As Ruthanne Chun held up her hand and began to pinch her thumb and pointer finger together, she left about a half-inch of space between them. 

“What we see in a teaching hospital for our clientele is about this big, this much of the entire animal-owning population in the United States,” says Chun, who is a veterinary oncologist and a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There are so many folks that have animals that never go to the veterinarian unless it's an emergency.” 

Preventing those urgent situations through accessible care that meets patients and clients where they are is an expanding focus of veterinary education and one Chun highlighted during her keynote presentation during the 2026 Education Day at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

The annual event celebrates teaching and learning at the college, with this year featuring a day of dynamic and collaborative experiences exploring the theme of spectrum of care. Spectrum of care refers to the wide range of care options veterinarians can provide that takes into account medical evidence and consideration of each patient’s circumstances and each client’s resources, goals, and ability to provide medical care for their pet.

“We’ve always offered options to clients,” Chun says. “This is about how we offer those options.”

Spectrum of care’s (SOC) role in veterinary education has grown in the past decade and will be a significant part of the college’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program curriculum, which is currently undergoing a revitalization. 

As veterinary education continues to evolve, Chun notes there is a need to transition from teaching specialty-focused knowledge to a wider spectrum that underscores the importance of primary care and the value of being a general practitioner—a role Chun says she often hears students minimize when speaking about their career plans.

“It's important to think about how we prepare them for a broader education, so that they can be lifelong learners, so that they can be happy and have empathy for their clients, and also empathy for themselves,” she adds.  

In addition to Chun’s presentation, Education Day featured speakers and opportunities for community members to share innovations and approaches to instruction that incorporate SOC and impact other clinical skills. Outstanding instructors were also honored as part of an annual award ceremony. 

A full list of presentations is available on the Education Day website.