The University of Georgia (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has begun work to expand its Pet Health Center, putting a public face on an internal transformation of the way veterinary students are prepared for careers in general practice.
The UGA CVM is grateful for the $5.2 million grant from The Stanton Foundation that will allow additional faculty to offer more hands-on learning experiences to students in a community-centered setting. That focus will continue through all 4 years of the DVM curriculum and will include simulated client interactions role-played by fellow students enrolled in UGA’s Department of Theater and Film Studies.
With 2 more faculty members and 5,000 square feet of additional space, the expanded Pet Health Center will allow students to gain the skill and confidence to perform primary health care that meets the financial, emotional, physical, and cultural needs of their clients.
“The kind of cases we see here (at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital) are not that common in veterinary practice. You get a disproportionate idea of the prevalence of diseases, and so that can influence your clinical reasoning when you’re out in practice,” says Dr. Jo Smith, associate professor in Small Animal Internal Medicine. “There’s an old saying that says when you hear hooves think horses not zebras. We see a lot of zebras here, and so another emphasis of Spectrum of Care is trying to increase the exposure to primary practice cases. That is certainly behind the initiative to remodel the Pet Health Center.”
Dr. Sara Gonzalez, clinical associate professor of Community Practice, currently oversees three-week clinical rotations for fourth-year DVM students at the Pet Health Center. She says that “students are the primary contact points for our clients and patients, stepping into the role of the doctor with our support during their three-week rotation. They practice hands-on, clinical reasoning, and communication skills with their cases, and we emphasize Spectrum of Care topics in our case rounds and discussions.”
An architect’s rendering of the exterior of the Spectrum of Care Clinic presented by Flad Architects and Piedmont Construction Group.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 262, 10; 10.2460/javma.24.07.0491
Financial concerns leap first to mind when Spectrum of Care is discussed, and teaching students how to determine those limitations is part of a communications component built into the new curriculum.
Dr. Andrew Parks, associate dean of Academic Affairs, said instruction has always emphasized how to diagnose and treat problems. “But we have seldom dwelled,” he says, “on the relative merits of cost, culture, physical limitations, and outcomes. And we need to emphasize obtaining an understanding of what our clients’ real needs are. So, in other words, that comes first, understanding our clients’ real needs, and then knowing all the options, and then being able to put it in a framework that clients can understand and make the best choices for them and their animals.”
