Offsite Electives

• Carter Veterinary Services is a 4 doctor ambulatory practice with a wide service area. We treat equines along with livestock and small percentage of companion animal. The student will ride along during farm calls, assist in the treatment plans of patients and have the opportunity to discuss each case with the veterinarian. We are located along the coast in southeastern South Carolina. Our clinic services much of the low country between SC and GA. 

   

At Wisconsin Community Veterinary Center (WCVC), we perform an average of 65 spay/neuters per day Monday-Thursday. The cats and dogs we perform surgeries on are owned pets, outdoor cats, and adoptable cats and dogs from our shelter and partnering rescue, shelter, and humane organizations. We also perform dental surgeries, soft-tissue, orthopedic, and other specialized surgeries, and provide high-volume primary, wellness, and urgent care services. Throughout the year, WCVC hosts 4th-year veterinary students in our Veterinary Externship Program on two-week rotations to gain hands-on surgical experience. Students will perform pre- and post-surgical exam, participate in and perform spay/neuter surgeries under the supervision of our Doctors of Veterinary Medicine four days per week, and gain experience in our Primary Care & Wellness department one day per week during their rotation. 

It is characterized by an open-concept hospital layout where pet parents can stay with their pets throughout the entire treatment process, fostering a transparent and collaborative environment.

Solo, Equine (85%) , Small ruminant (5%), and  Small Animal (10%) Ambulatory Veterinary care with an emphasis on high quality conventional and integrative medicine in rural Ohio. 

1. Time will be spent shadowing veterinarians and technicians on farm as milk quality investigations are performed, milk quality meetings are
2. One-on-one time will be spent with veterinarians reviewing reports, data analysis and diagnostics
3. One-on-one time will be spent in the microbiology lab learning about specific mastitis pathogens and methods of detection/diagnostics
4. Time will be spent shadowing veterinarians as they teach students, technicians, and farmers about milk quality topics
5. +/- participating in bovine anatomy laboratories (if udder dissection is the topic on that date)  

Performance Equine Associates (PEA) provides full service primary care, surgical, diagnostic, and referral services for southern Oklahoma and north Texas. The primary caseload is lameness/sports medicine and advanced reproduction. The practice includes two boarded surgeons and 3 other veterinarians that perform reproduction, lameness, general practice, and anesthesia. Western Performance horses are the primary discipline that is seen at PEA.

Externs are encouraged to observe all examinations and surgical procedures performed. Lameness examination, ophthalmic exams, neurologic exams, radiographic exams and endoscopic exams are commonly performed daily on an outpatient basis. There are also opportunities to visit many ranches on ambulatory calls, if room in the car is available. Ambulatory calls consist of general practice, reproduction work, and emergencies. 

An organization founded on a single mission: helping people and their pets when they need it most. VEG's rapidly growing group of hospitals has revolutionized pet emergency and urgent care with a client-centered approach, rapid response times, and a highly focused-emergency-only staff. With multiple locations, we offer the flexibility, mentorship, and diverse learning experience you want. Our industry-leading compensation, unlimited CE, and growth opportunities are just part of what makes VEG the place for emergency doctors to work.

VEG's Externship Program allows students to gain hands-on experience in emergency medicine while working right alongside our skilled emergency doctors. Students will focus on learning how to effectively communicate with clients, diagnose a variety of emergency conditions, develop emergency treatment plans and collaborate with support staff in a fast-paced environment.

An organization founded on a single mission: helping people and their pets when they need it most. VEG's rapidly growing group of hospitals has revolutionized pet emergency and urgent care with a client-centered approach, rapid response times, and a highly focused-emergency-only staff. With multiple locations, we offer the flexibility, mentorship, and diverse learning experience you want. Our industry-leading compensation, unlimited CE, and growth opportunities are just part of what makes VEG the place for emergency doctors to work.

VEG's Externship Program allows students to gain hands-on experience in emergency medicine while working right alongside our skilled emergency doctors. Students will focus on learning how to effectively communicate with clients, diagnose a variety of emergency conditions, develop emergency treatment plans and collaborate with support staff in a fast-paced environment.

Students are exposed to a diverse case mix reflecting the full spectrum of urgent care medicine, including gastrointestinal emergencies, urinary and metabolic disorders, toxin ingestion, dermatologic and otic presentations, and end-of-life care. Common case examples include urethral obstructions, lacerations, chronic kidney disease, otitis externa, pancreatitis, and infectious diseases such as FIP. 

Cases are seen across a wide range of acuity, giving students meaningful exposure to triage decision-making and an understanding of the criteria that guide referral to emergency and specialty services. 

A distinctive feature of this elective is the collaborative relationship our practice maintains with primary care veterinarians throughout the community. We frequently serve as an extension of those practices — providing urgent care for their patients when the primary DVM is unavailable. Students will observe and gain insight into how urgent care and primary care intersect, how patient histories and ongoing care plans are communicated across providers, and how clinical decisions are shaped by an established doctor-patient-client relationship. This experience develops an appreciation for continuity of care and interprofessional communication that is directly applicable to any practice model a student may enter after graduation.

Student responsibilities vary depending on the service, student skill set, and overseeing clinician's comfort level, but may include:

• Patient triage for emergencies and/or SOAPing of in-hospital patients
• Weighing patients
• Taking TPRs (vitals)
• Collecting a concise but thorough history and being able to present it to the DVM and answer any additional questions
• Drawing blood from peripheral veins with supervision (technician or doctor)
• Perform in-house cytology (fecal, skin scrapes, blood smears, ear samples,  or aspirates)
• Interpreting lab work results and coming up with a differential diagnosis with the DVM assigned to the case
• Assist in positioning for radiographs (not gowning/obtaining radiographs due to radiation safety rules)
• Interpreting radiographs with the assigned DVM
• Scrubbing in and assisting with surgical cases and surgeries (based on the competency of the student and the comfort level of the surgeon)