Telus Agriculture and Consumer Goods (formerly Feedlot Health Management Services) externships consist of a complementary blend of both field and classroom activities, depending on time of year, case load, etc. During the externship, the fourth-year veterinary student will participate in a program developed by the professional consulting team of veterinarians and PhD animal scientists at Telus Agriculture. The object of this program is to provide a focused, cutting edge, high-level student externship opportunity in a private veterinary business, which is an important real-world component for augmenting University-based veterinary curricula.
Instruction will be provided by the Telus Agriculture team of 40+ veterinary consultants and PhD animal scientists; field activities will occur at nearby client-owned commercial feedlot facilities. Classroom sessions provide background information on various topics pertaining to feedlot medicine, production, management, and business. Field activities compliment what is learned in the classroom and the student will be exposed to day-to-day feedlot operations, gain an improved understanding of the production system, and obtain hands on experience in performing selected animal health and veterinary procedures. Specific topics covered throughout the week may include:
Sick animal disease detection
Developing disease prevention strategies
Field necropsy techniques
Feedlot nutrition
Performance enhancement products
Feedlot epidemiology
Cow/calf consulting
Management of chronically ill animals
The business of producing beef
Data based decision making
The Feedlot Health business model
Animal welfare in the feedlot
Cattle procurement and marketing methods
The role of the veterinarian as a leader in the beef business
Employment as food animal veterinarian
The student will also have the opportunity to participate in targeted discussion sessions with Feedlot Health veterinarians, production consultants, and personnel, as well as feedlot personnel.
The externship is an intensive 7-day experience commencing on Sunday morning and concluding the following Saturday afternoon. The daily schedule follows this approximate format: breakfast activity at approximately 7 AM, a mix of targeted classroom and field activities, capped off with a 6:30 PM dinner lecture.
Housing is not provided for students participating in the Telus Agriculture feedlot rotation. Students are responsible for securing (and financing) their own housing arrangements for the duration of their experience at Telus Agriculture and Consumer Goods. Furthermore, all travel to/from the Telus Agriculture headquarters in Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, is the responsibility of the student.