Amy Alexander, DVM: 11/4/13
-Fields within veterinary medicine, similar to fields in medicine
 Theriogenology- reproduction
 Zoo
 Surgery
 Sports medicine
 Radiology
 Preventative medicine
 Pathology
 Opthamalogy
 Etc…
-Zoo Medicine: jack of all trades, master of none- preventative medicine, nutritional
diseases, dentistry, foot care, emergency medicine, surgery, palliative care, captive
breeding, invertebrates…
-Case 1: Ajali- 16 year-old female girl in Colorado: “Learning to Walk with Glue-On
Shoes”
 Accidental breeding- many health issues
 Both claws on hooves of giraffe should be symmetrical
 Overgrown hooves and dermatitis
 After month of training, able to take hoof x-rays
o Showed that bones not at same angle and fracture present in hoof
o “Moth eaten”- bone infection
o Conclusion: pain meds and antibiotics enough
 Initial management: pain meds, antibiotics, hoof trims, laser therapy
 New treatment plan: training, consult, logistics, stall preparations
o Created a padded stall using mattresses that were filled with sand
o Immobilization day- required 5 vets, farriers, EMTS…
o Anesthesia: Med, Ket, But: pain medication, relaxation drug
o Needed farrier to be able to work on all 4 feet- used brute strength to move
all 4 feet
o Issue with giraffe anesthesia: neck and back spasms- one person must
massage during the entire time
o Intubation using a garden hose (stylet) to place endotracheal tube
o Feel auricular pulse (ear pulse)
o Farrier trims hooves and places cement shoes: goal- lift hooves off ground
for 6-8 weeks to decrease pressure and let the feet heel
o Also perform, dental floats (grind teeth down) and x-rays
 Also had large dental cavity (human disease: not usually observed
in animals)
o Re-position for recovery
 When giraffes get up, them must rock up and lunge forward
 Glue-on shoes has been done with other species
-Case 2: Chobe, the Sulcatta Tortoise: “Fracture Management”
 Pounced on by giraffe: fracture just missed spine
 Shell= bone: living tissue broken
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Isoflourane- anesthetic gas used to anesthetize
1st step: wound cleaning and stabilization- need to be careful that not placing fluid
in lung; placed wires to prevent shells from falling
 However, wires eventually broke and shells shattered- mended with zip ties,
superglue, and baking soda as wound dressing
 Contaminated wound management: wounds cleaned out daily and used vacuumassisted wound closure- lifts soft tissue to help it flush
 Had to add an esophagostomy tube (tube to stomach) to try ensure receiving food
 Elevate fractures using a roll bar
 After 8 months, scar tissue had formed and covered fractures with closed bone
cement; keeper painted cement to make shell match
-Field Work in Madagascar
 Recently worked on lemurs in partnership with St. Louis Zoo
 Propithecus Diadema- not found in captivity
 Working in capital of Madagascar, extreme poverty
 One of the biggest threats of lemurs is deforestation to make room for rice patties
 Goal- trying to find out overall health of different species of lemurs (Black and
White Ruff Lemurs, Indri- biggest lemurs today, Brown Lemurs)
 Use teolozol used to dart animals- immediate drug, very safe, wears off quickly
on own
 Collecting blood, monitoring genetics, placing collar, collecting feces
o Some lemurs released by St. Louis Zoo in this region in 1980s: want to
know if they reproduced
o Are primates getting parasites from dogs? Use feces to monitor
-Veterinary schools
 Some International schools (accredited)
Ross University, St. George’s University: Caribbean
St. Mathew’s University: Cayman Islands
 New vet schools coming:
o Arizona- Midwestern University, University of Arizona
o Tennessee: Lincoln Memorial University
o May be one in Buffalo, NY (pharmaceutical company trying to open)
 28 vet schools on continental US
-Admissions (according to AVMA)
 Grades- do not need to be perfect!
 Prerequisites
 Majors- major in anything you want; you do not need to be a biology major; study
what you want as long as you do the prerequisites
 Experience- seek them out in whatever part of veterinary medicine you are
interested in
o Volunteer
o Technician
o Research Lab
 Leadership skills
 Communication skills
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Letters of Recommendation
Standardized Test: GRE
Have FUN!
If you do not get in: ask admissions committees what your weakness were and
why you did not get accept
-During veterinary school- how to get into specialty you are interested in:
 Clubs
 Specialized coursework
 Research projects
 Externships- during 3rd or 4th year: spend a set number of weeks at different
institutions
o Dr. Alexander went to Australia
o Use to work at clinic you want to eventually work at
 Conferences- never too early to attend (this includes undergraduates)
 Memberships
-After vet school, become a zoo vet by internship:
 1 year of intensive medicine and surgery
 Small or large animal
 Academic or private institution
o Ex: Private- VSS in Manchester
 Rotate through numerous specialties and long hours of emergency work
 Find internship using “The Match”: Veterinary Internship and Residency
Matching Program
o Rank programs in terms of preferences and institutions determine their top
preferences of students
-Specialty internship (difficult to get a residency right away)
 Private zoo or aquaria; academia; private practice; 1-2 years
 Find on Match, AAZV.org, AZA.org
-Residency:
 3-4 years
 Private practice
 Academia
 Private zoo or aquaria
 Expected to write 5 publications during residency
 Take a 2 day test
 When done, board certified in zoological medicine
-Overview: what was presented is a classic approach, remember there are always other
ways to get there
-Best parts of veterinary medicine:
Get to do all parts of medicine
Easy to switch track
Lots of improvisation- extrapolate from what you know: cat--> lion