Offsite Electives

This elective experience is designed for students seeking hands-on exposure in a small animal preventative medicine–focused practice that is actively expanding its surgical capabilities following new ownership in January.

Our practice emphasizes comprehensive wellness care, client education, and early disease detection while maintaining a strong commitment to compassionate, relationship-centered medicine. Students will gain practical experience in preventative care including wellness examinations, vaccination protocols, parasite prevention, nutritional counseling, dental health assessments, and chronic disease management.

With recent growth in surgical services, participants will also observe and assist in an expanding range of procedures. Exposure may include routine soft tissue surgeries (spays, neuters, mass removals), dentistry, and select advanced surgical procedures as our offerings continue to grow. Emphasis is placed on proper case work-up, anesthesia protocols, pain management, surgical monitoring, and post-operative care.

This elective provides a unique opportunity to experience the evolution of a privately owned practice during a period of growth and transition. Students will gain insight into clinical decision-making, surgical skill development, team collaboration, workflow efficiency, and the integration of expanded medical services into an established preventative care model.

Ideal candidates are motivated, team-oriented learners who are eager to strengthen their clinical confidence in both wellness medicine and surgical fundamentals within a supportive, family-oriented practice environment.

At our AAHA-accredited practice, veterinary students will work with a team of doctors practicing high-quality small animal medicine in a supportive and collaborative environment.  We value the principles of Fear Free and Cat-Friendly veterinary visits to ensure the best experience for our patients and their owners. We offer a variety of services including wellness care, surgery, dentistry, cold laser therapy, ultrasound, radiography, urgent care, avian/reptile medicine, acupuncture/traditional Chinese veterinary medicine, and end-of-life care. Our goal is to provide veterinary students with a well-rounded approach to practicing high-quality veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry in a general practice setting.

Atlas Veterinary Urgent Care is an independently owned small animal urgent care hospital designed to bridge the gap between general practice and 24-hour emergency medicine. The hospital provides same-day, appointment-based and urgent care services for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, while stabilizing critical patients for transfer to a full-service emergency facility when necessary.

This fourth-year elective provides immersive exposure to urgent care medicine in a fast-paced outpatient setting. Students will participate in evaluation, diagnosis, treatment planning, and case management of common urgent presentations, including:

• Gastrointestinal disease (vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia)
• Lameness and minor orthopedic injury
• Dermatologic conditions
• Otitis and ocular disease
• Urinary tract disease
• Wounds and lacerations
• Toxin exposures
• Acute pain management
• Stabilization of critical patients prior to referral

The rotation emphasizes triage and prioritization, efficient outpatient case management, cost-conscious and transparent client communication, development of clinical reasoning skills, and confidence in managing urgent cases and emergency stabilization. 

The Veterinarian Extern will be supervised by the Attending Veterinarian / Director of Veterinary Services and will engage broadly with the veterinary, animal care, operations, and quality teams. In this role, you will shadow the Attending Veterinarian and the Clinical Veterinarian. A typical day will include morning rounds, observing medical decision making for treatments and relaying instructions to the animal care team, observing surgeries on swine, engaging in sample collections, and shadowing ultrasounds and necropsies. This position is based onsite in Northwest, Indiana. 

Students will work alongside with attending veterinarian on a wide variety of small animal medical and surgical urgent care and emergency/critical care cases. Student will gain familiarity with triage, physical assessment, client communication, formulating differential diagnoses, selection and interpretation of diagnostics, formulating therapeutic plan, performing diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, and monitoring of hospitalized patients. 

This internship is designed for veterinary students with an interest in laboratory animal medicine. Interns will work alongside five clinical veterinarians and three resident veterinarians. The internship provides exposure to a wide variety of species including nonhuman primates, sheep, swine, mice, rats, zebrafish and frogs. Interns will participate in clinical cases, assist in veterinary rounds, and attend the resident’s weekly didactic trainings. As scheduling permits, interns may also attend IACUC meetings and Journal Club, gain hands-on training in rodent procedures and anesthesia, and assist with nonhuman primate quarantine. Interns will also conduct a short enrichment research project on a topic provided by the Enrichment team, and present their results to veterinary staff at the conclusion of the internship.

General practice. 

A student at our dentistry surgical center will gain hands-on exposure to the daily operations of a high-volume veterinary dental and surgical facility. They will observe and assist (when able) with patient intake, anesthesia preparation and monitoring, dental radiographs, cleanings, extractions, instrument sterilization, and post-operative recovery. Students will learn proper safety and sanitation protocols, patient handling techniques, and the importance of accurate medical record keeping. They will also see how the clinical team communicates with clients, coordinates surgical schedules, and works collaboratively to provide efficient, compassionate care. Overall, the experience is designed to build practical skills, deepen understanding of veterinary dentistry and anesthesia, and provide real-world insight into a professional surgical environment.

Student will be able to develop skills in diagnostics and treatment of ocular conditions.

Develop understanding of veterinary ophthalmology.

Student will develop skills needed to use  opthalmic exam equipment such as slit lamp and direct otpahlmoscope by working along side DACVO and second year opthalmology resident ..

This elective experince will offer some insight into the realities of working in specialized field of veterinary opthalmology. 

Bean Blossom Animal Clinic is a full-service, walk-in veterinary practice in Brown County, Indiana, that has served the Nashville area since 1966, offering medical, surgical, and dental care for pets. They provide a range of services, including wellness exams, vaccinations, surgery, and diagnostics, and are known for being a community-focused clinic that welcomes walk-ins and is open on Saturdays.