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From Lake Tyers to Lombok, veterinary outreach programs are treating animals in communities where care is hard to reach—and teaching a generation of students to work with far less than the textbook assumes. By Valencia Park
Around the world, veterinarians and veterinary students contribute to outreach initiatives in communities where access to care may be limited by geography, cost or infrastructure. In Australia, one long-running example is the Indigenous Animal Health Program (IAHP), established in Victoria in 2014.
Dr Thierry Beths, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne, is one of the program’s co-founders. Motivated by a desire to support people and communities through veterinary medicine, he began by asking where care was needed close to home. This led him to Indigenous communities in Victoria and the development of a collaborative service supporting animal health and community wellbeing.
Some of the most meaningful veterinary work often happens far beyond the walls of a clinic. Veterinary outreach programs are recognised for the vaccinations and sterilisations they provide, yet their impact reaches much further. They reflect a One Health approach, recognising that animal health, human wellbeing and the strength of communities are closely connected. In some cases, they also offer valuable learning opportunities, allowing veterinary students to develop cultural awareness and a deeper understanding of their professional responsibilities. At their strongest, these programs are built on trust, continuity and the understanding that effective veterinary work must respond to the needs of the communities they serve.
The first IAHP program was held at Lake Tyers in 2014, where a team of clinicians and six students established a remote clinic using minimal equipment. Two years later, the program expanded to the Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative in Shepparton. Since then, Dr Beths has returned every year with his fellow clinicians and final-year students to establish temporary clinics at both sites, providing consultations, preventative care and sterilisation procedures.
Running the hospital
Under the supervision of experienced clinicians, students help operate the temporary clinic by rotating through reception, consultations, nursing, anaesthesia and surgery. This allows them to follow the entire patient journey while gaining practical experience across different areas of veterinary care.
“The students are running a hospital themselves for the community,” Dr Beths says.
This hands-on responsibility helps students strengthen their clinical judgement, teamwork and confidence while developing a more complete understanding of veterinary practice.
Dr Nicole Zillmann, who participated in IAHP as a fourth-year student and now works as a small animal general practitioner, says the program helped prepare her for the realities of practice.
“University and textbooks teach students the gold standard, whereas IAHP teaches you how to adapt, work with limited resources and find practical solutions,” she says.
A two-way exchange
Just as importantly, IAHP is designed as a two-way exchange. Students learn and gain invaluable memories directly from Indigenous community members, including through local history, cultural ceremonies and client connections.
Dr Beths says: “We support animal health within the community, while our students learn from the people, culture and experiences shared with them.”
Looking ahead, Dr Beths hopes IAHP can establish a more regular presence in these communities by having students and supervising clinicians returning to the community more regularly, rather than only once or twice a year.
We support animal health within the community, while our students learn from the people, culture and experiences shared with them.
Dr Thierry Beths, co-founder, Indigenous Animal Health Program
“That continuity would strengthen both the care provided and the partnership with the community,” he says. “In my mind, that would be a real achievement.”
Lessons from Lombok
Beyond Australia, the same commitment to community-based veterinary care is reflected in international outreach programs. Since 2017, Nusa Tenggara Barat Veterinary Support, led by Dr Charles El-Hage, has brought University of Melbourne veterinary students to Lombok, Indonesia, to work with local communities.
For Dr El-Hage, the program is grounded in long-term relationships, respect for local expertise and a commitment to working within, not over, the communities involved.
“The focus of the program is on supporting local vets and creating connections with the international veterinary community,” Dr El-Hage says.
This collaborative approach is central to the program’s work. Nusa Tenggara Barat Veterinary Support partners closely with Indonesian veterinarians, including Dr Diah Purwitasari, chair of the Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) branch of the Indonesian Veterinary Association (Perhimpunan Dokter Hewan Indonesia, PDHI), as well as local veterinary teams, students and community leaders.
With local veterinary and community approval, the program supports initiatives such as sterilisation and rabies vaccination. Just as importantly, it creates opportunities for shared learning, allowing Australian students to develop their clinical skills while learning from Indonesian veterinarians who understand the local animals, disease risks and community needs.
Ebony Reynolds, a final-year University of Melbourne veterinary student who joined the program in June this year, says the relationships formed with Indonesian veterinarians and students became one of the most meaningful parts of the program.
“The local students welcomed us with remarkable warmth and generosity. Building those connections was one of the most meaningful aspects of the trip,” she says.
Those connections also shaped how the students approached clinical work. Working with limited equipment, unfamiliar disease risks and unpredictable caseloads required them to communicate openly, adapt quickly and learn from the Indonesian professionals around them.
“Working in such a high-pressure environment meant we had to trust one another and communicate clearly,” Reynolds says. “This trip strengthened the relationships between us as students, built trust and allowed us to learn from one another.”
Both programs show that responsible veterinary outreach is measured not only by the number of animals treated, but by the lasting relationships, knowledge, skills and confidence it leaves behind.
For students, these experiences develop skills that extend far beyond clinical practice, including cultural awareness, adaptability and a deeper understanding of the profession’s social responsibilities.
As Dr Zillmann reflects, “Participating in the IAHP reinforced my passion for veterinary medicine and reminded me how privileged I am to be a vet.”
Ultimately, the greatest contribution of veterinary outreach may not be what visiting teams accomplish during their time in a community, but what they help strengthen for the future.
