Rather than focusing on marauding zombies, the American Veterinary Medical Association is targeting future veterinarians through its brand-new video game, AVMA Animal Hospital. The new game, a combination of "Beat the Clock” and Operation, takes place in a virtual veterinarian clinic. Kids as well as grown-ups can test their veterinary mettle by diagnosing and treating animals, including dogs, cats, birds, turtles and guinea pigs, suffering from a variety of conditions before time elapses. The audience the AVMA had in mind for the game is fourth through eighth graders but anyone who enjoys animals is encouraged to play. "We wanted to make a fun game that players would come back to again and again, but more importantly, we wanted there to be a strong educational component to it as well,” said Ron DeHaven, DVM, CEO of the Schaumburg, Ill.-based AVMA. The game is available free through Apple’s AppStore, Google Play and AVMA. "Games are a great way to learn, and we hope AVMA Animal Hospital helps educate and inspire the next generation of veterinarians,” Dr. DeHaven added. The game was developed by Game Gurus, a Seattle-based educational video game developer, with input from veterinarians used to create realistic animal diagnoses and treatments for the game. The AVMA helped fund the development of the game and to make it free to the public. <HOME>
