Offsite Electives

Our three doctor small animal general practice serves the urban community of Huntington, IN.  As a general practice, the student will see patients for annual wellness exams and vaccinations, common sick exams, and mild emergency exams.  Participation in examination, disease work-up, and treatment plans is expected.  General surgery such as ovariohysterectomies, castrations, lumpectomies, and dental cleanings are also performed at this facility.

Muddy Paws Rescue, a 100% foster-based dog rescue in New York City, offers a 2–4 week externship designed to provide veterinary students with immersive training in anesthesia, surgery, pain management, and shelter medicine. Unlike traditional shelter programs, we do not house dogs onsite, which allows students to focus on individualized care, surgical efficiency, and anesthetic monitoring. Students rotate through both anesthesia and surgery roles, gaining hands-on experience with pre-anesthetic exams, patient prep, monitoring, recovery, and selected surgical procedures under direct veterinary supervision. The program accepts up to four students per block, with priority for clinical-year students, and is especially suited for those with a strong interest in surgical practice within a community rescue setting.

 This elective course is designed for students to see dermatology cases. Teaching methods include group discussions, case presentations, individual instruction with clinical cases, and self-directed learning using class notes and videos, textbooks, and literature searches. 

• Demonstrate proficiency in obtaining an accurate history pertaining to dermatological cases 

• Demonstrate proficiency in describing dermatological lesions using correct terminology 

• Demonstrate proficiency in performing basic dermatology procedures including skin scrapings with identification 

of common mites, skin cytology with identification of bacteria and yeast, otoscopic examination with identification of tympanic membrane, ear cytology with identification of bacteria and yeast. 

• Be familiar with the indications and procedures for allergy testing and skin biopsies. 

• Demonstrate proficiency in developing differential diagnosis and diagnostic plans for patients with itching, ear infections, skin rashes, hair loss, mucocutaneous lesions, skin nodules and draining tracts. 

• Demonstrate the ability to discuss the important aspects of performing a restrictive diet trial for identification of food allergies. 

• Be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages and use of different types of flea and tick control products. 

• Understand and be able to explain the purposes of different types of shampoos and other topical products used in veterinary dermatology. 

• Be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different options for management of itching in dogs and cats. 

• Be able to discuss treatment options for staphylococcal skin infections including the management of methicillin resistant staphylococcal infections. 

• Be able to discuss treatment options for dermatophytosis and malassezia skin infections and to explain zoonotic concerns. 

Observation at a busy referral veterinary dermatology and allergy practice with 2 board certified dermatologists and one third year resident in dermatology.

Shadowing in a 100% wildlife practice in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Students live on site in a wildlife reserve/game farm. 90-100% ambulatory wildlife practice, up to 10% research depending on time of year, opportunity to spend a day with government livestock vet if desired. Most work is immobilisation and translocation of healthy wildlife. Practice specialises in giraffe, rhino, hippo immobilization but treats all wildlife. As well as translocations we do wildlife herd health, snare removal, rhino dehorning, medical care of poaching victims at a rhino orphanage, occasional field surgeries (e.g., lion vasectomy, rare).

Opened in 1975 by Dr. Barbara Stein, Chicago Cat Clinic has been the premier destination for Feline care in the Chicago area for 50 years. We utilize the latest in-house diagnostics, digital x-ray and monitoring equipment. We have a cardiologist that performs echocardiograms several times a month as well as a DVM who travels here often and performs abdominal ultrasounds as needed on site. We have great relationships with local specialists who will consult on an as needed basis.  We perform numerous dental and soft tissue surgeries.  Our patients range from kittenhood to geriatric, seeing many cats into their 20's.  We see wellness visits as well as non well visits, so your experience here will be well rounded.

Come extern with us!

Heartland Veterinary Partners' Externship Program works to provide 1st-4th year veterinary students with hands-on experience and mentorship to help have them 'practice ready' by their first day in practice. 

Externships are typically 2 weeks long and Heartland will cover the cost of lodging if needed.

Length of externship is flexible & we can support your preceptorship documentation as well.

Appointment experiences

• Student will have the opportunity to shadow in exam rooms for wellness and illness/injury appointments for dog and cat patients.
• Student will perform their own physical exams (and the doctor will as well) and will have the chance to compare/contrast findings.
• Student will be given opportunities to engage with clients in terms of history taking, relaying medical findings, and discussing treatment plans.
• We will have frequent teaching rounds to discuss cases with the student having the opportunity to lead a discussion of how to proceed with each patient. 

Surgical experiences

• Student will assist with soft tissue surgical procedures including spay/neuter, dentistry, and mass removals.
• We perform a variety of other soft tissue surgeries as needed including foreign body removal, bladder stone / cystotomy, and gastropexy.
• No orthopedic surgeries are performed here. We can do the evaluation but would refer for surgery.

Student will gain experience using surgical laser and compare with traditional scalpel techniques.

Sterner Veterinary Livestock Professionals is a private food animal practice working with dairy, beef, small ruminant, and swine. 

Students participate on daily herd healths including palpation, sick cow, dehorning, disbudding and other routine work. They are able to participate on regular scheduled work from vaccination, dehorning, disbudding goats, beef cattle work if in the fall. They also attend emergency calls as they come in varying from obs, bloats, surgeries from LDAs to rumenostomies. We try to put students with vets each day who have a busy schedule but also a schedule that allows students to get more hand on experiences so they can develop their skills. 

Full experience encompassing the day-to-day workload as a GP veterinarian in NYC; This includes but is not limited to: Learning how to go about the regular flow of appointments, discussing differentials with other DVMs and coming up with a treatment plan, gaining confidence in client communication skills and understanding of preventative medicine.

Cadaver based wet-lab (barring time availability) going over routine procedures such as OVH and neuter; while also gaining some hands on experience with other surgeries that a GP veterinarian should be able to perform, if need be, such as: enucleation, R&A, enterotomy, splenectomy, amputation, and so forth.

Middletown Animal Hospital is a full service small animal (canine/feline) veterinary clinic located in Middletown, Ohio. We have a brand new JPI digital radiology system and Dr. Combs specializes in physical therapy and homeopathic medical alternatives (acupuncture, laser therapy, PRP, Chinese herbs, etc.) in addition to traditional medicine teachings. We are looking to add an additional DVM to our practice and welcome new graduates! We are offering mentorships in both surgical and general practice areas of our clinic, and are willing to provide no-cost, pet-friendly housing to those willing to work for MAH.