VTMED 6621 - Introduction to Small Animal Orthopedics

Fall, spring, summer. 2 credits. S–U grades only.

Prerequisites: UVIS training; ability to perform physical examination through Block VIIA laboratory; permission of instructor. No expertise necessary in orthopedics.

R. Todhunter.

This distribution will allow students early in the curriculum early exposure to small-animal clinical orthopedic practice. Students will shadow the senior students for the first week until they and the supervising faculty are sure they can function more independently. Students will perform activities expected of a senior DVM student whose primary responsibility is patient care, through which they learn how to prevent, diagnose, and treat clinical orthopedic disease. History taking, physical and orthopedic exams, radiography, laboratory testing, diagnosis, and options for treatment will be learned. Students will participate in rounds, scrub into surgery, administer post-operative care, learn the SOAP format for patient management; discuss patient care with owners; become facile with electronic UVIS records; and write discharge instructions and review them with owners and discharge patients.