Student Training
Student training includes a core clinical rotation incorporating
shelter medicine, an elective clinical rotation in shelter medicine, core
didactic classes incorporating lectures in shelter medicine, elective
didactic classes entitled, "Shelter Medicine: Behavioral Considerations"
and "Working with Feral Cats in Practice" and summer research fellowships
for veterinary students interested in shelter medicine.
Core Clinical Rotation Incorporating Shelter Medicine
Training for all veterinary students in shelter medicine is an integral
part of a core clinical rotation in Community Practice and Maddie's Shelter
Medicine. This is one of the 20 required clinical rotations for all veterinary
students.
Small groups comprised of 4-6 senior students, a resident and/or intern,
and one or two faculty members are assigned to core rotations at any one time.
This arrangement provides for coverage of all services concurrently, while
allowing a high quality, individualized, hands-on teaching and instruction of
residents, interns and students. All senior veterinary students are required
to successfully complete this rotation prior to graduation. In addition, students
may elect to take the Community Practice and Maddie's Shelter Medicine rotation
a second time during their senior year in order to gain additional experience.
For a detailed description of the Community Practice component of this service,
click here.
An integral part of this rotation is Maddie's Shelter Ambulatory Service.
Weekly or biweekly ambulatory trips are made to participating core shelters.
All students are required to participate in ambulatory trips. This ambulatory
service serves as an on-site consultation service, when needed as a diagnostic
service, and as a teaching service. Faculty accompany the resident and students
on all ambulatory trips to facilitate consultation and teaching and interaction
with the shelter veterinarian and staff. Diagnostic testing is offered for shelters
in virology, microbiology, parasitology, immunology and pathology. Through
regular on-site visits and consultations, the relationship we build with the
core shelters enables us to design model medical programs that emphasize the
no-kill philosophy. Implementation of these programs by the shelters serves to
help the shelters improve their medical delivery for their animals.
Veterinary students gain valuable hands on experience with admitting
examinations, infectious disease surveillance and diagnosis, procedures for
animal handling, quarantine, shelter preventative health care protocols, and
medical and behavioral assessments. On site visits stimulate discussions of
shelter design and management practices, disinfection protocols, air
handling, environmental enrichment, methods of increasing adoptions, and
all aspects of shelter medicine. In addition, veterinary students are
introduced to techniques for pediatric spay/neuter and feral cat rescue
and non-lethal management. In addition, temperament testing and training
techniques for shelter dogs are introduced.
The number of dogs and cats at the no-kill shelters involved in Maddie's
Shelter Ambulatory Service is at least 35% of the total number of dogs and
cats at all shelters involved in the Service. Maddie's Shelter Ambulatory
Service does not serve as the medical delivery system for the core shelters.
Core shelters are required to provide a veterinary staff. Veterinary students
are required to make follow up phone calls to shelters after ambulatory visits.
Daily teaching rounds are conducted as another integral part of the Community
Practice and Maddie's Shelter Medicine Service. These rounds allow small group
discussions on topics related to preventative health care (both medical and
behavioral), common infectious diseases (prevention, control, treatment),
the role of animal shelters in communities, the veterinarian's role in
shelters, and exotic animal medicine. At least 50% of the rounds topics for the
Community Practice and Maddie's Shelter Medicine Service address shelter
medicine as it pertains to the no-kill philosophy. These topics will include:
prevention and control of infectious disease in animal shelters, prevention
and modification of problem behaviors in animal shelters, "the disease" of
euthanasia, reaching the goal of "no-kill" through community collaboration,
pediatric spay/neuter, and feral cats.
Maddie's Elective Clinical Rotation in Shelter Medicine
In addition to this core rotation, an elective rotation in shelter medicine
is offered to interested students. Maddie's Elective Shelter Medicine Rotation
involves discussions of the role of the veterinarian in curing the "disease"
of euthanasia. Daily in depth discussions cover all aspects of shelter medicine.
Rounds topics include:
- Animal Shelter Management: Types of Shelters (no-kill, traditional,
and animal control)
- Principles of Infectious Disease Control in a Shelter Setting
- Common Infectious Diseases in Shelters (prevention, diagnosis,
treatment, and control)
- Upper respiratory infections in cats and dogs in shelters (prevention,
diagnosis, treatment, and control)
- Pediatric Spay/Neuter: Is it Needed? Is it Safe?
- Surgical and Anesthetic Techniques for Spaying and Neutering Puppies
and Kittens 6-16 Weeks of Age
- Humane Capture, Handling and Restraint
- Building a No-Kill Alabama
- Wellness Programs for Shelters
- Wellness Programs for Foster Homes
- Working with Feral Cats in Practice
- The Private Practitioner's Role in Increasing Adoptions and Understanding/Working
with Shelters
- The Veterinarian's Role in Pet Retention
- Non-surgical Methods of Sterilization
Elective Didactic Classes
"Shelter Medicine: Behavioral Considerations" (VMED 5502)
Course instructor: Dr. Brenda Griffin
This 2 hour elective course is offered to freshmen, sophomore and junior
veterinary students each year. Students are introduced to behavioral
considerations for dogs and cats in animal shelters. Class lectures and
discussions focus on behavioral reasons for pet relinquishment, diagnosis
and treatment of common behavior disorders, temperament testing, prevention
of problem behaviors in shelter pets (environmental enrichment), handling
and socialization of cats, and training and behavior modification exercises
for dogs.
"Working with Feral Cats in Practice" (VMED 5502)
This 2 hour elective course is offered to freshmen, sophomore, and junior
veterinary students each year. Students are introduced to issue surrounding
free-roaming and feral cats. Class lectures and discussions focus on non-lethal
management of feral cats using the method known as trap-neuter-return. Students
gain hands-on experience working with feral cats by participating in
Operation
Cat Nap (Auburn University's Feral Cat TNR Program).
Maddie's Summer Fellowships for veterinary students
Each year, Maddie's Shelter Fellowship Program provides a freshman or
sophomore veterinary student with an opportunity to learn in depth about
homeless pets in the U.S., shelter medicine, and non-lethal strategies
for pet population control. Fellows work with Maddie's Shelter Medicine
Program Director, Maddie's Shelter Medicine Resident and other faculty
involved in research and service in shelter medicine. This includes work
in participating no-kill animal shelters and in University laboratories.
All projects are designed to advance the discipline of shelter medicine
through innovative research involving physical or behavioral aspects of shelter
pet health. In addition, through their project work, students will gain hands
on experience working in no-kill shelters.
Maddie's Shelter Medicine Residency
The College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, is offering a residency program in Shelter Medicine beginning summer, 2003. Minimum qualifications include graduation from an accredited school of veterinary medicine and a one-year internship or equivalent practice experience. This residency program is a 3-year clinical rotation combined with a master's degree program in biomedical sciences. (Biomedical Sciences Master's Degree Requirements) The specific objectives of this program include:
- To provide post-doctoral training in a wide-variety of common small animal diseases, with an emphasis on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases and behavior problems in shelters (shelter medicine)
- To provide advanced (graduate level) training in epidemiology and small animal herd health
- To provide experience in designing, implementing and carrying out a research project in a no-kill shelter, culminating in publication of results
- To provide experience in the training of fourth year veterinary students in clinical aspects of shelter medicine and behavior
The resident will spend approximately 30 weeks per year working with faculty and students on the Community Practice and Maddie's Shelter Medicine Service. While assigned to this service, Maddie's Shelter Medicine Resident will participate in weekly or biweekly ambulatory calls to core shelters for the purpose of consultation, diagnostics and teaching. An emphasis will be placed on time spent in shelters and on time spent in consultation with shelters. In addition, the resident will spend a minimum of 6 weeks per year on Maddie's Elective Clinical Rotation in Shelter Medicine.
The Resident will also rotate through other services in the Department of Clinical Sciences including dermatology, surgery, internal medicine, and ophthalmology (minimum 4 weeks each over three years). Concurrently, the resident will complete course work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master's of science degree including graduate level course work in small animal epidemiology, herd health and infectious disease. Finally, under the advisement of his/her committee, the resident will propose and carry out a research project relevant to shelter medicine.
For additional information, contact:
Dr. Brenda Griffin
Scott-Ritchey Research Center
College of Veterinary Medicine
Auburn University, AL
334-844-5951
griffb1@vetmed.auburn.edu
Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program is underwritten by a grant from Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation (www.maddiesfund.org), helping to fund the creation of a no-kill nation.
