Rotation Descriptions

Small Animal Medicine & Surgery Available Services

Cardiology / Internal Medicine

Students will be assigned to referral cases, local emergency cases, referral emergency cases and in-house consultation cases. These cases will allow the student to gain experience in the work-up, diagnosis and management of cardiac/internal medicine cases.

Feline / Internal Medicine

Students will be guided in their efforts to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to detect, diagnose and treat illnesses of cats and dogs, with an emphasis on cats. Students will participate in all aspects of case management, including client communications, to develop, through supervised practice, their abilities to gather and evaluate clinical data, formulate appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic plans, perform procedures, and advise animal owners. The overall goal is to develop within each student the habit of using a logical and fundamentally sound approach for all clinical problem-solving.

Oncology / Internal Medicine

Students will be exposed to the diagnosis and therapy of a wide variety of oncology cases during this rotation. The student will assist in the work-up and staging of neoplasms of dogs and cats using physical examination, cytology, radiography, ultrasonography, clinical pathology, and histopathology. They will be exposed to surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy as modalities for treatment, and will learn when each is appropriate for a specific case.

Neurology / Neurosurgery

Students will be exposed to a variety of patients with neurologic dysfunction and neurosurgical disorders affording them the opportunity to practice their problem-solving skills and clinical case management with full responsibility to the patient and client.

Ophthalmology Medicine & Surgery

Students will be assigned to small, large or exotic animal referral cases, local emergency cases, referral emergency cases and in-house consultation cases. These cases will allow the student to gain experience in the work-up, diagnosis and management of patients with problems related to the eye.

Orthopedic Surgery

Students will be assigned to referral cases, local emergency cases, referral emergency cases and in-house consultation cases. These cases will allow the student to gain experience in the work-up, diagnosis and management of patients with problems related to the musculoskeletal system.

Small Animal Behavior

This rotation is designed to offer interested students an introduction to clinical behavior. The rotation will focus primarily on small animal normal and abnormal behavior. Students will also be exposed to normal and abnormal behaviors of exotics and large animals as season availability permit. The rotation will be flexible to students’ particular interests.

Small Animal Emergency / Critical Care

The intent of this clinical rotation is to increase the student’s understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and management of small animal emergency cases. Also, to utilize and expand the student’s knowledge of the critical ill small animal patient.

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Large Animal Medicine & Surgery Available Services

Equine Medicine (Community Practice, Lameness & Internal Medicine / Ultrasound)

Students on the Equine Medicine Rotations will be offered the opportunity to utilize and expand their knowledge of veterinary medicine through the care of equine patients seen at the Teaching Hospital. Students will participate in and discuss diagnostic evaluations, therapeutic plans, daily care and husbandry of horses, client communications, and ethical, medical and legal considerations of equine practice. Subject matter will vary according to the seasonal needs of the clientele and caseload of the VMTH. Goals of the rotation are to increase the student’s understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and perioperative management of surgical diseases of the equine species.

Equine Surgery

To utilize clinical cases of soft tissue or orthopedic surgery as an aid in the development of the students’ skills and knowledge relating to diagnosis and care of equine surgical patients. Emphasis is placed on patient care activities and includes a full spectrum of equine surgical diseases, including primary, secondary and tertiary.

Field Services – General (1 week of Equine & 1 week of Food Animal)
Field Services – Equine (2 weeks of Equine)
Field Services – Food Animal (2 weeks of Food Animal)

Students will gain knowledge and expertise in safely handling livestock, perform a variety of routine procedures, become familiar with herd health procedures, and be involved in all aspects of handling farm/ranch calls (routine and emergency).

Food Animal Medicine & Surgery

The rotation combines the disciplines of medicine and surgery using hospitalized and outpatient cases. During this rotation the student participates in the management of cases requiring primary, secondary and tertiary care. Each student will have the opportunity to actively participate in diagnostic and surgical procedures.

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Other Services

Veterinary Anesthesiology

Students on the anesthesiology rotation will be exposed to anesthetic management in a variety of domestic, exotic and laboratory species, depending on the clinical cases available. Students will participate in all aspects of anesthetic management to improve their knowledge and skill in preanesthetic evaluation of the patient, selection of anesthetic drugs, monitoring anesthetized and critical patients, supporting vital body systems in anesthetized and critical patients, recovering patients from anesthesia, and controlling pain and excitement in the postsurgical period.

Veterinary Radiology

Students selecting Radiology as an elective will have the opportunity to customize this rotation according to their individual needs and desires, in small or large animal radiographic interpretation.

Laboratory Animal Medicine

Students will rotate through several clinical lab animal medicine sites with a lab animal resident or staff member, including a wide range of species. Other choices can include experiences in comparative pathology, research surgery, and discussions of facility management and regulatory issues. The student must contact Dr. Tracy Vemulapalli for approval of this rotation.