VTPRK Scholars tours veterinary practices and livestock facilities in southwest Kansas
By Rylee Coy
Left to Right: Dr. Scott Fritz, Mallory Beltz, Laura Carpenter, Tara Ellenz, Leah Mailand, Whitney Leiblie, Chance Kopsa, Kayley Geesling, Dr. Ellie Minnix, Dr. Bob Larson.
Eight scholars from the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas (VTPRK) program at the College of Veterinary Medicine visited veterinary practices and livestock facilities in southwest Kansas during the week of May 13 to May 17.
This trip allowed the VTPRK students to interact with different veterinarians, practices and clients. It also gave students an opportunity to experience different areas of Kansas they may have not seen before.
“The VTPRK gives graduating students a support system of like-minded veterinarians that are serving rural Kansas,” Third year student Chance Kopsa said. “This tour allowed us to see their practices, their operations, and the clients they work with. These experiences help build our skills and knowledge as we prepare to be practice-ready assets to our clients in rural Kansas.”
“The students are thinking about making the transition from student to practitioner once they graduate,” Dr. Bob Larson, professor in production medicine, said. “They are meeting with veterinarians who were recently in their shoes which allows them to learn about several individuals’ successes and challenges of the first few years practicing in a rural community. In addition, the students are making contacts that they can follow-up with as they finish their college education and begin practicing.”
Students who participated included third-year students Kenzie Jones and Kopsa, and second-year students Mallory Beltz, Laura Carpenter, Tara Ellenz, Kayley Geesling, Whitney Leiblie and Leah Mailand. The students were accompanied by faculty mentors Drs. Brad White, Mike Apley, Scott Fritz and Bob Larson.
On Monday, the group visited Heartland Veterinary Center in Ness City. The practice is owned by Drs. Nick and Samantha Henning. Nick was a member of the VTPRK program and graduated in 2016 with his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, or DVM. They also visited Miller Veterinary Clinic in Scott City, where Dr. Ellie Minnix practices. Dr. Minnix graduated in 2019 with her DVM and was a member of the VTRPK program.
On Tuesday, the group visited Hy Plains Feedyard in Montezuma and its consulting veterinarian, Dr. Miles Theuer, who received his DVM in 2014. While in Montezuma, Dr. Jodi Pitts, a 2012 graduate and former VTPRK participant, welcomed the students for a tour of the Santa Fe Trail Veterinary Clinic. The last visit of the day was at the Southwest Area Extension Center in Garden City where they visited with Dr. Justin Waggoner, a K-State Research and Extension Beef Systems Specialist.
Dr. Miles Theurer, veterinarian with Veterinary Research and Consulting Services, speaking to the group at Hy Plaines Feedyard near Montezuma, Kansas.
The students visited Syracuse Dairy on Wednesday with Dr. Tera Barnhardt who was a VTPRK scholar and graduated in 2014. Dr. Barnhart was also the recipient of the 2023 Kansas State University Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. Dr. Barnhardt is a consultant at the dairy and she talked to the students about her non-traditional practice as a rural veterinarian.
Dr. Tera Barnhardt, veterinarian from Johnson, Kansas, speaking to the group at a dairy in southwest Kansas.
On Thursday, they visited Dr. Kyle Berning, a 2010 graduate and VTPRK scholar in Lakin. Then the group went to the Ulysses Feedyard in Ulysses where they saw Dr. Guy Ellis from Cactus Feeders. On Friday, the last stop of the trip was the Prairie Vista Veterinary Hospital in South Hutchinson. While there, they saw Dr. Dayul Dick, 1987 K-State graduate and Dr. Patrick Schmitz, 2020 K-State graduate.
Students on the trip talking to Dr. Guy Ellis, veterinarian for Cactus Feeders speaking at Ulysses Feedyard near Ulysses, Kansas.
”It is important for us to see these parts of our state to appreciate the change in scale from Eastern to Western Kansas and how these operations function,” Kopsa said.
About the VTPRK
The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas was originally passed by the state Legislature in 2006 as a financial incentive to provide rural areas in Kansas with committed veterinarians and it was enhanced in 2022 (HB 2605) based on the demonstrated success of the program of increasing the availability of veterinary care in rural Kansas. After completing their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, each student is required to work full-time at a veterinary practice in one of 92 Kansas counties which have less than 40,000 residents. For each year the student works at qualifying practice, up to $25,000 per year of qualifying students’ loans are forgiven over a period of four years.