Offsite Electives

Student will spend 40 hours per week observing and shadowing board-certified radiologists and radiology residents. 

MedVet Phoenix is a 21,000sqft ER/Specialty Hospital in Scottsdale, AZ serving the greater Phoenix community.  Recently opened in September 2025, we currently have full-time Emergency and Critical Care (2 board-certified Criticalists and 5 ER doctors), 2 surgeons (one board-certified, one board-eligible), a board-certified medical oncologist and a board-certified cardiologist.  We have support from local board-certified radiologists and a board-certified internist for imaging and consultations.  Electives can be geared towards a specific specialty or more of a rotating experience, although our close departmental collaborations offer the ability to follow a case through workup, diagnostics, and treatment.  Our elective ECC experience ideally rotates students through day/mid/overnight rotations.  Housing/stipend is not currently offered.  

Verde Oveja is a non-profit commercial sheep dairy farm in the Andes mountains of Ecuador.  The flock consists of approximately 300 East Friesian and Lacaune dairy sheep, with a commercial dairy and an on site cheese factory.  The purpose of the foundation is to improve the local knowledge about sheep as livestock production animals in Ecuador, provide jobs to the locals and create a unique product that doesn't exist in Ecuador.  We started the farm in 2020 and it has grown to be a thriving sheep dairy with a reputation of having the best animals in the country.  We have planted several other sheep dairies in Ecuador in the last years.  We focus on a tightly controlled reproduction program, led by Dr Heather Steyn (reproduction specialist) in conjunction with the genetics department at Genovis in Guelph.  The farm is located at 10,000 ft in elevation on the equator in Ecuador and has no seasonal effect on breeding.  Lambing "season" is every 6 weeks year round with synchronized groups of about 40 ewes that are always in rotation.  We raise approximately 40 lambs in each group, born every 6 weeks.  We produce meat lambs as well as dairy ewes and run a meat flock as well.  Here is a list of all of the experiences and frequencies that occur at Verde Oveja.  

Daily/Weekly experiences:

• Sheep milking (about 70 ewes) twice daily at 6am and 5pm - year round
• Jersey cow milking (1 cow) twice daily at 6am and 5pm
• Milk bucket training lambs - lots of lamb handling
• Daily weighing of lambs and dosing with coccidiostats
• Moving sheep flocks to new paddocks every 2 days in an intensive rotational grazing system with intentional pasture planting
• Mixing grains for balanced rations (each week 2Tons are made) and formulating balanced rations for different groups
• Making yogurtized milk replacer for lambs
• Feeding all animals on the farm (Sheep, cow, alpaca, geese, ducks, chickens, horses, kangal dogs)
• Measuring milk production on dairy ewes throughout lacatation cycles
• On-Site Farm lab: Milk composition analysis, somatic cell testing, performing culture and sensitivity for bacterial mastitis identification
• Fecal egg counts on sheep flock
• Weighing the flock, FAMACHA and BCS scoring
• Vaccination, deworming, supplement administration
• Management of an intensive breeding program, genetic evaluation and scoring system with GenOvis (Guelph University program)
• Meat flock management (separate from the dairy flock), that includes weighing, BCS, Famacha, hoof management, genetic selection
• Verde Oveja Cheese factory: Cheese manufacturing and production (aged hard cheese, semi aged cheese, fresh cheese and yogurt, fresh dairy product production of cream, sour cream, butter, buttermilk)
• Managing a laying flock of 60 chickens
• Growing organic vegatables on the farm and in the greenhouse for team consumption
• Software management system for flock records, medical records, breeding records, pedigrees, etc - "Herdboss"

Monthly and/or Ocassional experiences:

• Sheep sheering (250+ sheep in 2 days every 4 months)
• Hoof trimming every 3-4 months on the entire flock
• Ewe synchronization and breeding every 7 weeks
• Pregnancy ultrasound using a POC Butterfly ultrasound every 2 months
• Groups of 20-30 ewes are synchronized to lamb together in a 5 day window, every 2 months
• Evaluation and treatment for mastitis, including CMT, SCC and culturing
• Treatment of anemia, bottle jaw, pneumonia and other lamb illnesses
• Treatment of pregnancy toxemia, metabolic acidosis and other metabolic diseases
• Assisted lambing including mal-presentation and corrective lambing
• Intensive lambing and neonatal care techniques

Other experiences on the farm:

• Sheep cesarean sections
• Unilateral mastectomy for treatment of gangrenous mastitis (Blue bag)
• Necropsy - all animals that die or are euthanized on the farm receive a full necropsy
• Intensive care for an adult sheep or lamb illness
• Laprascopic insemination with frozen semen on synchronized ewes (2-3 times per year)
• Embryo collection on ewes as well as embryo fertilization and implantation on ewes (1-2 times per year)

• Annual horse dental clnic on 8 horses with an Eq specialist doing power dental prophylaxis

   

Welcome to Amici Cannis!

We’re thrilled that you’re interested in joining our team as a student volunteer. Your curiosity, compassion, and energy are exactly what make our work so meaningful, and we can’t wait to welcome you into our mission. Volunteering with Amici Cannis isn’t just about lending a hand. It’s about becoming part of a community that cares deeply for animals and the people who love them. And what better place to do that than in the heart of Cotacachi, a town full of charm, culture, and breathtaking natural beauty? It’s a truly magical setting where meaningful work meets unforgettable experiences. Whether you're assisting in clinics, supporting outreach, or learning how we track impact through data, your time with us will be both enriching and inspiring. We’re honored to have you on this journey and look forward to the difference we’ll make together.

Students at our hospital gain hands-on clinical experience with a wide range of animal species, working directly with small animals—including dogs, cats, pocket pets, and exotics. Our diverse team of veterinarians and skilled technicians provides a collaborative environment where students actively participate in patient care, diagnostics, and treatment planning. We prioritize mentorship and strive to enrich each student’s educational experience by offering individualized support, constructive feedback, and professional guidance to help them develop strong clinical skills. Students follow doctors in exam rooms and are given opportunities to take the lead during exams, developing their own diagnostic and treatment plans with veterinary input. They also assist with surgical procedures—including spays, neuters, enterotomies, cystotomies, amputations, enucleations, and mass removals—and may perform surgeries under DVM supervision as time allows. Additionally, students can perform blood draws, place IV catheters, conduct cytology, and carry out dental cleanings and extractions under doctor supervision, ensuring a comprehensive and immersive learning experience that prepares them for both small and large animal practice.

Students at our hospital will experience a variety of hands-on clinical experience with a wide range of animal species. Our program provides opportunities to work directly with small animals—including dogs, cats, pocket pets and birds—as well as large animals such as horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats. Our diverse team of veterinarians and skilled technicians offer a collaborative environment where students will actively participate in patient care, diagnostic procedures, and treatment planning. 

Our team prioritizes mentorship and actively seeks to enrich the educational experience of the individual.  Students will receive individualized support, constructive feedback, and professional guidance as they develop their clinical skills. We hope the immersive learning environment we provide will enrich their university experience and prepare students to enter the field of veterinary medicine confidently with a strong foundation in both small and large animal practice

Clinical Specialty Rotation in Private Specialty Dentistry and Oral Surgery Practice with 3 Diplomates of the American Veterinary Dental College, AVDC Resident.

Kevin Stepaniuk, DVM, FAVD, DAVDC (former University of Minnesota CVM Faculty), Current Lecture of Curriculum and Labs (Dentistry and Oral Surgery) at Oklahoma State University, and Laboratory Teaching at Oregon State University CVM

Alice Sievers DVM, DAVDC, Current lecturer and laboratory instructor at Oregon State University (Dentistry and Oral Surgery). 

1. Client/patient intake with history, presenting problem - SOAP format
2. Triage of patients
3. Formulating list of rule outs and needed testing
4. Instructing/performing/assisting with testing
5. Interpretation of test results
6. Treatment planning and implementation
7. Communication of results, treatment plan with client

8. Surgical planning and performance of surgery

   A typical day at a Las Vegas veterinary hospital for small animals.

We have a great work place focused on patient care and team work. Our externs have the opportunity to learn from a wonderful team of doctors and registered technicians. We allow our externs to follow along in appointments ranging from general wellness and preventative medicine to injury/illness and emergency appointments. Our veterinarians performed routine surgeries (spays, neuters, lump removals) to  emergency procedures (splenectomies, explanatories, and more) allowing our externs to follow along from start to finish and scrub in for a hands on experience. We value externs who want to collaborate and participate in patient care and treatment plans. 

This elective externship provides students with an immersive learning experience in community-based animal welfare initiatives in Tanzania. Participants will engage in practical activities focused on treatments and care for donkeys, dogs and cats-species often neglected within local communities. Through participation in outreach programs, animal health education, and welfare improvement project, students will develop competencies in field based veterinary practices, cross- cultural communication and community engagement.