VETM803A

041337

The Clinical Skills coursework (VM 803A, 803B, 803C, and 803D) represents four consecutive semesters of primarily experiential learning designed to create and build upon a foundation of core knowledge and techniques that are essential to the practice of veterinary medicine. Students will gain proficiency in safety of handling and restraint and will make use of their understanding of animal behavior and welfare to observe, approach, and examine canine, feline, bovine, and equine patients. Live animals will augment the use of non-animal teaching tools and simulators to practice minimally invasive techniques that facilitate diagnosis. This hands-on approach to learning will be fully integrated with the systems-based curriculum so that, for instance, when students are mapping the structure and function of the heart in anatomy and physiology, they will be practicing how to auscult the heart and palpate femoral pulses in the Clinical Skills laboratory. Key skills that will be emphasized include, but are not limited to, physical examination, diagnostic sample collection (i.e. blood, urine, feces, and tissue), clinical pathology (complete blood counts, chemistry profiles, urine and fecal analysis), intravenous catheterization and fluid therapy, surgical instrument and tissue handling, aseptic technique and sterile prep, suturing, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Skills will be taught using a layered approach, such that the complexity of the skills that are introduced and ultimately assessed build upon one another and advance in difficulty throughout the curriculum. Students who complete this series of courses will be well prepared for VM 818 Advanced Professional and Clinical Skills, which culminates in Sophomore Surgery.

PNP - Pass/Fail

Veterinary Medicine