STARTING A VET SCHOOL IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC: A ROUGH GUIDE TO DEFLECTING COVID CURVEBALLS AND CRACKING ON.

Hello! My name is Maddy and I’ve just finished my first year at the very new and shiny Harper Keele Vet School. I started uni fresh from A Levels (or rather centre assessed grades!) during possibly the weirdest year many of us have ever experienced, and was straight into another exciting albeit also weird situation of being part of the pioneer cohort at HK.

Whilst the country was adjusting to restrictions changing constantly, and the whole world was rocked by Coronavirus, I had my own challenges…like trying to figure out the washing machine, finding the work:pub balance, and how to budget for the first time. Watching friends figure these things out too at the same time was equally amusing – WHO KNEW pasta grew when you added water! *eye roll*

Joking aside, I think most people would agree that 2020 was not a good year for almost anything. However, Harper Keele did an excellent job of mitigating all the obstacles presented by the pandemic, we were able to continue pretty much as normal, and significant effort was made to keep us in practical teaching sessions, whether in the labs at Keele or on the farm at Harper. Towards the end of this academic year and after a long time coming, we were able to visit the brand-new Harper Veterinary Education Centre, which was later officially opened by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. It felt like such a pivotal moment and the excitement in the room for the first time was truly palpable.

This year, despite some difficulty in meeting between both campuses in person (grrr…restrictions) we have definitely got to know the cohort, particularly at our home site. The community spirit prevailed throughout the year, helped along during forced isolation when we all got COVID, and even despite that we were still friends at the end… We have had regular ‘in person’ teaching sessions in small groups by clinical teaching fellows with whom we have built excellent relationships throughout the course of the year. Most of the cohort have undertaken a number of placements with great success – not forgetting to add COVID to the risk assessment, spreading far and wide, and putting HK on the map.

I’m based at Keele and therefore can’t fully comment on the situation at Harper, however from my perspective the teaching has been reasonably smooth throughout, with only minor hiccups – like when several of us tested positive and halted ‘in person’ teaching for 2 weeks… The basis of the teaching was always planned to be one where tech played a large role, with lectures live streamed across both campuses simultaneously, so we all received the same information at the same time, arguably HK was reasonably well equipped to deal with such a streaming heavy year, thank you Teams!

We also made the best of the tech-based year from a social perspective, holding quizzes and socials between both campuses, as well as a collaboration with the RVC. We are hoping, of course, that these can take place in the next academic year in person, and the whole cohort is buzzing for Sports Weekend whenever it is safe to resume. Our Vet Soc is also finally getting off the ground ready for the new intake of freshers in September, and plenty of fun socials and events in the works, along with our newly-set traditions including boiler suit night at the SU (wellies compulsory, in true vet student style).

Starting a new vet school comes with its own set of challenges of course, not to mention with a pandemic throwing all sorts of curveballs into the mix. All in all, however, I feel 2020/21 was a triumph. Though it is hard to imagine a return to ‘normal’ anytime soon, the prospect of sitting in a lecture theatre/clinical skills lab as a vet student, in a VERY new vet building in the near future is so exciting!

sure future Harper Keele shenanigans will be well documented on social media alongside the more polished updates available on the website, but for now, that’s hopefully the last time a vet school will have to open under such strange conditions. 2020/21 was an absolute rollercoaster of a year for each and every student across all universities and courses. Just making it through, learning to adapt to new situations and staying on top of everything is a huge achievement, so if you’re reading this, good job!

Maddy Shorthouse (2nd year Harper Keele)