life: “I look forward to forming long-lasting relationships with my clients and patients,” she said.

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Claudia Wheatley