Hands-on Live Animal Experience in Veterinary School

[dogtor.meow]

Hello! I am curious to hear from recent grads and current clinical year veterinary students about what hands-on training/experience you received prior to clinical year and when in your curriculum did you begin hand-on training with live animals? Specifically, how prepared were you moving into clinics? Thank you!

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[battie]

To be honest, I don't think being hands on early helped me at all. I went to Illinois where we do first and second year clinics for 1 quarter a year. It's just too infrequent to me. My equine emergency team and wildlife clinic (extracurricular activities) were far more helpful as they were consistent, clinically based experiences. EET was probably averaged to about 5 hours per week and wildlife was easily 15 to 20 hours per week. More over, having the 8 weeks of clinics meant only having 24 weeks for classroom stuff rather than 32 weeks, making it a semi accelerated curriculum. At that point, I'd rather do what Missouri and Mississippi do with 2 years of clinics at the end.

Basically, I wish I'd had 0 curriculum based "live animal" stuff and more time for classroom stuff. As a GP doctor, I wish I had been given more time to learn the pathology and treatment of common stuff rather than spend time in the teaching hospital where I saw more intense stuff that most GPs don't have the time/resources to manage (and I'm in a secondary facility that has a pretty decent set up). The live animal stuff I got as extracurricular activities was more than enough.

 

[dogtor.meow]

To be honest, I don't think being hands on early helped me at all. I went to Illinois where we do first and second year clinics for 1 quarter a year. It's just too infrequent to me. My equine emergency team and wildlife clinic (extracurricular activities) were far more helpful as they were consistent, clinically based experiences. EET was probably averaged to about 5 hours per week and wildlife was easily 15 to 20 hours per week. More over, having the 8 weeks of clinics meant only having 24 weeks for classroom stuff rather than 32 weeks, making it a semi accelerated curriculum. At that point, I'd rather do what Missouri and Mississippi do with 2 years of clinics at the end.

Basically, I wish I'd had 0 curriculum based "live animal" stuff and more time for classroom stuff. As a GP doctor, I wish I had been given more time to learn the pathology and treatment of common stuff rather than spend time in the teaching hospital where I saw more intense stuff that most GPs don't have the time/resources to manage (and I'm in a secondary facility that has a pretty decent set up). The live animal stuff I got as extracurricular activities was more than enough.

Thank you for your reply! I think even more specifically, I am interested in what large animal/equine hands-on training you received prior to clinics? I am a 3rd year students and my University does not require any hands-on equine for admissions. We have had live animal labs with horses. However, all basic handling was taught via powerpoints and videos to prepare for the lab and then given a demonstration in lab by a DVM, but did not necessarily get to even touch the horse ourself in the lab. In our last semester prior to clinics, we were given a horse on our own and expected to do a full physical exam and groom the horses on our own with indirect supervision by a DVM. I guess my question is, is this standard in veterinary school to be expected to learn basic equine handling via online and have the first hands on experience with a horse be being asked to go into a stall with a tied horse and do a full PE alone without direct supervision from a DVM or technician, only with other peers around with equine experience ranging from never touched a horse before to avid riders?

 

[battie]

I guess my question is, is this standard in veterinary school

No. Illinois has live animal anatomy labs with horses and cows during the first year. We also have an avid AAEP chapter that has teams care for the teaching horses where non-horsey students are encouraged to get used to horses in a stress free environment.

We also are tested in horse handling as part of our OSCEs.

 

[JaynaAli]

My school had a class first year that was essentially “basic animal handling” and we had labs with horses, ruminants, dogs, cats, and a variety of exotics. It taught physical exams, safe restraint, haltering and leg wrapping for horses, casting cattle, etc. Also breeds, colors, etc. They also had little recaps in various labs throughout the year as needed. on clinics, a buddy system was also discussed where people unfamiliar with horses would have someone who was comfortable with horses go with them for treatments and stuff, kinda as a backup.

But I do have to mention that the world had to change in regards to covid so it doesn’t surprise me that a lot of the animal handling had to be taught online the last two years. I can’t tell from your post if it was that way before covid too but there are a lot of current students who have had to do stuff online that is usually done in person.

 

[SnowJ]

At MN we had first-year animal handling labs with horses and cows, and multiple physical exam labs where appropriately harnessing was part of what we were evaluated on. During these there was a DVM or tech in with us at all times. We also have clerk duty, which are short shifts in the equine hospital and sometimes the large animal hospital where we would monitor and help do treatment on hospitalized patients; during clerk duty there is always a tech around to help with anything you arent comfortable with.

 

[dogtor.meow]

Thank you everyone for your info!

We were effected by COVID, but once able to return to campus we had in-person live animal labs. The best way I can describe our equine labs would be to say that they are a lecture with a horse in the room. The DVM had a few students come up to the horse throughout and do something simple like feel for a pulse or palpate LNs or maybe pick up a hoof. We have labs where we shadow upper class students and I guess the expectation was for them to teach us basic animal handling, but that is not what occurred in those labs. I'm not certain how a University can rely on their students to be teaching other students rather than DVMs and technicians to ensure things are learned properly and with safety in mind.

Some of us had a basic equine handling task on their OSCE and while it was not difficult for me due to my pre-vet school experience, it was the first time I had ever performed it at my University. I know for other students in my class it was the first time they had ever performed it.

For our pre-clinical equine rotation day 1, a DVM was present and watched us halter, lead, and examine our horses, and handled misbehavior of the horses (e.g. attempted biting, kicking for hoof picking) as needed, but after that we were on our own with our horse (and our peers with their assigned horse) unless their was a concern with our horse. The DVM for this was absolutely a wonderful educator and I really could not say enough good things about her in particular, but it seems that the expectations for students was too high considering we never had labs to show that we individually knew how to properly and safely perform basic handling of a horse. I feel there is a major concern for the safety of not only my peers/future colleages, but also for our teaching horses to be left alone with students that have never handled a horse before (+/- fearful of horses) AND without direct supervision.

I am hesitant to bring this issue to my University, as I believe they may just state that we as students failed to properly prepare for this rotation. Hence why I was curious what other Universities provided as far as basic training and if it was standard to have these expectations for students.

 

[britzen]

We learn basic handling week one (halter, lead a horse, etc...) Everyone had to do each skill to be checked off in lab.

We progressed to doing full basic PEs at some point in the first semester. We also did ortho exams, repro exams, neuro exams, etc in following semesters. For every lab past first semester, each group had to do a PE on the horse before starting the lab. Labs were 4 students to a horse, plus one instructor supervising. Every student generally had to do every new skill in every lab at least once to leave (unless the horse was limited by animal welfare standards for fewer skill attempts in which case 1-2 students would do that skill while the group watched...)

I had very limited to no equine skills before starting vet school (had been on horses a few times in my life but that's it). I feel well prepared for basic physical exam stuff going into clinics because we did a basic physical exam every few months when we went to lab to learn different skills. Will need to review my notes for more specific stuff (like if I need to help do an ortho work up since I've only ever done those skills once on a live horse).