This externship opportunity is available to current veterinary students who have an interest in laboratory animal medicine. Externs will have the opportunity to shadow members of the department, including the current veterinary residents, veterinary technicians, faculty, and staff as appropriate. During clinical rounds, externs will have the opportunity to see and participate in the care of various species including mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, sheep, calves, swine, and zebrafish. Externs will have the opportunity to participate in the hands-on training program where they will learn rodent handling skills and other techniques such as blood collection and injection methods, anesthesia, surgery, breeding management, euthanasia, and necropsy. Externs may have the opportunity to attend the monthly IACUC meeting and join resident didactic courses. Virtual learning modules are available to enhance the learning experience. Externs will be given a project or topic and will be required to give a presentation to members of the department at the end of the rotation.
The Department of Comparative Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine supports the biomedical research mission of the college by managing the animal resource program on campus. This AAALAC-accredited animal resource program provides care and support for approximately 15,000 animals housed in two centralized facilities and one satellite facility. The Department also offers a 3-year laboratory animal medicine training program, which is recognized by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM). This training program is for veterinarians who desire to specialize in laboratory animal medicine.
The Department consists of 5 faculty clinical veterinarians that are board-certified by ACLAM, 4 veterinary residents enrolled in the laboratory animal medicine training program, 3 veterinary technicians, a program manager, and 14 full-time animal care technicians.
While on-campus, students will be provided a workspace and will have accessibility to many of the available resources to support their learning.
Students must participate daily, Mondays through Fridays, excluding holidays. The work hours are typically 8 AM - 5 PM. At the start of the externship, students will be given a schedule that coordinates all activities.