Veterinary Science

The Veterinary Science CDE has been met with much enthusiasm and excitement from FFA members interested in pursuing a career in veterinary science. Event participants will have their veterinary science knowledge tested in the written exam as well as in the breed, equipment and parasite identification. Members also demonstrate hands-on skills in the clinical and handling/restraining practicums. This event challenges participants to utilize high-level knowledge in math and science.

WAFFA Veterinary Science CDE Handbook/Rules Revised 2023

Manual Del Evento De Desarrollo Profesional En Ciencias Veterinarias

Resources

2025 State Event Information

Hi esteemed advisors and coaches,

We hope your school year is starting off strong and we know a number of you are preparing teams to go to nationals - good luck! As we look forward to the state Veterinary Science CDE we wanted to get everyone prepared for some significant changes to the contest that will be implement this Spring (2025). The goal of these changes is to 1) have a wider net to cast for judges so that students can move through the contest efficiently, 2) improve the real-world practicality and applicability of the contest, and 3) align closer to the national contest format. As with any change, we expect growing pains, some anxiety, and questions. Below, we’ve outlined contest changes and the general format of the event, as well as the 6 practicums that can be used this year for the state contest.

1) The contest will be hosted at the Science and Math Institute Environmental Learning Center located next to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA on April 11th. Thanks to Jason Bullock for fostering this new partnership! We will start at 8 AM and plan to end around 5:30 PM. Details about parking, lunch options, and an official schedule will be announced as we get closer. We understand this may interfere with a number of school’s Spring break and apologize for this inconvenience, but there’s only so many dates in the busy WAFFA schedule to choose from :)

2) Team Activity - Theme will be announced once the National FFA announces their theme for Fall 2025, expect this around February

3) Practicums - Same as last year, we will have 6 total practicums that we can choose from, but students will only be expected to perform 4 practicums (2 clinical, 2 handling). The practicums will be a surprise until the time of the contest, but each student will be required to perform the same 4 practicums. The 6 potential practicums are:

- Restraint of the cat for jugular venipuncture (Handling)

- Placing a Tail Tie (Handling)

- Snare Restraint of the pig (Handling)

- Administering Ophthalmic Medication (Clinical)

- Filling a Syringe for Injection (Clinical)

- Administering an Intramuscular injection (Clinical)

4) Contest Format - We will be switching to a case-based model. In this model each student will compete 4 rotations and will be in the same rotation as their entire team at all times. Rotation 1 will be the team activity prep and presentation. Rotation 2-4 will each be an individual case. Each case will include knowledge questions (16-20 per case), math questions (10 per case), and ID questions (16-20 per case), and up to 2 practicums. At the beginning of each rotation, the students will be given a packet with all the questions for that rotation and either a Scantron or Judging Card (TBD). Each rotation will last 80 minutes. As an example, if a case was a dog spay, we may ask a knowledge question about what the scientific term for a spay is called (Knowledge), what position the name of the position the dog is placed for in surgery if it is laying on it’s back (Knowledge), ask them to calculate a drug dosage for a pain medication (Math), ask them how many pills need to be sent home to fulfill a prescription for pain medications to go home (Math), ask them to identify a spay hook in a group of four instruments (ID), identify an IV catheter (ID), etc. These questions will follow a similar structure to the exams in the past, so studying past exams will still be helpful, we’re just taking the tests, splitting them up, and incorporating them into individual cases. All questions will still be multiple choice, we will be using the same resources to formulate questions, and students will still be given the conversion they need for math questions in the question itself (EXCEPT FOR METRIC CONVERSIONS [e.g. mL to L, cm to mm, kg to g, etc.], which students are expected to have memorized). Students will have areas to sit to work on these questions, ID stations will be set up to filter through as they want to (hopefully alleviating the over-crowding of the ID rooms), and we will be filtering students through the practicums as judges are available. 2 of these rotations will occur before lunch, 2 of these rotations will occur after lunch. Clear as mud?

5) Jason is working on opportunities to partner with PDZA (likely a presentation for students while coaches are in score review, potentially group rates for tickets for the day before or day after the contest) - stay tuned for updates on this front! There will NOT be time for students to spend any time in the zoo on the day of the contest and NO ONE is allowed to go from the SAMI to the zoo without paying admission to the zoo.

6) Caitlin Kline has decided she likes us so she is Co-Coordinating again this year. THANKS CAITLIN! Please reply to both of us with questions and we can help clear up any questions or confusion! We look forward to seeing you all in April and making this the BEST CONTEST YET!

-Megan Cihak and Caitlin Kline