Today was the first "landing day" for 2017. Being a professor in a distributed model of clinical education means I don't spend time making up lectures. I help to create experience for my students through partnerships with practicing veterinarians. My students are placed "in situ" with these partners for a two week session. Except for exam week every 8 weeks, I get a new set of students every two weeks all year long. They are in transit on Sunday for a Monday morning start. I call the start of each session "Landing Day." Travel issues, hotel issues, and emergency health issues pop up. I wait for the students or veterinarians to text or call or e-mail. I have talked students to the entrance of the site on a cell phone. I have fielded text questions about wardrobe. I have had a students who were hit by a car as a pedestrian. Life happens. It is a totally different set of tasks than your typical professor requiring a close relationship between faculty and students. You really get to know each other when you travel together. Yes, everywhere they go I also go...Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Davis, Berkeley, Duarte, Loma Linda, San Diego and Denver.
