HARROGATE, Tenn. — New students accepted into Lincoln Memorial University-College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) will have the opportunity to get a leg up on their first year of studies through LMU-CVM’s Anatomy Boot Camp. The program is set to begin July 9, and run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for two weeks.

Dr. Joshua Rowe, assistant professor of veterinary anatomy at LMU-CVM developed the veterinary specific anatomy boot camp based on the anatomy boot camp program at LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and similar programs at a few other veterinary schools.

“We wanted to combine the best components of the programs at other schools,” Rowe said. “Some programs focus purely on anatomy content while other programs focus on time management and study skills. Our boot camp addresses all of these topics in an intense but relatively short two-week timespan.”

Students will get a crash course in canine anatomy and an introduction to most of the material that will be covered in their first semester. Students will benefit from improving their dissection skills and gaining a preview of one of the most rigorous courses in the curriculum, helping them build a foundation for the upcoming anatomy course.

In addition to anatomy, students will learn about time management, test-taking and study skills from Dr. Justina Hyfantis, director of academic support.

“A major point of stress for first-year veterinary students is taking a practical examination,” Rowe said. “During Anatomy Boot Camp, students will get to experience a real, professional-level practical exam, but in a low-stakes environment.”

Rowe hopes the program will show a correlation between those who attended boot camp and their performance in the first-year anatomy course. Rowe plans to assess the program’s effect on student success. Outside of academics, students in the program greatly benefit from meeting classmates, faculty and staff, and it gives them a chance to get settled in the area before classes start.