The Florida Aquarium, FL

This specialized externship is designed to provide valuable hands-on experience in the care of specific animals and habitats at an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited, world-class facility.

Students will work with veterinary staff to gain clinical experience working within the diverse collection of species in The Florida Aquarium’s managed- care collection, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, teleosts, elasmobranchs and marine invertebrates – and an ever-growing sea turtle rescue/rehabilitation program. Depending on seasonality, significant emphasis may be placed on rescue and rehabilitation of stranded sea turtles.

Expectations and Responsibilities:

Under the direction of the veterinary staff, students will: 

• Participate in all aspects of zoological medicine, including medical and surgical treatment, preventative medicine, quarantine protocols, pathology and daily case rounds.
• Review medical records and anesthetic protocols, monitor anesthesia, complete physical examinations, collect and interpret diagnostics, and develop treatment plans for cases in which they participate.
• Assist the veterinarians and veterinary technicians with all medical procedures during their rotation.
• Complete a project in alignment with ongoing clinical research or explore a clinical topic during the course of the program. A 20–30-minute presentation will be given by the student at the conclusion of the program. 

Qualifications:

• Must be either a third- or fourth-year veterinary student
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information
• Ability to work well independently and with a team
• Ability to communicate openly and professionally
• Ability to lift objects of up to 40 pounds as well as bend, crouch, squat and carry equipment
• Must provide proof of medical insurance
• Must provide proof of rabies vaccine/titer, tetanus vaccine and a recent TB test prior to starting the program

Time Commitment:

• Externships are a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of eight weeks.  
• Work days are primarily Monday-Friday, with possibility of after-hours and weekend on-call shifts for potential emergencies or rescue and recovery of stranded sea turtles.

The Florida Aquarium Animal Health Department is a clinic run as a two doctor, three technician practice.  We have full use of ultrasound, endoscopy, digital radiographs, in house and send out diagnostic labs and a full pathology suite. We provide 24-7 care for our animals and have 7 day a week veterinary coverage.  We also operate a sea turtle hospital which has the same amenities but is approximately 30 minutes off campus. 

Please evaluate based on these samples from our student manual.  

Specific personal goals will be developed during the first week of the program, but will generally include:

• To broaden veterinary students’ experience of clinical medicine in a large public display aquarium, in particular
  • History taking;
  • Basic restraint techniques and clinical exams;
  • Plan development;
  • Diagnostic interpretation;
  • Necropsy and cytology skills.
• Understand the necessity for clear, positive, and concise communication – focus on verbal and written skills.
• To build a knowledge base for each class of animal and know where to find information.

These are our expectations for the extern:

• To show a positive attitude and to work hard.
• To have or be building on essential, core clinical knowledge and skills.
• To take the initiative and go through the week one tasks (in the check list) with a vet.
• To review the schedule for the week and be able to answer questions about planned procedures and species.
• To understand different learning methods and what works best for them. As well as practical and didactic teaching, it is essential for an exotic animal vet to be able to learn by observation and reading; skills that can be developed through programs like these.
• To seek out feedback on a regular basis. This will be provided through a weekly meeting, but works best when it is current.

Clinical role vs shadowing will be determined on a case by case basis based on the individuals preparedness and caseload at the time. 

They

are expected to be at the Aquarium Monday through Friday, from 7:00am to 5pm. The student is expected to be aware of each upcoming day’s schedule and plan to be present and prepared accordingly. Specific cases, emergencies, and other educational opportunities may necessitate working outside normal business hours.

Normal daily work

Rounds are usually at 730am, with appointments are scheduled starting at 8:30am, and running through noon. The afternoon is typically reserved for desk work, meetings, and managing unanticipated emergencies. Each day, treatments and necropsies must be carried out. Routine exams and diagnostic work-ups are scheduled as necessary. Meetings are scheduled regularly for the veterinary staff.

Much of your time will be spent with the technicians who are an invaluable resource and carry out many of the treatments and diagnostics. It is highly recommended that you help them out wherever possible, which will often include setting up for procedures prior to the vet’s arrival, and helping out with cleanup at the end. This will help us out during those procedures, help you exercise planning and foresight, and will be invaluable should emergencies arise.

During procedures, we will give you hands-on experience wherever possible, including history taking, handling, monitoring anesthesia, giving medications, and taking samples. However, due to many constraints inherent in this field, you should not expect to do all the practical work which arises. In particular, hands-on work with birds and mammals is usually carried out by the veterinary staff. Similarly, hands-on contact with marine turtles is often tightly regulated by permit process in the state of Florida. You will however be expected to be involved and be able to answer questions about the procedures and diagnostic results. If you have a particular interest in one area, please let us know and we will do everything we can to accommodate you.

Students have several responsibilities at the Florida Aquarium. There is a checklist at the end of this manual to ensure each student is able to gain a wide variety of experiences.

Participation in case work and necropsies

While primary case responsibility will always lie with the veterinarians, students will be asked for interpretation and plans and to SOAP animals using this format:

• • • Summary line (e.g., Routine physical; recheck bloods; skin lesions)
    • Signalment, history – this includes a summary of the medical history of the animal and its tankmates, and a review of the environmental parameters (including water quality for aquatic species). It should also include information on food intake, defecation, behavior etc.
    • Subjective assessment – this will vary from BAR, to comments on how the animal is responding to its environment.
    • Objective assessment – from observation or hands-on exam; you must not handle an animal without a member of the animal health department and husbandry staff present. We divide this up by system and then by procedure (e.g., anesthesia, radiographs, blood sampling, Rx).
      • Don’t forget units!
    • Assessment
      • Problem list with differentials
        • Degenerative, developmental
        • Anomalous
        • Metabolic
        • Nutritional, neoplastic
        • Inflammatory, infectious, immune-mediated
        • Toxic, traumatic
        • Vascular

This can be followed by an interpretation

• • • • Prognosis/progression
    • Plan – including further diagnostics and recommended treatments or environmental changes

Unless otherwise stated, please print out your completed record and give it to the primary vet for review.

There are templates in the ZIMS program that you should use.

ZIMS does not contain spellcheck. Proof read carefully.

Diagnostic imaging can be viewed using the PACS software on the computer work station in the surgery room.

Students will be expected to help plan, monitor, and record anesthetic events. This is an important aspect of their role at the aquarium but also their training as a vet. The anesthetic form will be reviewed at orientation, but based on common mistakes, these are some important points.

• • • All patient information should be filled in
    • Respiratory rates and other physiological parameters should be assessed and recorded, prior to restraint if possible.
    • Physiological parameters are typically recorded every five minutes.
    • Specific times must be added to show
      • Start and end of restraint
      • Start and end of procedure and other major events (e.g., first cut to last suture)
      • Intubation time and ET tube size
    • Recovery information must be included (e.g., increased muscle tone, blinking, return to crate, return to enclosure etc)

Students will also be expected to perform necropsies on invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds as necessary, after training. If you see animals with necropsies pending, please ask a veterinarian whether you may carry it out and what diagnostic testing is appropriate. Necropsy reports must be put into ZIMS within 48hrs.

Students can review http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/pathterm2/terms1.htm for excellent descriptions of pathology nomenclature.

The Florida Aquarium- Animal Health
701 Channelside Dr
Tampa, FL 33602
United States