Cotswold Animal Hospital (Charlotte, NC)

Description of Elective Experience

Here at Cotswold Animal Hospital, our mission is to provide high quality medicine that is personalized for each patient. We strive to create an environment in which all clients feel at home and comfortable with the decisions they make about their pets' healthcare. We understand that everyone comes from different backgrounds and may have different beliefs, but we all share the common goal of wanting our pets to remain healthy and extend the human-animal bond.

We offer a 1-2 week externship program for 3rd or 4th year veterinarian students. Students will get hands-on experience in what they will face in a day to day at a small animal veterinary practice.

Externs will gain experience in the following areas

  • Wellness Care (canine, feline, puppy, kitten)
  • General Internal Medicine
  • Dermatogology
  • Nutritution
  • Behavior
  • Ultrasound
  • Radiology
  • Surgical Skills
  • Dental Skills

  • Nursing Skills

     

Institutional and Educational Resources - staffing, equipment, etc.

Cotswold Animal Hospital is a private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina. The staff of Cotswold Animal Hospital consists of 3 full time veterinarians, practice manager, 5 registered technicians, 4 veterinary assistants, 4 client care team members (in house) and 2 remote CCT team members. We have regular scheduled appointments with a traveling ultrasound veterinarian and a board certified surgeon.

Equipment Present at the hospital

  • In house Opticell CBC Machine and Vetscan Chemistry machine
  • Microscope
  • Digital Radiology
  • Digital Dental Radiology
  • Ultrasound Machine
  • Dental Table- Scaler, High Speed Handpiece
  • Midmark and BioNet Monitors
  • Surgivet Ventilators, Sevoflo vaporizers

  • Doppler

     

Student Responsibilities - what is expected of students in terms of hours, days of the week, shadowing or actual support?

Expectations

  • To Complete the Skills/Goals sheet and turn the sheet in prior to the beginning of your externship. Link to google form https://forms.gle/yJWWUFqnBeFwh1DC6.
  • Hours of work: You will be expected to work 30-35 hours per week. Typical hours will be from 8:00am  to 5:00pm. On your surgical/dentistry rotation, you will be expected to be at the hospital at 7:30 am and be here til discharges are complete.
  • Case Management: Gather patient history, perform physical exams, develop and present a medical plan to the supervising doctor and discuss treatment options
  • Client Communications: Observe and possible present exam findings, treatment plans for services, and discharge instructions
  • Hands on Opportunities: Assist in surgery and dental procedures, aid in monitoring anesthesia, place iv catheters, perform blood draws, obtain voided urine samples,  obtain urine via cysto using the ultrasound, give vaccinations, give injections, perform ear cytology, FNA, tape cytology, corneal stains, IOP,Schimmer tear tests,etc
  • Surgical and Dental: Help with patient intake, develop surgical plan for each case and present to supervising doctor prior to surgery starting,  perform presurgical exams according to the surgical safety checklist, perform morning rounds with the surgical/dental supervision veterinarian and the surgical team, develop discharge instructions for the client and review those via phone after the patient is awake from the procedure. Maintain medical notes for the surgical/dental case.
  • You will be assigned a doctor each day to work with so that you can see multiple styles of client communication within exam rooms and then you will be assigned 4 surgical/dental shifts as well. 

The 2 weeks will be divided between appointments, surgery and dental, and some practice management. 

Externs will be expected to show skills in the following areas


Surgical and Anesthesia Skills
Anesthesia Protocol/Discharge Instructions                           
Presurgical Anesthesia Exam/Surgical SafetyChecklists/ Surgery Team Rounds
Anesthesia machine Setup
Ventilator Setup
Anesthesia Monitoring

Feline Spay and Castration including intubation
Canine Spay and Castration including intubation

 

Dental Skills
Taking Dental Films Canine                   Dental Nerve Block
Taking Dental Films Feline                     Dental Charting
Dental Cleaning
 

Communication Skills
Interpretation of Past Medical History                Phone Communication
Obtaining a Patient History                                 Team Communication
Delegation of tasks to RVTs and VA                  Treatment Recommendations
Financial Conversations                                       Interpretation of Labwork


Technical Skills
Blood Draws Jugular-Canine            Blind Cystocentesis                       SQ, IM, IV injection
Blood Draw Jugular-Feline               Ultrasound guided Cystocentesis   Restraint
Cephalic blood draw-Canine            Cytology-FNA                                Obtaining USG
Saphanous Blooddraw                      Cytology- Skin/Ears                      Radiology Skills
Catheter placement                           Anal Gland Expression                 Ear Cleaning
Toe Nail Trim                                      IOP , Corneal Stain, Schimmer Tear Test                                              

Supervisor
Jason White, DVM
Contact email
Address

401 S Sharon Amity St A
Charlotte, NC 28211
United States

Animal Type
Practice or Institution Type
Is student housing available?
No
Hours of supervision by a licensed veterinarian per week
30+
Global engagement opportunity
No
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