Arizona Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Center (AVECCC) is offering clinical externships for veterinary students interested in pursuing experience in small animal emergency and critical care medicine.
Externs have the opportunity to work alongside a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care (DACVECC), experienced emergency clinicians and current interns. Together they will provide supervision of the extern while on emergency and/or ICU shifts. Externs have the opportunity to participate in daily cage-side rounds (7 days a week, including holidays) with a DACVECC and/or ECC resident present. Additional time is given for the opportunity to participate in weekly didactics (journal club, weekly topic seminars, morbidity & mortality rounds, etc).
Externs are encouraged to be involved in cases and perform and interpret diagnostics alongside their mentoring veterinarian. If opportunity allows, students are encouraged to scrub in and assist with surgery and other procedures as deemed appropriate by the mentoring veterinarian. We have extensive diagnostic and treatment capabilities including an in-house laboratory (CBC, biochemistry, blood gases, coagulation analyzer), basic and advanced monitoring equipment (direct/indirect arterial BP, ETCO2, CVP, ECG, pulse oximetry), mechanical ventilator (both anesthetic and long-term ventilator), dialysis machine for total plasma exhange, defibrillator, digital radiography, ultrasound, echocardiography, CT, MRI, stereotactic radiation and endoscopy.
AVECCC offers additional learning opportunities, as we have access to board-certified specialists in surgery, internal medicine, cardiology, ophthalmology, oncology, dermatology, radiology and dentistry. Our emergency doctors perform a variety of surgeries and manage complex medicine and critical cases. Doctors have twice daily cageside rounds, which provide the opportunity for externs to learn and ask questions about case management. Some of our most common surgical emergencies include GDV’s, dystocias, pyometras, foreign bodies (gastrotomy and enterotomy), hemoabdomen, and bite wound explore/repair. Other common emergencies include blocked cats, diabetic ketoacidosis, pancreatitis, anemia, trauma, toxicities, heat stroke, and rattlesnake envenomation
Institutional Resources:
Brandi Mattison (Garcia), DVM, DACVECC (Medical Director)
Educational Resources:
There is access to full library of current veterinary books at all four clinics, as well as on-line access to VIN and a variety of veterinary journals. There is an active AVECCC rotating internship program. Externs have access to weekly intern-focused continuing education seminars and journal book club, which are typically held at the Gilbert location.
Responsibilities Expected of Participating Students:
Students are expected to take initiative and have a sincere interest in emergency medicine. They will shadow staff veterinarians and follow incoming and hospitalized cases. They may also scrub into surgery and gain experience with interpretation of bloodwork and radiographs. It is also expected that the extern pitch in and help with cleaning, organizing and restraint.
Shifts can be days, nights or mid-shifts depending on student availability. Typically it will consist of 3 12-hour shifts/week or 4 10-hour shifts/week. Didactic rounds every Wednesday where the extern can participate in patient discussions.