Family Veterinary Care of Oakdale (Oakdale, CA)

Description of Elective Experience

Our five-doctor, privately owned small animal practice offers vet students an immersive, hands-on clinical experience in a supportive family atmosphere. Located in Oakdale, California, Family Veterinary Care of Oakdale provides comprehensive exposure to full-spectrum medicine, including wellness and preventative care, senior pet management, diagnostic workups for acute and chronic illnesses, routine and complex dentistry, soft tissue surgery, and outpatient urgent care.

Veterinary externs will actively participate in daily case management alongside our experienced associate veterinarians and dedicated support staff. Students will gain practical, real-world experience conducting physical exams, formulating diagnostic and treatment plans, practicing client communication, participating in surgical/dental procedures alongside our associate veterinarians, and handling urgent care triage. Our goal is to provide a collaborative, low-pressure mentorship environment where students can refine their technical skills and build clinical confidence before entering practice.

Institutional and Educational Resources - staffing, equipment, etc.

Our practice is fully equipped with modern diagnostic tools and backed by a robust support team to ensure efficient clinic workflow and high-quality patient care:

  • Staffing Support: We maintain a high support staff ratio of 2 to 3 veterinary technicians per doctor, allowing clinicians to focus on medical decision-making while technicians handle nursing care, sample collection, and anesthesia monitoring. Our operations are fully supported by dedicated Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) and an experienced practice management team.
  • Diagnostic & Surgical Equipment:
    • Full in-house laboratory suite for rapid bloodwork, urinalysis, and point-of-care diagnostics.
    • Digital radiography and digital dental radiography.
    • In-house diagnostic ultrasound and flexible endoscopy.
    • Therapeutic laser for non-invasive pain management and tissue healing.
Student Responsibilities - what is expected of students in terms of hours, days of the week, shadowing or actual support?

Students will will report Monday -Friday from 8am-6pm (optional Saturday from 8am-1pm).  Students will be able to provide hands on support to veterinarian they are partnered with including but not limited to:

  • Review how to perform a physical exam
  • Review ultrasonography techniques
  • Review common cardiac arrhythmias and murmurs and how to grade them
  • Review how to perform orthopedic and neurologic exams
  • Assist Dr. Singh and Dr. Smith in a surgery
  • Review anesthesia drugs, usage, side effects, contraindications and any reversal agents
  • Review normal vital signs and normal vitals under anesthesia
  • Review the following surgical procedures: spay, neuter, mass removal, gastropexy,
  • dental, cystotomy, enterotomy, gastrotomy, splenectomy, enucleation, stenotic nares,
  • and other similar/common procedures in GP
  • Common antibiotics/anti-inflammatories/antifungals/probiotics used in canines
  • Know the common preventatives for heartworm, flea, and tick
  • Review common radiography techniques and landmarks and how to read radiographs
  • including dental radiographs
  • Review vaccination schedules for puppies and adult/senior canines and proper
  • locations of common vaccinations
  • Review deworming protocols and the proper drugs for different parasites
  • Review common microscope usage and common cytology findings (MCT, WBC, RBC,
  • urine, yeast, bacteria, mites, mange, etc.)
  • Review how to properly prepare samples (blood, fecal, ear cytology, urine, skin
  • impression and scrape, etc.)
  • Review typical blood work parameters for a chemistry and CBC
  • Review common ophthalmic, otic, and topical medications
  • Review how to properly trim nails, express anal glands, place IV catheters,
  • cystocentesis, cryotherapy
  • Review protocols for monitoring/diagnostic blood tests (ACTH STIM, LDDST, Resting
  • Cortisol, etc.)
  • Review proper aseptic techniques (how to correctly scrub in for surgery, how to
  • aseptically put on sterile gloves/gown)
  • Review CPR (technique and emergency drugs/calculations)
  • Review how to communicate with clients (mannerisms, word choice, empathy, etc.)
  • Review how to maintain medical records and make thorough notes/findings
  • Review client education (call backs, surgery/procedure discharge, cases, etc.)
Supervisor
Ram Singh, DVM
Contact email
Address

389 W F St
Oakdale, CA 95361
United States

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