Offsite Electives

The overall goal of the clerkship program is to provide senior veterinary students with significant appreciation of the roles and opportunities for veterinarians in biomedical research and laboratory animal medicine.

Specifically, students will:

1. Acquire knowledge and skills relating to the practice of clinical laboratory animal medicine in commonly utilized research species, including mice, rats, rabbits, fish, frogs, dogs, and non-human primates.
2. Obtain experience in anatomic pathology and the correlation of clinical findings and clinical pathology, with gross and microscopic changes.
3. Gain an appreciation of the specific regulations governing the use of animals in biomedical research, teaching, and testing.
4. Acquire an appreciation of the roles of veterinarians in managing and directing the care and husbandry of laboratory animals in academia and industry.
5. Acquire an appreciation of the roles of veterinarians in training principal investigators (PIs), research technicians, and animal care staff in the proper care and the use of laboratory animals in biomedical research.

Program Activities

1. DCM Veterinary Services clinical unit:
   • Shadow veterinarians and veterinary technicians as they examine and treat clinical cases within DCM vivariums.Emphasis will be on diagnosis, treatment, and management of common laboratory animal diseases and research complications.
   • Observe and assist veterinarians and veterinary technicians prepare, anesthetize, and monitor research animals during selected experimental animal surgeries.
   • Learn restraint, sexing, anesthesia, venipuncture, administration of medication, and euthanasia of common laboratory animal species. Information will be obtained from autotutorials, formal animal use training sessions (AUTS), and experience with clinical cases.
   • Participate in daily phone rounds, weekly clinical rounds, and bi-weekly joint clinical/pathology rounds.
2. DCM Aquatic Animal Medicine:
   • Meet with aquatic animal specialist Dr. George Sanders, DVM, MS.
   • Shadow Dr. Sanders on aquatic animal rounds at the UW.
   • Potentially shadow Dr. Sanders during visits to the Seattle Aquarium and/or Woodland Park Zoo.
3.  Veterinary Pathology:
   • Meet with Dr. Piper Treuting DVM, MS or Dr. Jessica Snyder DVM, MSto discuss the Anatomic Pathology Unit operations and staff, rotational goals, role of pathology in biomedical research.
   • Attend diagnostic necropsies as they are performed. Assist pathologists performing necropsies to gain experience in comparative pathology.
   • Optional attendance at the AFIP (Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) Thursday afternoon microscope sessions.
4. National Primate Research Center (WNPRC):
   • Meet with Melinda Young (Occupational Health Nurse) and Dr. Keith Vogel (Clinical Veterinarian).
   • Learn about the operations of the WNPRC.
   • Shadow veterinarians, veterinary residents, and veterinary technicians to learn about the nonhuman primate medicine, pathology, environmental enrichment, and research.
5. DCM Transgenic Resources Unit
   • Meet with Warren Ladiges DVM, MS (Transgenic Laboratory Manager) to discuss the goals and functions of the Transgenic Resources Laboratory.
   • Shadow transgenic research scientists in the tissue culture lab and review ES cell culture and gene targeting (“Knockout”) mouse technology.
   • Shadow transgenic research scientists to learn how a transgenic mouse colony is set up, observe embryo harvests, pronuclear and/or ES cell injections, and the surgical re-implantations of the injected embryo
6. DCM Rodent Health Monitoring
   • Meet with Dr. Susan Dowling DVM to discuss the goals of the rodent health monitoring program.
   • Shadow DCM staff during testing of rodent colonies for pathogens.
   • Attend “Specific Pathogen Free” facility orientations to learn standard procedures for maintaining animal housing facilities free of pathogen free
7. DCM Gnotobiotic Animal Core (GNAC)
   • Meet with Dr. Charlie Hsu, VMD, PhD to discuss the concepts of gnotobiology, maintenance of gnotobiotic mice, and research applications of gnotobiotic mice.
   • Visit the GNAC animal facility to learn about how germ-free mice are created, maintained, and used in experimental study.
   • Potentially shadow GNAC staff during husbandry and/or experimental procedures in the GNAC.
8. UW Office of Animal Welfare
   • Meet with Dr. Michelle Newman DVM, IACUC Review Scientist
   • Discuss the basics of USDA and NIH Animal Use Regulations.
   • Learn about the functions of the UW Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the requirements for obtaining approval for research involving animals at the UW.
9. Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
   • Meet with Dr. Rajesh Uthamanthil DVM, PhD (Director of Animal Resources) and/or Dr. Michelle , to learn about the FHCRC and Animal Resources Program.
   • Learn about the canine bone marrow transplant program.
   • Tour the FHCRC and viviarium
10. Local Biotechnology company
    • Meeting with Dr. Kim Waggie, DVM, PhD
    • Learn about the roles of laboratory animal veterinarians in the biotech industry.
    • Tour the viviarium.
11. Didactic learning
    • ACLAM CD of basic laboratory animal medicine
    • Weekly ACLAM board review, Thursday noon (optional)
    • Weekly Research/Pathology Conference 1:30-2:30
    • Weekly Clinical Conference/Lit Review 2:30-3:30
    • Animal Use Training Sessions (AUTS) classes (Specific Pathogen Free, Mouse, Rat, UW Rules and Regulations, etc)
    • UW Animal Facility orientations (K-wing, Foege).
12. Student presentation
    • At the end of the Clerkship, students will give an informal 30-40 minute presentation on a clinical case, selected topic in laboratory animal medicine, or research project which interested them during their 4 week rotation.

Mixed animal practice focused on too quality medicine, surgery, herd health, and reproductive practices

During our lambing period.  Working with Research Sheep.  All hands-on experience.  Will do necropsies and needed medical help for lambs and ewes. We have a veterinarian here during this period of time for guidenance as needed.

VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital (VCA HAH) provides externships to multiple students annually.  Ideally these are a maximum of two weeks.  The program is designed for the self-guided individual.  This is an opportunity for the extern to get out what they put in.  We are here to guide and facilitate in the externs education and we take it quite seriously.  The student is given freedom of the entire clinical and surgical facility and it us up to that individual to self design their day.  Our multiple veterinarians enjoy the assistance of the extern and in return are very willing to discuss their cases and treatment plans.  Students are given the authority to enter any exam room with the practitioner.  Most of our guests spend time in the mornings assisting the associate veterinarians in th exam room endeavors.  The more in-depth surgeries are performed at or shortly after the noon hour with the extern as a second set of hands.  The afternoon is again in the exam room.  Over-night and Sunday emergencies are common at VCA HAH and many students spend one or more shifts assisting during those hours.  General office hours are from 7:30AM until 7:00 PM with a staff doctor present throughout the night.  The digital radiology reports are an excellent additional method of training for both positioning technique and the following of radiologist interpretation in conjunction with the case chart.  We are very proud of our laboratory and the four technicians in there.  They are always willing to assist and train in slide preparation and cytology reading.