STUDENT EXPERIENCE: Schwarzman Animal Medical Center

Submitted by Chauntelle Dozier, Ross University

I spent 80 hours of my externship at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in the upper east side of New York City between January 1st, 2024 to January 14th, 2024. Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC) is a Level 1 Veterinary Trauma center in New York City and the world’s largest non-profit animal hospital. AMC has over 20 different specialties under one roof including: neurology, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, dentistry, radiology, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, surgery and more.

During my time at the Animal Medical Center, I did my externship in the ER and ICU department. Over these two weeks, I was able to observe the fast-paced emergency medicine alongside being mentored by 7 criticalists, 8 ER veterinarians, ECC residents and rotating interns. Although the majority of my externship was observation due to the legality of things, I was able shadow the many different levels of veterinarians and be apart of difficult conversations and history gathering from clients, initial triage exams for critical and non-critical patients and see what stabilization looks like, observed CPR being performed, discussing differential, diagnostics and treatments for cases/illnesses, POCUS (point-of-care-ultrasound) training, listened in on ICU (Intensive Care Unit) rounds, observing emergency procedures (pericardiocentesis, thoracocentesis, abdominocentesis, unblocking a male cat, and an emergency proptosis repair: i.e placing the eye back in place and doing a temporary tarsorrhaphy), being apart of quality of life conversations, being included in neurology, surgery and cardiology consultations, and observing a wide variety of exotics in the emergency room including: Chinchillas, birds, hamsters, rabbits, and guinea pigs. On top of observing a majority of cases, I was able to perform my own physical exam, neurologic and orthopedic exams on certain patients, auscultate cases that are in respiratory distress or have cardiac disease to appreciate the degree of disease, practice using the ultrasound probe on patients doing POCUS training, performing rectal exams on patients with rectal masses present, making and interpreting blood smears, making and interpreting cytology slide exams taken from masses, being apart of interpreting blood work and radiographs, and answering and asking questions with the veterinarians that I shadowed.

With the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center being a Level 1 Veterinary Trauma Center in NYC, it serves as a referral hospital to the surrounding emergency and general practice hospitals. I was able to observe the amount of phone calls for referrals that AMC ER would get on the daily alongside the recommendations/consultations that the criticalists and the ER doctors would have with other veterinarians about referring cases.

During my two weeks at AMC, I mostly shadowed the rotating interns and I personally got to work with Dr. Lauren Saunders, DVM (ER Doctor) the most. One of the most valuable, repetitive and important conversations we discussed was whether or not to do a traditional rotating internship after vet school. I expressed that I want to do emergency medicine after my time in veterinary school is done. The conversations that I had with the interns, residents and ER doctors in pursuing a rotating internship is invaluable. The knowledge and experience gained through a rotating internship is unmatched as a majority of your time will be in emergency (~50% or more depending on the speciality you would to pursue), and the rest of your time will be spent rotating through other specialties such as oncology, medicine, radiology, neurology, ophthalmology, and cardiology.

Overall, throughout my externship experience, I learned so much just by observing. Some of the most important things I learned was what a triage exam includes and becoming more comfortable as to what a stable vs. unstable patient looks like, and becoming more comfortable with POCUS (point-of-care-ultrasound) training and acknowledging and identifying what we are looking for via ultrasound on an emergency basis and identifying organs, fluid accumulation, abnormal/suspicious areas, and mass-effects. I appreciate and I am grateful for all of the kennel workers, PCAs, technicians, interns, residents, emergency doctors and criticalists at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center for taking part in furthering my medical knowledge. I have always been interested in emergency medicine but never worked in an emergency clinic or setting prior to veterinary school and having this externship opportunity solidified my path towards emergency medicine in my future.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE: GREECE

Submitted by Valentina Poggi, University of Illinois (via IVEC)

"My name is Valentina Poggi and I am a fourth year student at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. I am honored to have been chosen for an International Veterinary Experience Scholarship and would love to share with you my phenomenal experience learning veterinary medicine abroad. This past month I had the unique opportunity to attend an international externship in Rhodes, Greece for two weeks. This experience was primarily focused on shelter medicine. During the first week, I spent a majority of my time in the clinic under the supervision of Board Certified Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgeon, Dr. Clara Moran and a Board Certified Shelter Veterinarian, Dr. Loukia Agapis. My team and I were able to spay and neuter nearly 60 feral cats that were brought to us through the local capture and release program our first week in Greece. In addition to fine tuning my surgical skills I also had the opportunity to learn about the miller’s knot and I was also able to incorporate it into my routine spay procedures. In addition to the feral feline spays and neuters, I was also able to see and help with a lip commissure to eyelid transposition for repair of a feline eyelid agenesis, a canine cystotomy, a kitten evisceration repair, a chicken cloacal prolapse, and even a brachiocephalic obstructive airway surgery. The variety of surgeries I was able to witness and help with on this international experience was incredible. In addition to improving my surgical technique, I also had the opportunity to help with a suspect parvo case. This experience increased my confidence in my skills and also allowed me an opportunity to grow as a doctor. Working as the primary surgeon or clinician on my own cases allowed me to put my knowledge to the test and really allowed me to expand my knowledge. It also reminded me that asking for help and advice is something I should be prepared to do as a future practitioner. Additionally, I was forced to learn not only how to practice veterinary medicine in a different country with different expectations, language barriers, cultural customs, and different supplies. Learning about the supply constraints in Greece and working with financial constraints associated with shelter medicine was something I had not been exposed to yet. From this experience I was able to witness firsthand how the feral feline population is constantly growing in Greece. Being in Greece and helping with the capture and release program allowed me to be able to make a small dent in helping with population control and hence the welfare of these animals. 

The second week of my externship I spent at the Rhodes Animal Welfare Municipal Shelter. Greece in addition to having a large stray feline population the country also has a large stay dog population. To give you an idea of the extent, the shelter I visited was originally created to house 70 dogs but currently the shelter has nearly 300 dogs. This shelter is attempting to accommodate as many dogs as they possibly can to help alleviate any potential animal suffering. At the shelter I was able to learn from a board certified shelter veterinarian, Dr. Loukia Agapis, the importance of shelter rounds and how to appropriately screen both the dogs and their environment both effectively and efficiently. As veterinarians we take an oath – “Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge. I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.” This international experience reminded me of the oath I will shortly be taking this coming May. It reminded me that regardless of what country we as veterinarians practice in we all must live this oath. During shelter rounds, I was able to assess the animal health and welfare of nearly every kennel in the shelter. In addition to the animal health and welfare I assessed things like the cleanliness, drainage, as well as the safety of the animal’s enclosure. Thinking in this mindset reminded me the importance of assessing more than just the physical health of an animal. I also was able to practice my ability to triage patients in order to determine what order we should see each patient during our week at the shelter. Having this experience opened my eyes that there is more than one way to practice veterinary medicine and reminded me how important giving back to the local community is."

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Submitted by Joanna Itrich, North Carolina State University

"In April 2023, I traveled to Glossop, England to participate in an externship at the Ashdale Veterinary Centre. I truly loved every minute of my experience. From the welcoming people and many sweet patients, to the wonderful views, I regret that I was only able to stay a week, but I am looking forward to going back! I met the owner of the clinic at the VMX conference in Florida and after talking, she invited me to come see her clinic. Our brief encounter at VMX was followed by a year of planning and emailing back and forth, but I am so happy I was finally able to go! 

Glossop is a little, old town about 25 kilometers from Manchester. The town itself is lovely and full of old English architecture and history. There is evidence that the Romans arrived there in 78 AD. The town is on the very edge of the Peak District National Park – an English gem. Every day after the clinic closed, I was able to go hiking around the wonderful area and explore the English culture. English law allows for crossing private lands by foot if you will not disturb the environment – these types of trails are called “public footpaths.” I had the opportunity to try their traditional dishes like black pudding and drink their famous beers. Each day was an adventure! I spoked with the locals and they directed me to the hidden gems in the area. This part of England is well known for raising sheep and April is a lambing season, so I was able to see many adorable babies. Additionally, Manchester was easily accessible by a 30 minute train ride. I was able to visit Manchester one night, which also has many fun things to do and see. I was in awe of the diverse architecture, which highlighted all eras of English history. I am originally from Poland and Glossop was able to make me feel a lot closer to home than any other place that I have visited recently.

Ashdale Veterinary Centre is a cozy general practice located right in the middle of town. Everything was walkable and my hotel was located about 2 minutes walk from the clinic. All the clinicians were super welcoming and happy to teach. They asked me what I wanted to improve in and we worked on my goals together. 

This clinic also sees exotic species, which was very interesting and taught me so much! I was able to become familiar with drugs that are not approved in the US, which is helpful because I am considering going back to Europe after graduation. Furthermore, I learned a lot of different procedures and techniques that are rarely used back in the United State, like hand tying feline neuter or flank feline spay and was able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both. It was very interesting to see and learn about different techniques approaching the same problem. It also seemed like this part of England did not have a lot of mixed breed dogs, therefore, knowing breed predispositions were very handy! Every day I gained critical thinking skills and hands-on experience. 

Overall, this was an unforgettable experience. I was able to connect two of my passions, veterinary medicine and travelling. This experience also showed me that traveling alone to different countries is possible and can be safe if you take the time to plan and prepare beforehand. Furthermore, this experience helped me to see that my dreams are possible, I just need to work hard for it."

PHOTOGRAPHY

Submitted by Janelle Thomas, Washington State University

"Oahu from the Sky"

PHOTOGRAPHY

Submitted by Christine Wright, North Carolina State University

"Glacial"