Standard 4: Clinical Resources

Standard 4 graphic concept

To provide exposure to a diversity of species and cases in different settings in order to practice and master entry level clinical and non-technical veterinary skills.

Key Measures

  • Normal and diseased animals of various domestic and exotic species must be available for instructional purposes
  • A diverse and sufficient number of patients during on-campus and off-campus clinical activities for students' clinical educational experience
  • The program must be able to demonstrate that the clinical resources are sufficient to achieve the stated educational goals and mission

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Strengths

  • The caseload is diverse across the major companion animals and livestock species
  • Students receive clinical training in the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center (LVMC), Veterinary Field Services, Iowa Veterinary Specialties, Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL), Veterinary Pathology Services, and a variety of preceptorship opportunities
  • Across all patient species there has been an overall 11% increase in clinical patient visits at the LVMC since 2018

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Weaknesses

  • The growth in clinical cases in the LVMC has been primarily in specialty areas
  • Exposure to exotic animal cases has decreased
  • Food animal and equine ambulatory caseload has decreased in recent years due to urbanization of service areas

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Future Plans

  • Evaluating innovative solutions to provide additional primary care experiences for students
  • Providing additional exotic animal clinical case exposure for interested students using alternative learning experiences and through preceptorships
  • Ambulatory service is offering more services to non-traditional and niche livestock producers