Offsite Electives

Riverchase Animal Hospital is a small animal veterinary practice dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality medical care for dogs and cats. We believe pets are not just animals, but cherished members of the family, and our team works to support the human–animal bond through excellent medicine, client education, and personalized care.

Our hospital provides comprehensive veterinary services including preventive care, wellness exams, dentistry, surgery, diagnostic testing, and treatment of medical conditions. The hospital is equipped with modern diagnostic and medical equipment to support thorough patient evaluation and treatment planning.

We serve a diverse companion animal client base and see a wide range of cases, from routine wellness visits to complex medical workups. Our focus is small animal general practice, treating both canine and feline patients throughout all life stages—from puppies and kittens to senior pets requiring chronic disease management.

The goal of the externship experience is to expose veterinary students to the day-to-day practice of high-quality small animal general practice. Externs will observe and participate in the diagnostic and decision-making process used by veterinarians as they evaluate cases, develop treatment plans, and communicate with clients. Emphasis is placed on understanding the reasoning behind medical recommendations, developing clinical thinking skills, and gaining exposure to the workflow of a busy general practice.

Externs will shadow veterinarians during appointments and surgeries while being introduced to all aspects of companion animal practice. This includes puppy and kitten visits, annual wellness exams for adult and senior patients, sick patient evaluations, dentistry, and soft tissue surgery. Daily discussions with the veterinarians will help students better understand case management, diagnostic reasoning, and treatment planning.

• Emergency Medicine: Assist with the triage and management of acute cases, including colic, respiratory distress, and neonatal intensive care.
• Surgery & Anesthesia: Observe and assist in a variety of procedures, ranging from elective arthroscopy and upper airway surgery to emergency laparotomies.
• Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation: This is our specialty. You will gain hands-on experience with:
  • Advanced Imaging: Digital radiography, ultrasound, and standing MRI.
  • Regenerative Medicine: Processing PRP, IRAP, and Stem Cell therapies.
  • Physical Therapy: Observation of underwater treadmill sessions, cold salt-water spa treatments, and laser therapy.

WRVS is a completely ambulatory practice serving mainly horses and goats, with camelids, sheep, and small animals seen as needed.  We are a single doctor practice with a strong emphasis on preventive care.  Emergency services are provided for large animals around the clock.  The student will be in the truck daily seeing appointments, then assist in running lab work, restocking the truck, and assisting in client communication and follow up once we return to the office.

At Bluegrass Equine Surgery we offer interactive, hands on, experience in the central Kentucky equine industry. Students get to experience one on one learning opportunities with our vets, travelling out in the field to see horse farms and meet clients, to working in the surgery suite and scrubbing in on surgeries. At BES we provide multiple services for clients in the surrounding area, including but not limited to elective surgeries (orthopedics, throat, eye, reproductive), lameness exams, scintigraphy, digital radiographs, injections, Thoroughbred sales, shockwave therapy, pre-purchase exams, herd health medicine, and reproduction. For an externship, students can see a bit of both worlds, or choose a specialty, and follow along with the doctors during their stay. Students are encouraged to ask questions and gain as much experience as possible on externships. Typically externships are offered at 1 to 2 week stays. Free housing can be provided if reserved ahead of time.

During this clinical rotation, students gain practical experience working with both companion animals and livestock under the supervision of veterinary professionals. The rotation provides exposure to routine veterinary care, diagnostic procedures, and treatment planning while helping students develop foundational clinical and professional skills across a wide range of species. We commonly work with multiple species on a daily basis, with our large animal caseload consisting mostly of beef cattle, equine, small ruminant and camelids. 

Students gain experience in small and large animal medicine cases, assisting with patient evaluations, treatment planning, and follow-up care. The rotation includes management of hospitalized patients, where students manage hospitalized patients, fluid therapy, medication administration, and supportive care. Students will also assist with emergency and urgent care cases, developing an understanding of triage, stabilization, and emergency treatment protocols.

Along with extensive medicine cases, students will also be immersed in the typical day-to day appointments. Routine wellness, vaccines, follow-up appointments typical for small animal. On the large animal side they will also complete bovine fertility tests, working calves, dystoicas, down cow calls, colics, routine equine exams and lameness exams. 

The rotation also provides extensive experience in veterinary surgery, allowing students to hone their skills doing common procedures including spay and neuter surgeries, orthopedic procedures, and general soft tissue surgeries such as cystotomies, enterotomies, and gastrotomies. Students may also gain exposure to large animal surgical procedures when available.

In addition to companion animals and traditional livestock, students gain experience with small ruminants, camelids, and occasional exotic species, broadening their understanding of species-specific handling, medicine, and preventive care.

We are an AAHA practice with 1.5 DVM's that the student will be able to shadow and consult with. This will be a fully immersive experience and that student will round with a DVM on each case and surgery. The student will be expected to actively participate in the selection of diagnostics and treatments of the patients as well as physical examinations. 

At The Vet Clinic of Palm Harbor, our veterinary student externs are welcomed as part of the team from day one. We are a four-doctor, small animal practice committed to high-quality medicine, efficient systems, and a culture that is fun, friendly, and professional.

Externs gain hands-on exposure to:

• Wellness and preventive care appointments
• Sick and urgent care cases
• Diagnostic workups (cytology, in-house labs, radiology interpretation)
• Anesthesia monitoring and surgical procedures
• Dentistry and dental radiographs
• Client communication and case discussions
• Treatment planning and medical record documentation

Veterinary Student Externships @ Bond:
➔ Our goals for hosting Veterinary Student Externships at Bond is to provide a
comprehensive hands-on clinical experience to help their growth and
development during their final years of veterinary school.
➔ While these students are with us, we want to ensure they are exposed to a
variety of urgent care cases and routine wellness scenarios. It is important that
we use this time to properly engage these students with our best practices of
medicine and communication.
➔ Externs will be from veterinary schools across the country, primarily ranging
from 3rd to 4th year. You will be responsible for appropriately guiding them
through the various skills they are expected to develop while spending time in
our clinics.
➔ Below is an outline of what our externs can be performing and observing,
as well as tasks and actions we should avoid having them perform while
spending time with us.
Allowed to:
● Appointments
○ Perform: Writing all medical records for any doctor whose appointment
for which they are present (scribe role, including
history-taking/presenting case to DVM).
○ Observe: Estimate creation and Presentation by VA/DVM.
○ Observe: Development of treatment plan.
○ Perform: Physical examination with oversight of veterinarian when
appropriate
○ Observe: Appropriate restraining techniques for animals.
● Treatments
○ Perform: Blood pressure (doppler, indirect under supervision of
LVT/DVM)
○ Observe: Assist treatment team administering medications, SQ fluids,
IV fluids,etc.(Under direct supervision of LVT or DVM)
○ Observe: Radiograph interpretation by DVM.
● Procedures (Perform)
○ Perform: Place urinary catheters in male dogs (under direct supervision
of LVT and/or DVM)
○ Perform: Draw blood on stable animals from Cephalic, and Saphenous
veins, under supervision by a nurse (2 attempts maximum per pet)

○ Observe: Cystocentesis (DVM/LVT to perform), extern can help in use of
ultrasound to identify anatomy

● Surgeries
○ Perform: Scrub in and assist in any procedure as long as they are fully
overseen by the Doctor who is performing said procedure.
○ Perform: Scale and polish under the supervision of an LVT or DVM.
○ Perform: Assist anesthetic team (documentation, checking blood
pressures).
● Laboratory Tests
○ Perform: PCV/TS, USG, Azo strips, Lactate, BG (under supervision of an
LVT or DVM)
○ Observe: Sample preparation for reference laboratory testing
○ Perform: Prepare and review ear cytology samples. (under guidance/
supervision of an LVT or DVM)
○ Perform: Prepare and review blood smear samples. (under
guidance/supervision of an LVT or DVM)
○ Observe: Diagnostic interpretation by DVM.
● Client Communication
○ Observe: Surgical discharge of patients.

Not Allowed to:
● Appointments
○ See appointments on their own.
● Treatments
○ Administer IV treatments.
○ Administer vaccines.
○ Perform treatments of any kind without direct supervision by LVT/DVM.
● Procedures
○ Perform cystocentesis
○ Place IV catheters
○ Perform procedures of any kind without direct supervision by LVT/DVM.
● Surgeries
○ Perform surgeries on any client owned animals
○ Assist with any dental extractions
○ Administer anesthetic medications
○ Intubate or extubate any client owned animals.
● Client Communication
○ Communicate financial information or code status

Equine Medicine and Surgery is an 100 % equine practice specializing in racetrack medicine. Students will be exposed to a wide array of clinical cases with an emphasis on lameness and respiratory issues. Students will have an opportunity to observe and participate in lameness exams as well as diagnostic radiographs and ultrasound. Endoscopic exams are also a large part of our practice and students will be assisting in and diagnosing upper airway issues such as DDSP and entrapped epiglottis as well as lower airway EIPH and inflammation. 

Student will be shadowing 3 different GP DVMs throughout the course of 2 weeks. The hospital is also open for Urgent Care services on the weekends - if the student elects to shadow on those days they will have exposure to more sick patients.

In addition to seeing exams, the student will also shadow the DVMs in soft tissue surgery and dentistry. If there are team meetings they will be invited to participate. 

Our goal is to meet the externs at their levels of education and experience and to provide opportunities for growth in areas that they deem to be lacking.