Merial Shelter Program
University of Florida
Natalie Isaza, DVM
The Merial Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine, has been an elective clinical rotation for junior and senior veterinary students since August of 2003. During this time the program has undergone a number of changes, but through all of this has become one of the most popular and competitive clinical rotations offered by the college. Although it is an elective, more than 85% of veterinary students take the course.
From the beginning, it was recognized that veterinary students wanted and needed more opportunities for “hands on” learning before graduation from veterinary school. Specifically, students were interested in gaining experience in spay/neuter techniques, as well as medical management of the more common diseases and injuries that they may see in a small animal practice. The shelter setting offered a perfect environment to accomplish these goals, and with generous support from Merial, the shelter medicine rotation became a reality.
The shelter medicine clinical rotation moved from Alachua County Animal Services back to the veterinary school in August of 2004. As part of the clinical clerkship, students spend one day per week at Alachua County Animal Services, the county’s open admission shelter facility. There the students triage sick and injured animals, participate in daily rounds, and perform physical examinations on dogs and cats in preparation for adoption. In addition, the students participate in a weekly clinic for pets belonging to low income and homeless members of our community. In the St. Francis House Pet Care Clinic, the animals are vaccinated, dewormed, and provided with basic veterinary care. The students also perform spay and neuter surgeries at the veterinary college on these animals, because a pre-requisite for participation in the program is that all the pets be spayed or neutered. We believe this clinic has had a positive impact on our community and has helped control the birth of unwanted litters in Alachua County.
Surgical procedures are performed in the surgical suite of the veterinary academic building at the UF CVM. We work very closely with the local rescue groups, and the majority of the animals we spay or neuter have been rescued from the shelter by one of these organizations. We average 15-20 surgeries per day, three days per week at the veterinary school, and since August of 2004 the students have performed over 10,000 elective surgical procedures. The students not only perform the surgeries, they are also responsible for all anesthetic monitoring and pre-and post-operative care of their patients. This gives them “real world” experience in what small animal veterinarians do every day in practice.
The shelter medicine elective at UF is constantly changing, and we continually update our program to meet the needs of our students and the local rescue groups that rely on our services to keep their animals healthy. It is anticipated that the program will continue to evolve, while still teaching the basic skills our students need to be successful veterinarians.