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