Guest speaker David Golland with Neil Pinto and James Ross at the time of his induction into our club in October last year.
 
The development of a Veterinary course at CSU was the topic of our guest speaker Dr. David Golland.
A driving factor in establishing a course at CSU was the desire to retain graduates in regional areas. This outcome has been achieved with 92% of graduates working in Rural and regional areas.
 
The project began in 2003 with a detailed report on the development of a Veterinary course. David referenced the influence of Professor Raidal. By the next year an interim curriculum had been devised and the first intake of students, 45 in all, began their studies. 30 of that first group of students went on to graduate in 2010.
 
The course is of five and a half years duration. Two and a half years is spent on pre-clinical work. The next two years is spent on clinical problem based learning and the final year of external clinical rotations, or placements, in three week lots, in various veterinary clinics.
 
The bar to enter the course is quite high. An ATAR of 90 is a prerequisite as are other attributes of understanding of animal issues, farming, etc., and good communication skills.
 
Each year about 400 people apply for the course, of that number the best 160 are interviewed with a final selection of 65. Interviews take place in front of a panel of lecturers who are looking for maturity, commitment and communication skills as well as the academic attributes required for such a testing course. Applicants receive a set of questions and have 30 minutes of reading time prior to the interview. Panel members have a grid for collating points. After all interviews applicants are reranked and the top 65 are offered places.
 
The aims of the course have been achieved and the course has been a great success in keeping 92% of graduates in Regional areas.
 
President James thanked David for his informative talk and members showed their appreciation with applause.