Our goal with any externship is for the student to improve in their skills regardless of where they start. Each student will come with different past experiences, so the more open they are about their abilities and interests, the better we can tailor an experience for them. Students will have the opportunity to get significant palpation/ultrasound experience, as well as medical/surgical experience. A typical day will begin with herd health appointments and will usually include sick cow calls or emergencies. Those interested in advanced reproductive services will find plenty of opportunity to ride with our Genetic Services team. Other areas in which students can get experience include records analysis, calf lung ultrasound, employee training, and team meetings/consultation.
Students often ride with 8-10 different veterinarians, meaning they will hear many different perspectives and get to see many different farms. They will also participate in our weekly breakfast meetings, where we discuss cases and catch up.
VVC is made up of 20 veterinarians and 13 support staff including 5 CVTs.
Ultrasound units: Each veterinarian has an ultrasound and we have multiple spare EasiScan units that are in good condition and available for student use. Note that these units are EasiScans with wired goggles and not EasiScan GO wireless units. If an EasiScan GO or other brand of ultrasound is desired, the student should contact the company to obtain one through their student loan program. They will send a unit ahead of time and we will have it ready when the student arrives.
Diagnostics: VVC has in-house serum chemistry and milk diagnostics (culture, plate count, etc) available in our lab. We also have a mobile digital X-ray unit.
DairyComp is provided to each of our vets, and our clinic computer has both DairyComp and PCDART. If a student would like to work on records analysis skills, they can work with a veterinarian to obtain a farm backup to examine.
The externship is hands-on shadowing, and there are no clinic or animal care responsibilities assigned to the student. Students will ride along Monday-Friday. Start and end times are highly variable depending on the individual veterinarian's schedule. Some start times are 5am or earlier, and days typically wrap up between 3-5pm.
Students are not expected to be on call. If they would like, they can coordinate with the on-call vet to come along on night/weekend emergencies.
Our only other expectation is a positive attitude and willingness to participate and learn about our great industry and clientele.
707 Woodland Plaza
Seymour, WI 54165
United States