Clinical Rotation in Shelter Medicine (VTMED 6623)
Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program
Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine
08.12.12
This clinical rotation exposes clinical year veterinary students to the principles and practice of shelter
medicine in a shelter setting. While the bulk of clinical time is spent providing direct care to individual
shelter animals, there will be a focus on introducing students to the population-level principles of
shelter medicine. Topics include but are not limited to infectious disease diagnosis, treatment, and
management; shelter wellness protocols; high-quality, high-volume spay-neuter; shelter data
management; sanitation and disinfection; population and capacity planning; and shelter facility design.
Other aspects may be covered depending on shelter activities at the time. The daily schedule will
include clinical work, daily shelter rounds, and daily topic rounds.
Clinical details:
Phone numbers, meeting times, etc, can be found at the link below. Students will be met by a member
of the program just before 10am on day one of the rotation near the coffee cart in the atrium, and
move to a meeting room upstairs.
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/clinsci/view.asp?cnum=6623
Schedule:
The shelter medicine service keeps a public google calendar for the rotation, as the schedule changes
from day to day, and we work within the college and within local shelters. This calendar can be
accessed at
https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=8582ots9afunh1ck3k0ng8175c%40group.calendar.goo
gle.com&ctz=America/New_York.
Although every attempt is made to keep this up to date, students are encouraged to check it daily, and
to ask questions as needed.
Required Readings/ Webinar:
DiGangi, B. The first 60 minutes: animal sheltering’s critical hour.
http://www.maddiesfund.org/Resource_Library/The_First_60_Minutes.html
There is an on-line quiz at the rotation website that must be completed prior to the end of the
rotation.
Humane Alliance. Seminars in Spay/Neuter: Pediatrics. Available at
http://humanealliance.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=247
Go to E-Learning, then Medical, then Surgery, and choose spay/neuter and tattoo videos.
Newbury, S et al. Guidelines for standards of care in animal shelters. ASV 2010.
http://www.sheltervet.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=29
Other journal articles, rounds topics, and readings will be assigned based on activities of the week.
Other Resources: Copies of these books are available in the core resource library, behind the reserve
desk, in the CPS library, and in the Shelter Medicine lending library in S1-064. You are expected to
reference these sources when preparing your presentations or in case management.
Hurley K, Miller, L. Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters. Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Miller, L. Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff. Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell, 2004.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the two week clinical rotation, students should meet several benchmarks. Students
should be able to
1. Quantify the magnitude of pet surplus
2. Describe strategies for pet population control with an emphasis on prevention
3. Describe the roles of animal shelters in a community
4. Compare/contrast different types of shelters (adoption guarantee, traditional, animal
control)
5. Compare/contrast shelters in various communities (rural, urban)
6. Discuss the role of veterinarians in community shelters
7. Detail basic wellness protocols for animal shelters (medical and behavioral)
8. Perform all elements of a standard intake exam on a healthy cat or dog, including but not
limited to vaccination, diagnostic testing and establishing of a problem list
9. For ill individual animals, examine, diagnose, and create appropriate treatment plans for ill
animals taking into account shelter resources and staff
10. Discuss disease control strategies and outbreak management in shelters for the most
common infectious diseases, including but not limited to URI, parvovirus, and ringworm.
11. Discuss the veterinarian’s role in recognizing and reporting animal abuse/cruelty
12. Clarify the day-to-day operations of an animal shelter from open to close
13. Discuss euthanasia policies, procedures, and issues, with an emphasis on decreasing its use
as a mechanism of population control
14. Describe protocols and methods used in high quality, high volume spay/neuter programs,
and participate in at least one day of HQHV clinic operations
15. Recite requirements on veterinarians in prescribing medications and controlled substances,
including handling and use in the animal shelter
16. Demonstrate the ability to use shelter software for basic medical record entry and explain
why collecting data is important for shelters
17. Compare/contrast the use of various agents in sanitation and disinfection, with the
advantages and disadvantages of each.
Evaluation
Students will receive a letter grade for this rotation unless they are externs from other schools that
require a P/F grade.
Requirements include a completed on-line quiz, a 10-minute presentation for shelter staff training,
active contributions to rounds discussions, and clinical activity in the shelter setting.
Students will be assessed on clinical skills, including restraint and technical procedures; clinical problem
solving, as evidenced by the ability to provide differentials and make diagnostic decisions; and
professional communication skills. An example evaluation is attached. Please note that rotation
evaluations are under review at the college, and this form may be changing.
Input for evaluation and grading will be collected from faculty, shelter staff and shelter medicine
interns, and will be considered in the final evaluation of student performance.
Clinical Rotation in Shelter Medicine Evaluation
Student Clinical Performance Assessment
Date ___________________
Faculty evaluating _____________________________________
Student Name_________________________________
Exceptional
Patient care
Demonstrated compassion for
patients
Able to restrain patients humanely
but effectively
Physical exam
Demonstrated a complete PE
Identified abnormalities as present
Completed in timely fashion
Communication skills
Assessed and summarized history
Asked relevant questions of shelter
staff and faculty
Presented cases to others in concise,
professional manner
Case Management
Timely mgt of physical exam and
diagnostics
Organization of materials
Implementation of follow-up
Evidence of critical thinking
Formulated problem & differential list
Created reasonable treatment plan
Applied learned information to new
situation or case
Medical records
Clear concise records
Communication of follow up
Technical skills
Venipuncture
Vaccination
Catheter placement
Ligation
Motivation and attitude
Performed well under stress
Reliable task completion
Eagerness to learn
Organized and able to prioritize
Assisted others
Comments:
DVM Class________
Proficient
Competent
Borderline
Successful
Unsuccessful