Video: Animal Sciences Alumnus Elizabeth Carney

Elizabeth Carney, DVM and
Assistant Professor of Comparative
Medicine at the Penn State School
of Medicine. Elizabeth is a 1994
Animal Sciences graduate.

(Quicktime Video)

Transcript of this Video

I didn't grow up on a family farm, but my parents both worked, and my babysitter from the time I was four happened to be of a Mennonite family that had - in fact, they still have - a dairy farm. At that time they were milking 70 to 75 cows and they now milk about 150 registered Holsteins. And so, I grew up feeding calves and when I got a little older, helping to milk the cows. I have very fond memories of spending time on tractors, husking corn in the summer, and putting away hay.That's mainly my exposure to animals of all types, mainly cows, but they had chickens and hogs that they were raising.

As an undergraduate here, I really couldn't decide between being in the science track or the production track, so essentially I did both. I made sure that I had the prerequisites that I needed so that I could apply to veterinary school. I also took the dairy production classes with Dr. Muller. I also worked at the dairy facility here and spent a lot of time in the calf barn. I learnd a lot about calf respiratory problems - which has helped me as my career has gone on.

As I was getting ready to graduate, I was in a situation where I liked the production side, but I didn't have my own family farm to go back to. So I decided to apply to veterinary school, and thankfully got into Iowa State. As I went through veterinary school, I sort of had an idea that I wasn't going to be in practice my whole career. I knew that I wanted to have that experience when I graduated and that's what I ended up doing. But I looked for other opportunities along the way, and forged my own path, so to speak. Practice is challenging; there's a lot more than people realize. It's people business just as much as it is animal business. And while I can do it, and can be very good at it, it just wasn't where my burning desire was, so to speak.

In my current career path, I really like the idea that I'm applying the science and the knowledge that I have, and that there's sort of a greater outcome - that I'm helping a larger population of people and helping animals, too because a lot of the research that goes on is applicable to both.

My job right now is really a good mix between clinical veterinary practice, taking care of the research colony, and it's also teaching, which I enjoy very much. I get to interact with our medical students as well as our veterinary residents. And then research is also a part of it. I think that that mix is very good for me. There's always something new going on, and while it can be very hectic at times balancing all that, I like the variety.

Even though I'm in a research setting, we are still using what are classically thought of as farm animals. We have calves and sheep and pigs. So the husbandry that I learned in this program is still very applicable to them even though they are being used in a research setting. In some cases our animals are coming from a local farm supplier, and so we still have to think about where they're coming from, and the sorts of problems that they might be coming to us with - and be able to apply that so that they are viable research subjects.

I have contact with animals every day, and that's the way I like it. First of all, let me give you a rundown on the species that I work with, which includes calves, sheep, pigs, goats, sometimes cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, mice, zebra fish, guinea pigs, sometimes hamsters, sometimes ferrets, nonhuman primates.  I think that's everything, except that I also to veterinary work at Zoo America and Hershey Park. So the scope has expanded to North American species such as wolves, mountain lions, bison - and yes, we do sedate them before we work on them. A big focus of my job is supporting research projects that involve surgery, particularly for USDA-covered species, which are everything excluding mice and rats, and birds, and animals that are used for agricultural teaching and research. So our farm animals are included.

Of all the classes that I had at Penn State, I think I enjoyed ones in Animal Science the most, which I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be since that was my major...but they were typically smaller classes, as opposed to BIO 101, with a thousand students. They gave me the opportunity to interact one-on-one with the professors a lot more.

My first piece of advice is to study hard. Grades are important. I wish I could say that they are not, but the competition is fierce to get into veterinary school. You just have to have the grades, first of all. It is important go out and seek out some experiences. And then the other big piece of advice that I have is to open your mind and be willing to consider that (veterinary) practice might not be the place for you. If it's your heart's desire, by all means, go into it. But there's a really great need for veterinarians in the public health field, in government jobs, and in research. The need is growing, and I have to put a plug in for food-supply veterinarians; there's a huge shortage there, as well.

The other thing to consider - and this is a big one because the cost of going to veterinary school keeps rising - a lot of those alternate fields are starting to have loan-forgiveness and loan-repayment programs that can help you with your educational debt.

Undergrad years were a balancing act for me between working part-time to help support myself and trying to do well in class, with the idea that I was going to go to vet school. I got in, so I guess it's a moot point, but looking back I probably could have done a little better in some of my classes. That's just me being a perfectionist. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything.

I think I had a lot of angst when I was an undergrad about what I was going to do with my life. I think that's probably pretty common. Being where I am now and looking back on it, I guess it's okay to ask yourself that question and wonder about it. But try not to beat yourself up too hard. Because things tend to work out, and you're in a place here where you're getting a foundation that could take you anywhere.

So take some comfort in that, and stick with it.