RAVS FIELD SERVICES SPAY/NEUTER AND WELLNESS

Course overview

Rural Area Veterinary Services program provides opportunities for veterinarians and veterinary technicians to engage in community based cooperative learning programs in spay and neuter and small animal medical outreach services. The didactic objective for graduate veterinarians is conveyance and demonstration of current standards of care and techniques for delivery of spay and neuter services, as well as community health management and access to care in underserved populations, through community outreach and direct care field clinics. As our program is based on cooperative learning utilizing veterinary students, graduate veterinarian participants also receive instruction in teaching and clinical mentorship of veterinary students and recent graduates. All participating veterinary professionals will have the opportunity to participate in the practical application of the skills and techniques covered during the service component of the program. For veterinary technicians the didactic objective is to thoroughly familiarize the veterinary technician with current standards of care and techniques for providing spay and neuter and general small animal medical services in a field clinic setting. Topics include evaluation of a patient husbandry and medical needs at admission, client communication, preventative wellness care, pre anesthesia and presurgical evaluation, anesthetic risk management, anesthetic induction, monitoring and recovery. Veterinary technicians will also learn about barriers to care in underserved populations and gain experience in teaching and mentorship of veterinary students and veterinary technician students.