Offsite Electives

We are a busy 4 doctor small animal/exotic veterinary hospital located in Chester, NJ.  Our hospital is very well equipped with the latest in ultrasound, digital dental x-ray, digital x-ray, K-laser therapeutic laser, Toshiba ultrasound, full in house Idexx lab equipment, and much much more.  We have a traveling board certified internist and traveling board certified surgeon that visits our hospital 1-2 times a week.  All proceedures are monitored by licensed veterinary technicians, or the veterinarian.  Student will be exposed to all aspects of a busy small animal hospital

Companion Animal Hospital is a 4.5 veterinarian small animal hospital.  We have a large support staff including CVTs, veterinary assistants, and client service representatives.  There are two sections of our hospital: out-patient (appointments) and in-pateint (ICU: hospitalized patients and surgeries).  Students will shadow either the appointment doctor or the ICU doctor each day and be responsible for SOAPing patients with the doctor, including a list of problems and differential diagnoses.  Communication, both with clients and staff, will be emphasized.  On ICU days, students will also assist the doctor during surgical, dental, and medical procedures.  Students will be involved with drug dose calculation, radiographic interpertation, endocrine assay interpretation, dental charting, and surgical procedures.

Granville Veterinary Clinic is a full-service general practice that specializes in small animal surgery and dentistry. Students will work with the clinicians on staff to see client pets, perform appropriate testing to identify disease, and refine their surgical techniques. Granville Veterinary also offers limited emergency hours, and provides hospitalization overnight and on weekends.

This experience allows veterinary students an opportunity to learn and work with a diverse number of exotic animals from psittacine birds, poultry to rabits, reptiles and other small mammals.  We are a full service exclusivley exotic animal hospital.  The student will learn husbandry of these species along with common medical conditions.  They will perform histories, common life-saving procedures, including fluid administration and gavage feeding.  They will help with grooming and have an opportunity to watch surgeries being performed.  They will attend our Journal Club and have an opportunity to present a case report.

Our practice is a mostly small animal practice, with surgeries scheduled every week day.  We do some large animal work, along with some primates and exotics.  We have ultrasound, digital radiography, in house laboratory and lasers (both cutting and therapy lasers).  We also offer acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, rehab, manual and mechanical (VOM/VMR) chiropractic and we rely to an extent on nutrition and supplements instead of solely on medicines.  We have office hours until 9 pm during the week and until 4 on Saturdays with 1 part-time and 2 full-time veterinarians.  We employ 1 part-time and 6 full-time technicians.  What all this means to the student is that we offer a broad experience with lots of mentorship from both veterinarians and technicians.  Our goal is to have the student see cases, make and present treatment plans and do anesthesia and surgery. 

We are a predominantly canine and feline general practice.  We focus on providing general medicine, surgery, preventative and wellness care, and try to do so at affordable costs.  Client communication skills are important at our clinic as fostering and supporting the human animal bond are important to us.  Students here will have the opportunity to see cases through completion while polishing their communication skills, radiology knowledge, dental care skills, physical exams, and basic surgeries.  The students will be exposed to a realistic daily schedule to practice balancing a normal case load.  In the spring we do a low cost feline spay day.  If here for this event they will participate in examinations and sterilization of felines in a spay clinic like setting. 

The student will be involved in the management of cases from presentation to medical or surgical management as indicated.  The student will be allowed to scrub into surgical procedures and assist the primary surgeon.  

This rotation is focused on providing students a well-rounded education in the expectations of the shelter veterinarian. The student should expect to become comfortable to competent in high-volume, high-quality spay and neuter surgeries in a low-stress environment. Students will also have the opportunity to practice their physical exam skills, triage skills, and diagnostic and treatment plan skills. Students will learn real world concerns in terms of operating on a budget for animal care. There is also the potential to experience first-hand the importance of cruelty case proceedings (exam, documentation, etc).

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is pleased to offer Veterinary Preceptorships for clinical year veterinary students interested in Zoo and Wildlife Conservation and Medicine.  Fossil Rim’s veterinary preceptorship is designed to provide experience in nondomestic animal medicine with a focus on the application of veterinary medical principles to semi-free ranging species and conservation medicine. Students will participate as part of the veterinary team, which oversees the veterinary care and management of 1,000+ specimens of over 40 species. 

Students will be responsible for assisting with case management, pathology, preventative medicine, rounds discussions, record keeping and special projects if time permits.  Students are exposed to ongoing research in the areas of reproductive sciences, nutrition, and health via collaboration with other institutions. Individual research projects for students are possible, and submission of a topic for presentation at an AAZV conference is encouraged. However, these may be difficult due to student time constraints and as such, if desired, should be discussed early on in the rotation to confirm appropriate time exists for the scope of the project. 

Application requests include a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and list of three references for contact.  Along with the application, please include dates that would be feasible for your rotation (ideally at least three time slots), including any order of preference if multiple date ranges are possible.  Applications are taken continuously throughout the year but openings are typically filled approximately one year in advance.  A minimum commitment of 6 to 8 weeks is expected.  Housing is provided free on site and a stipend may be available depending on funding.  On-site transportation is provided.  A personal vehicle is useful for off-site transportation, but is not required.  Primary expenses involve travel to and from Fossil Rim and living expenses while here (i.e.: food, entertainment, etc).  If selected, proof of a negative TB test and negative drug test within 30 days of starting and proof of rabies vaccination (or adequate protective titer) within the year prior to starting your rotation is required. 

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center offers a unique experience to work with captive wildlife in a naturalistic environment. The majority of the hoofstock housed in the collection are housed in semi-free ranging conditions over the 1800 acres of the park, allowing for herd management and field immobilizations to be common principles here at Fossil Rim. This allows veterinary students to participate in slightly different aspects of zoological medicine than are found in traditional zoo externships. In addition, the facility focuses on propagation and care of several endangered species including black rhino, cheetah, and Attwater’s prairie chickens, as well as many others. Please see our website for additional information on our institution (www.fossilrim.org) and this program specifically (https://fossilrim.org/career-internships/#op-98921-animal-health-veteri…).  You can also contact Dr. Julie Swenson (julies@fossilrim.org) with any additional questions. 

Rural Mixed animal practice with an extensive canine, bovine, feline and equine caseload. Students receive a large amount of hands on experience under direct supervision  of one of the 3 attending veterinarians at the practice. Large amount of canine orthopedic surgeries as well as other small animal surgeries. Hospital has 3 full time veterinarians, 2 mixed animal, and 1 small animal. Practice includes about 40% canine, 30% bovine, 15% equine and feline.