Offsite Electives

The elective experience will be an opportunity for the student to work in a busy, two facility small animal and exotic animal practice in an urban and rural setting.  The expectation is to give the student an opportunity to work with the practice team (veterinarian, registered technician and lay staff) as they attend to patients each day.  The student will be involved in medical, surgical and out-patient cases.  The student will also have an opportunity to attend a staff meeting and management meeting when appropriate.

Provide broad spectrum experience in all facets of small animal medicine and surgery. We have variety with standard and complementary medicine. I have special interest in orthopedics and reproductive, as well as alternative medicine.    

This elective is a faith-based 10-day trip to the rural regions of Nicaragua with a team of peers, US veterinarians, and Nicaraguan veterinary/support personnel. The focus of the student experience is on herd health, the impact of animal health on the community, sustainable agricultural practices/development, and facilitating working relationships between US and Nicaraguan nationals. The student will work primarily with farm animals (ie large/small ruminants, working equids, hogs, rabbits, and poultry) though some canine work may be available.

The sending agency is Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM), 501c3 dedicated to supporting veterinary students and professionals and the communities they serve both domestically and internationally (www.cvmusa.org). Students are accepted into the elective on a case-by-case basis several months prior to scheduled trips. Contact Dr. Moffatt for more information regarding the application process. Valid passport and acceptance into the short-term pool with Christian Veterniary Mission is required. 

This Elective Experience is a practical educational experience in Veterinary Dental Procedures, This will occur via a mobile consulting and dental care service for patients/procedures throughout SW Pennsylvania and NE OH.  Each day will involve travel to one practice (sometimes 2) to observe vet dental patients in a general practice and observe the patient consultation, oral treatment plan development and execution of the plan for the patient(s) for that day.  The student will be asked to be involved in observing and discussing the patient's general health, pre-operative work-up,  anesthetic protocol, and the performance of the patient procedure(s).  The student is also expected to participate in discussion of the aftercare for the patient(s).  The student should have time to observe the general activities in the background of practices each day and have some time to interface with several veterinarians and staff members.

The schedule should involve 5 business days each of the two weeks and possibly a Saturday on one of the weekends.  The student should have gained exposure to 10, or so, general small animal practices in the region described above during the elective period. 

The student has the opportunity for extensive small animal dental experience including advanced periodontal therapies, extraction techniques, orthodontics, endodontics and crown therapy.  The student also has the opportunity for extensive experience in dental marketing and disease recognition, dental x-ray techniques, and evaluation of dental x-rays (computer and digital storage of dental cases).  The student will get to experience how all of the above is incorporated into a general high quality small animal practice.  The clinic is networked for 4 online stations.  It is a full veterinary small animal clinic that has fully equipped lab for hematology, microbiology, and serology.  This is an excellent learning environment in a setting close to campus with a great support staff.

Participate in routine and scheduled farm calls, and emergencies

Students will begin by observing clinic protocol, move to participating in patient restraint and care. Cases will be discussed from examination through diagnostics, reassessments, treatments, and follow up.

The experience is going to center around general every day medical appointments and surgeries.  They will have the ability to assist in diagnosis, treatment options, interacting with clients in a hospital setting, and general surgery.

Chimera Veterinary Services was started by Dr. Foster Anderson in 2012 as a food animal mobile-only practice in east-central Ohio. As of February 2017, we have expanded to a mixed animal practice with the addition of Bailey Veterinary Clinic in Newark, Ohio as our base of operation. We provide small animal medicine, surgey and diagnostics in a semi-rural area. Our large animal mobile services cover mostly Licking, Muskingum, and Perry counties, but branch into several adjoining counties south and east. The large animal clientele is 75% beef cattle, 15% cervidae and small ruminant, 10% other (dairy/equine/swine/exotics). Students have the opportunity to assist in the clinic and with ambulatory services on a daily basis, including after-hours emergencies. Wednesdays are sale day at Muskingum Livestock Auction where Dr. Anderson is the market veterinarian. Students can gain hands-on experience in USDA/Ohio Ag. Dept. regulatory responsibilities at the stockyard as well as experience processing cattle for buyers at the sale.  Seasonally, there is reproductive work on the beef and deer farms where breeding soundness, artificial insemination, pregnancy diagnosis and birthing/dystocia work are a big part of the practice. There is always plenty of regulatory testing for seedstock sales and whitetail deer herds. April through July we work with our USDA regulated exotics breeders de-scenting baby skunks and examining skunks, foxes, raccoons, and other exotics for sale and interstate transport.  We are also expanding our apiary to the Newark clinic this year. With honeybees officially listed as food animals, students can learn about and work with us in our hives, if they are interested.

An elective at Leighow Veterinary Hospital will enable the student to see "real world" small animal practice where we strive for quality veterinary medical care.   Our clientele includes a variety of loving care owners, as well as shelter organizations.  As a student, one will be able to work with those clients that are able to do anything and everything for their pets including referral to a specialty clinic as needed.  In contrast, the student will interact with those clients who have limited funds and we have to "think outside the box" to help the pets.  The practice is a busy practice and we encourage all of our veterinarians and students to "think on their feet" throughout the day.  With a staff of 3-4 veterinarians and an excellent support staff, mentoring young students is a priority.