In addition to traditional didactic courses, the curriculum has three unique areas that set the LMU DVM Program apart and enhance a graduate’s preparedness to enter practice.
The primary focus of the professional curriculum at the Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is the four-year, full-time program leading to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, which integrates academic instruction with clinical training across eight semesters.
The veterinary curriculum has been designed with the end in mind - to prepare the ideal graduates of tomorrow. As such, the curriculum is designed to be both horizontally and vertically integrated, the curriculum is designed to be both horizontally and vertically integrated, meaning that concepts are coordinated across courses within each semester, while also building progressively throughout the program so that foundational knowledge is reinforced and applied in increasingly complex clinical contexts. At the same time, One Health, the interaction between the health of animals, humans, and our shared environment, at both the individual and population levels, is woven into the curriculum.
The curriculum is also built on the philosophy of "clinical immersion," a practical approach that recognizes that veterinary knowledge must be developed side-by-side with clinical and professional skills. These skills include three vital areas: 1) clinical reasoning skills, 2) professional skills, including communication, and 3) technical skills.
Distance education is strategically utilized to enhance student learning by incorporating subject matter experts and supporting flexible, synchronous instruction. It comprises less than 15% of the overall curriculum, with only four credit hours delivered entirely online. The primary distance education methods used to deliver select aspects of the curriculum include pre-recorded lectures and videoconference lectures. Additionally, all didactic lectures are recorded to allow students to review content at their convenience.
The DVM curriculum is divided into two phases: Pre-clinical Sciences (Semesters 1 through 6) and Clinical Experiences (Semesters 7 through 8).
The pre-clinical sciences curriculum is taught in semester modules. The fall semester of first year covers the foundational courses of anatomy and physiology, while the spring semester of first year focuses on concepts related to the immune system and infectious disease. The fall semester of second year focuses on the diagnosis of disease, and the spring of the second year focuses on foundational surgery and anesthesia courses. The third year is organized by system, with each semester including specific systems.
In addition to traditional didactic courses, the curriculum has three unique areas that set the LMU DVM Program apart and enhance a graduate’s preparedness to enter practice.
All pre-clinical semesters include Clinical Skills and Professional Skills courses aimed at providing students an early and consistent exposure to skills that will enable them to be confident and competent upon entering their clinical year. Clinical skills include surgical skills, animal handling and restraint, and diagnostic and therapeutic skills, including a highly structured surgical skills training program. Professional skills include management, team-based healthcare, communication, leadership, ethics, and skills necessary to promote lifelong learning.
The four One Health courses are aimed at exploring research, the human-animal bond, health care delivery, epidemiology, food safety/production, foreign and emerging diseases and examination of the global workplace.
LMU-CVM utilizes work-place-based clinical education during clinical year rotations to provide students one-on-one training with clinical educators at private practices located throughout the country. This distributive model helps our students gain hands-on, real-world experiences not afforded to the average student in a standard veterinary teaching hospital.
The Lincoln Memorial University-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) has developed a forward-thinking veterinary medical education program designed to graduate confident, competent, and career-ready veterinarians. In response to calls from leaders in the profession—including the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC)—for an innovative, collaborative, and sustainable model for 21st-century veterinary education, LMU-CVM has built a curriculum that blends proven educational strategies with innovations from other health professions.
Drawing on the successes of established institutions and integrating best practices from across medical education, LMU-CVM is committed to preparing graduates to meet the evolving needs of society. During the first three pre-clinical years, students receive a strong foundation in the scientific principles underlying veterinary medicine. They are challenged early to apply their knowledge through hands-on learning opportunities, which foster practical skill development well before the clinical year begins.
The cornerstone of the LMU-CVM clinical training is a hybrid, workplace-based model that engages high-quality veterinary practices to provide predominantly one-on-one instruction during the fourth year. This model fosters collaborative partnerships between the college and veterinary professionals who are passionate about teaching and mentorship. Students observe, assist, and perform procedures under supervision, while being immersed in all facets of clinical practice. This real-world experience offers our students rich, hands-on learning opportunities that often exceed those available in traditional, brick-and-mortar veterinary teaching hospitals.
Utilizing the hybrid workplace-based model, the typical 52-week LMU-CVM Clinical Year Curriculum consists of 40 (forty) weeks of hands-on, immersive clinical experiences plus 12 (twelve) weeks of supplemental instruction and North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) study. The clinical year is broken down into 12 four-week blocks to facilitate scheduling, and are divided as follows:
Foundation (Core) Clinical Rotations (12 weeks, 3 rotation blocks):
Elective Clinical Rotations and Externships (28 weeks, 7 rotation blocks):
Supplemental Instruction and NAVLE Study (12 weeks):