Lauren Bernstein first arrived at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 2018 as a learner, looking to expand her education through a public health and preventive medicine residency. 

Since then, she has remained at CVM, transforming into a teacher who has made an impact on education, clinical service, and research through collaboration and compassion.

Now an assistant professor of Community Medicine, Bernstein was recently lauded with the University of Minnesota Community-Engaged Scholar Award: Teaching and Learning. It honors one instructor annually for exemplary community-engaged teaching in their respective field.

While the award bears Bernstein’s name, she emphasizes that her successes would not be possible without the Community Medicine team, student volunteers with the Veterinary Treatment Outreach for Urban Community Health (VeTouch) and the Student Initiative for Reservation Veterinary Services (SIRVS), and external community partners. 

“I am so humbled and deeply grateful to receive this award,” Bernstein says. “Since onboarding as faculty in 2020, I have worked with internal and external collaborators and partners to co-create a nationally-recognized curriculum in Community Medicine that has drawn in applicants, served as an exemplary model for other veterinary schools, and provides direct care for historically-excluded pets and families. As such, this honor should be shared with my dedicated team, hardworking students, and generous partners.”

As part of their work at CVM, Bernstein and the Community Medicine team have developed curriculum, expanded experiential learning opportunities, and strengthened community partnerships in the service of training the next generation of veterinarians to provide responsive and responsible veterinary care to the entire community. The Community Medicine team’s approach joins two concepts to empower owners to improve animal health:

Spectrum of Care: Veterinary practice that tailors treatment options to the animal and its environment.

Access to Care: Veterinary practice that reduces or removes barriers to improving an animal’s health. 

Building on these concepts through real-world collaboration advances students from theory to practice, increasing their readiness in terms of not only providing medical care but also engaging with clients in a compassionate and empathic manner that recognizes hardships, cultural preferences, and other elements that may shape interactions and patient care plans.  

It’s an approach that students such as Jena Hauch, a fourth-year DVM student and former president of SIRVS, credit with shaping their veterinary education and future careers. 

“Dr. Bernstein has been instrumental in shaping me into a compassionate veterinarian who is mindful of the needs of both patients and their families,” Hauch says. “From my admissions interview onward, she has instilled confidence, mentored with humility, and modeled the kind of veterinarian I aspire to be. Her dedication to teaching, advising, and serving communities facing barriers to care has deeply influenced my approach to the profession.”

Marilou Chanrasmi, a local community partner, has seen the impact of Bernstein and the Community Medicine team’s approach to teaching as “a relationship and responsibility” firsthand, which she says has strengthened trust and partnerships with Minnesota tribal communities and deepened students’ learning and critical thinking. 

“In every way, Dr. Bernstein’s teaching advances the University’s mission of public engagement,” she writes in a nomination letter. “Her work enriches curriculum, prepares compassionate and engaged citizens, and demonstrates that the most transformative learning happens when education is rooted in humility, respect, equity, and shared humanity.”

Bernstein and the Community Medicine team’s impact isn’t just felt at CVM or in Minnesota. Tiffany Wolf, professor and Bernstein’s nominator for the award, notes that the group has been instrumental in producing scholarship around community-engaged teaching that is changing how veterinary colleges around the globe train students to better address community animal and One Health needs. 

“Dr. Bernstein is having an impact from the inside out,” Wolf writes in her nomination letter. “She not only helps students rethink their approach to equitable veterinary practice, but she is helping faculty here and abroad do so in their own teaching and research.”

Bernstein and fellow Community-Engaged Scholar Award recipients will be recognized during an award luncheon at the UMN Public Engagement Conference on Tuesday, March 3.