Care First Animal Hospital, NC

Description of Elective Experience: 

Care First Animal Hospital is a full service veterinary hospital with focus on customer service, client education, and clinical excellence.  Comprised of four locations, each of the 17 veterinarians is encouraged to pursue their passion in veterinary medicine and develop a niche within the team of doctors.  As a result of this synergy and collaboration, Care First Animal Hospital is well respected within the veterinary community for clinical excellence.  Bi-weekly rounds give clients more than a second opinion, but rather, many opinions.  For continuity of care, the group includes a 24 hour emergency practice that also serves exotics.  The practice is well equipped with ultrasound, endoscopy, laparoscopic surgery, and laser therapy.  The pet physical therapy department includes an underwater treadmill and offers acupuncture as well as adjustments.  

Care First Animal Hospital is active in community service and provides over 1/4 million dollars in veterinary services to the SPCA of Wake County annually, in addition to serving numerous area rescue groups.  One of our partners leads our community outreach to Second Chance that enables hundreds of stray cats to be spayed/neutered at Care First annually.  The experience is a collaboration between North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine students, Second Chance, and Care First that provides spay/neuter experience to the students and reduces the over pet population in Wake County.  The surgery experience gives students the opportunity to perform laparoscopic spays.

The flagship location is undergoing a re-building project on two adjacent lots next to the original structure, and will be the first Passiv Haus animal hospital in the United States.  Passiv Haus technology enables energy savings of up to 85-90% and provides a healthier, more comfortable, and sustainable environment in which to work.  

Raleigh, NC is the capitol of NC, and is the home of North Carolina State University.  The "Triangle" area encompasses Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.  Nestled within the Triangle is the Research Triangle Park that houses the area's research and development firms.  With the medical schools, veterinary school, universities, and Research Triangle Park, the area boasts more PhD's per capita than any other area within the U.S.  

North Carolina is a lovely state that enjoys four seasons with mild winters.  Raleigh is two hours away from the coast and three hours away from the mountains.  Quality of life is abundant in the area, as Raleigh, NC is continually voted as one of the top places to live.   

Institutional and Educational Resources - staffing, equipment, etc.: 

North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine is ten minutes away from Care First Animal Hospital.  North Carolina State University is within walking distance of one Care First Animal Hospital location.  

Our founding veterinarian, Dr. Joe Gordon, is an NCSUCVM award winning Distinguished Alum that also served on the foundation for the veterinary school.  Together with the founding administrator, Debbie Gordon, they created Farm to Philanthropy, a $3 million endowment dedicated to make a NCSU education accessible to rural students and enable future students to graduate debt free. 

The team of doctors comprises 17 compassionate veterinarians committed to clinical excellence.  The Customer Service Technicians efficiently and effectively serve the veterinarians to free up the veterinarian's time to focus on diagnosing.  The transcription department efficiently transcribes the day's patient medical records that are dictated following each patient visit.  The Care First resource group provides leadership and supportive services such as accounting, marketing, and IT.

The practice is well equipped with in-house laboratory, laparoscopic surgery, ultrasound, digital X ray, laser, and endoscopy, and has a pet physical therapy department, as well as 24 hour emergency service.

Student Responsibilities - what is expected of students in terms of hours, days of the week, shadowing or actual support?: 

Surrounded by a team of veterinarians that enjoys mentoring eager students, our visiting students spend up to 5 days a week 7:00am - 6:00pm shadowing and participating in appointments, hospitalized cases, out patient care, emergency, and surgery.  Students are actively engaged in bi-weekly rounds, weekly staff training, and bi-monthly continuing education opportunities.  

Blessed by continuous practice growth, Debbie Gordon is eager to speak to students interested in becoming the next Care First Animal Hospital veterinarian, and she can be reached at 919-523-0441.  

Student Housing (include costs, amenities, pet friendly, contact info if different from elective contact info): 

While student housing is not promised, because we are located within a university town, housing opportunities are abundant.  

Supervisor: 
Medical: Dr. Joe Gordon & Dr. Page Wages; Administrative: Debbie Gordon
Website: 
www.CareFirstAnimalHospital.com
Address: 
1216 Oberlin Road
none
Raleigh, NC 27608
United States
Animal Type: 
Practice or Institution Type: 
Is student housing available?: 
No
Hours of supervision by a licensed veterinarian per week: 
Up to 5 days per week and up to 10 hours a day.