Third and Fourth year vet students are eligible to apply for structured externships, gaining hands-on experience and in-depth instruction from our skilled medical team, typically while earning course credit through their veterinary school. Externs spend their days learning the ins and outs of our HQHV spay-neuter clinic procedures, partnering on treatment plans and critical care cases, and performing sterilization procedures. With an average of 55 surgical patients per day, externs may complete anywhere from 5-100 surgeries during their average 2-week rotation, depending on initial skill level.
1 medical director- HQHVSN surgeon and shelter medicine- focused veterinarian
Typically employ 5 veterinary technicians per clinic day.
5 surgical tables
We typically have 3-4 clinics per week. Days start at 7:30am and typically go until 6pm. Students are expected to participate in the full clinic day. A fourth or fifth day that week is typically spent preparing for the clinics or participating in vaccine/ preventative care wellness service visits. We can tailor-make the non-clinic day activities depending on the number of required hours for each student's curriculum. Students are expected to learn from the "ground up." This means they will spend time mastering non-surgical stations such as physical exam, surgical prep, post-operative treatments and care. Showing competency in these stations allows them to advance further into surgical stations, starting with neuter, then into spays. Students with previous surgical experience will be assessed, and then provided with opportunities appropriate for their experience level. This means a student with 0 experience in spay will not necessarily have the same opportunities as a student wtih 50 spays under their belt already. We aim to work with the student's previous experience level and help them build confidence and competence to grow their skills. Outside of surgery, we also expect them to help with patient check in, clean up at the end of the day, and following appropriate record keeping protocols. Additional tasks may be assigned as needed.
912 NE 2nd St
Gainesville, FL 32601
United States