Offsite Electives

Providing veterinary students with hands-on experience in a mixed-animal practice. Students have opportunities to participate in examinations, diagnostics, treatments, surgery, anesthesia, dentistry, herd health, and farm calls. We can also offer exposure some aspects of practice ownership being a privately owned clinic.

Externs are encouraged to ask questions, develop clinical reasoning skills, and gain experience with client communication and day-to-day veterinary practice. Our goal is for students to gain practical clinical skills and a realistic understanding of community-based, rural mixed-animal veterinary medicine.

The student will act as the veterinarian at a general practice clinic that services small and exotic animals.  The student will gain experience with annual/preventative medicine appointments, sick appointments and recheck appointments.  The student will assist or be guided through scheduled surgeries to include dental cleanings, ovariohysterectomies, castrations, mass removals and possibly other soft tissue surgeries. 

 Student will participate in a variety of different aspects of a small animal veterinary clinic. Student will accompany DVM into examination rooms. Student will perform physical examinations and come up with diagnostics/treatment plans under the supervision of a DVM. Student will have the opportunity to participate in routine surgeries such as spays, neuters, and dental cleanings. Student will get to interpret cytologies, radiographs and other diagnostics with DVM. Our DVM will have medical case discussions with the student. The student will gain experience in talking to clients, explaining preventative medicine benefits such as vaccination protocols and spay/neuters. The student will have a wonderful opportunity to work and learn alongside a DVM and our experienced veterinary technician/assistant team. 

North Side Animal Clinic is a three doctor, mixed animal general practice. During the internship, the student will gain experience performing exams on well and sick patients, collecting lab samples, running diagnostic tests, and taking radiographs. They will also observe and participate in a variety of surgical procedures both in the clinic and at client farms. They will interact with clients from different backgrounds and with varying financial abilities.

A hands-on clinical elective in small animal emergency and critical care at Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG). Students work alongside emergency veterinarians in VEG’s open-concept ER environment and are exposed to a wide variety of emergency presentations, diagnostics, treatment plans, procedures, surgery, and client communication. The experience emphasizes learning through direct participation in clinical cases, with students encouraged to identify learning goals and actively seek opportunities to practice skills. VEG specifically describes the DVM externship as an opportunity to work one-on-one with emergency doctors, develop treatment plans, diagnose emergent conditions, and gain real-world experience in an open-concept ER.

The externship materials emphasize a structured learning experience with opportunities to participate in history-taking, physical examinations, case discussions, medical records, procedures, surgery, CPR, vascular access, anesthesia, point-of-care ultrasound, and other emergency procedures under direct supervision

Veterinary students participating in an offsite elective with the Louisiana SPCA gain hands-on experience in shelter and community veterinary medicine within a high-volume, mission-driven environment. Students work alongside veterinarians and veterinary support staff while participating in preventive care, diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions, population medicine, infectious disease management, and high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter.

Students may rotate through both our shelter and public-facing Community Clinic, providing exposure to the unique medical, financial, and social considerations involved in caring for shelter animals and pets belonging to underserved members of the community. Depending on experience level and caseload, students may participate in physical examinations, development of diagnostic and treatment plans, interpretation of diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, anesthesia, client communication, medical record documentation, and case follow-up.

The elective emphasizes practical clinical decision-making, efficient patient care, resource-conscious medicine, animal welfare, and the veterinarian’s role in improving access to veterinary care. Students are encouraged to take an active role in cases while receiving mentorship and supervision from experienced veterinarians.

General practice clinic focusing mostly on preventative care. 

Primary care small animal externship focused on routine wellness, preventative medicine, soft tissue surgery, wound care, and outpatient medical management. Students will work directly with our primary care veterinarian to gain hands-on clinical experience in general practice settings.

Shadowing at Preventative medicine clinic for Military active reserve and retired care of military working dogs 

Students will work for two board certified poultry veterinarians at a family-owned commercial broiler production company. Day to day activities will vary, but can include: visits to a chicken hatchery, feed mill, processing plant, farm visits (broilers and breeders), and necropsy duties.