Veterinary Colleges 2 + 2 Program adds up

Josh Link, a Pennsylvania native, found his home in Alaska's veterinary community. Link will be one of the first to graduate from a 2+2 program that connects the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in May. He plans to return to Fairbanks as a general practitioner. "I joke that one of my professors gave me a sled dog and that was the bait, and I took it," Link said. "There is a culture up there that is really unique, and the veterinary community is right at the center of it." Prospective veterinary students from states that lack an AVMA Council on Education–accredited veterinary college can still pursue a veterinary career by applying to a 2+2 program, which allows them to complete the first two years of a four-year veterinary curriculum at a campus separate from a veterinary college. In theory, these programs enable states without a veterinary college to increase the number of veterinarians in the state, and they seem to be doing just that. Most of the programs haven't been around long enough to determine definitively whether they have made a dent in veterinarian shortages. However, academic leaders and veterinary students are positive about the opportunities these programs can bring to a community or state.