TRAINING
Ivalu Kleemann and Aviaaja Petersen were some of the first from Greenland to complete veterinary studies. – It has been insanely exciting, says Aviaaja Petersen, who is looking forward to coming back to Greenland and working as a veterinarian.
You have to be a little by an animal friend to study to be a veterinarian. But if you are, then it’s a fantastic study, says Aviaaja Petersen, who received her diploma at the beginning of January and can now call herself a fully qualified veterinarian from the University of Copenhagen. Together with Ivalu Kleemann, who has also just received his diploma, the two are among the first from Greenland to have completed the 5 ½ year training to become a veterinarian.
The dream is to work with small animals in a veterinary practice in Nuuk, where Aviaaja Petersen comes from. But initially it may be that she gets some experience from Denmark.
The jump to Denmark
The path to veterinary studies was not entirely straightforward.
– I originally thought I was going to study biology. And for a few years I waited for the biology program to start at Ilisimatusarfik, but then it took longer than expected and I started the nursing program in Nuuk instead. Along the way I found out that perhaps it was the animals rather than the people I wanted to treat, so I took the plunge and moved to Denmark to start veterinary medicine, says Aviaaja Petersen.
– It was a huge step. Although I am half Danish, it was a completely different world to live in Copenhagen, where there are so many people and where everyone talks a lot and loudly. The first year I lived with a friend from Nuuk, and it was nice, because it took me almost a year to settle in Denmark.
I don’t think you ever have a boring everyday life as a veterinarian
Demanding study
Aviaaja Petersen was 24 years old when she started the course, and was actually among the oldest, as many come directly from high school. But she felt that was only an advantage.
– I had five years after high school, while the others came directly from high school. It was a huge advantage for me to be a little older. I was at peace with myself and could say yes and no to social activities. I mostly stuck to my closest friends from home, who also studied in Denmark. But also my study group that I saw every day at the studio and next to the studio. But if you want, there are plenty of opportunities for social activities with the other students.
The training to become a veterinarian is demanding with many lectures and a large syllabus, especially in the bachelor’s part. You have to be prepared for that, says Aviaaja Petersen.
– But if you have the interest, it can easily be done. And when you get to the graduate part, there is lots of practical work, where you start by practicing on teddy bears and dead animals, before you are finally allowed to touch live animals. It’s insanely exciting.
Internship and work in Greenland
Along the way, both Aviaaja Petersen and Ivalu Kleemann were interns at Donna’s Veterinary Clinic in Nuuk, and they were also both associated with the University of Copenhagen’s project Qimmeq Health, which has as its veterinary goal to increase the health and welfare of the Greenland sled dog, which is done, among other things, through the establishment of temporary veterinary clinics in settlements and cities in the sled dog district.
However, it is the small animals that have Aviaaja Petersen’s greatest interest. The dream is therefore to become part of a veterinary practice and perhaps supplement with work for the food authorities. She hopes that more young people will open their eyes to veterinary studies.
– I don’t think you ever have a boring everyday life as a veterinarian. There are many possibilities, and if you like working with your hands, solving tasks and helping to make sure that the animals get better, then it is a really good profession, says Aviaaja Petersen.
