The student will join in the daily work of the V.E.T. Net NGO. The organization is an educational NGO that seeks to improve the knowledge and skills of national veterinarians. As such, the primary goal will be an exchange of knowledge rather than a chance to perform many procedures. It is important to us to impart knowledge and skills that will be clinically useful here rather than teaching the way things are done in the USA, many of which cannot be practically applied in the local context and could potentially lead to discouragement of local veterinarians. We will seek to use the interest of the student to guide the specifics of how he/she will be involved, but the general format will likely include involvement in 2 main areas. One will spend some time at a small animal clinic run by the NGO. Here the student will work in a setting that is similar to rural practices in the USA, but it is actually one of (if not the most) advanced clinics in the country. The rest of the time will be spent working with an intern program comprised of recent graduates. The student will be able to interact and learn about the local culture from their peers here and will also take part in both preparing and listening to lectures as well as participation in hands on labs. Depending on what is needed/occurring, it is also possible that the student can participate in some large animal house calls as well.
Staffing: the student will be working with 4 veterinarians from the USA as well as 14 veterinarians from Mongolia. There is a total of about 70 national workers ranging from veterinarians, to teachers, to accounts, drivers, and administrators.
Equipment available: Radiograph, ultrasound, tonometry, ECG, Isoflurane anesthesia, Biochemistry machine, Manual CBC, basic surgical instruments
Textbooks in general medicine and surgery are available on site; however, they are not all the most current versions. There is also access to VIN.
The work day is technically from 8AM to 4:30PM M-F. However, this is not a Western culture, so the student needs to be flexible on time. They can work with the international vets, but we would also like to see an effort made to interact and support the national vets (language barrier will obviously limit this somewhat). A rough schedule will be made available upon arrival; however, this is always subject to change. Weekends are usually used to try to allow for some local exploration/tourist type museums/shows.
The student will be in an apartment with indoor plumbing. However, it is possible that the student will visit locations that do not have this capability and should be prepared to use an outhouse. They will be housed with another student for most of the stay. Meals and lodging were included in the cost of the trip; however, it is recommended to bring extra cash for snacks, site-seeing, and souvenirs.