A veterinary teaching hospital educates future veterinarians and provides hands-on opportunities to gain skills in a hospital setting. Clinical experience is a core part of veterinary education, and veterinary teaching hospitals provide students, interns and residents with basic and specialized skills. In these learning environments, a veterinary clinic is a classroom. In addition, veterinary teaching hospitals often offer various services for small and large animals, exotic animals, wildlife and livestock.
Most veterinary teaching hospitals offer routine check-ups. Therefore, students at veterinary teaching hospitals can typically expect to observe and participate in routine clinical examinations, diagnosis, treatment options, and follow-up. By studying under the guidance of a board-certified veterinarian, veterinarians and future veterinarians develop confidence in their abilities. In addition, veterinary teaching hospitals provide veterinary services to the communities and provide rich learning opportunities in patient care for future veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
In addition, the clinics refer many patients to teaching hospitals for specialized care. The National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America (NAVTA) offers12 professional credentialswhich veterinary technicians can certify in areas such as animal behavior, anesthesia, oncology or dentistry. Most credentials require 1,000 to 10,000 hours of personal experience as a prerequisite for exam eligibility, which veterinary technicians can earn through experience at a veterinary teaching hospital. Check out our guideHow to become a veterinary technicianfor more information on certification requirements.
In short, learning at a veterinary teaching hospital is a great way to develop skills working with different species of animals in clinical or specialty care settings. Read on for a detailed list of 15 great veterinary teaching hospitals.
City :Urbana
Condition :Illinois
Located in Urbana, IL, this University Hospital is a full fledged hospital offering services for animals ranging from pets to exotic animals and livestock to horses. Students work alongside professionals, many board certified, and certified veterinary technicians. This gives them the opportunity to gain skills in numerous specialties ranging from anesthesiology and pain management to imaging, ophthalmology, surgery, reproduction and more.
More than a dozen disciplines are available through the university hospital. Experienced veterinary students typically conduct initial admissions of patients and then discuss the results with a veterinarian to determine the best course of action and follow-up care.
City :starke Collins
Condition :Colorado
Located in Fort Collins, CO, this teaching hospital allows students to expand their professional skills to assist in the treatment of animals large and small. You can also learn about general horse and livestock care through available hospital programs. The hospital offers equine field services, typically staffed by two vets and an intern, as well as equine sports medicine.
In addition, juniors and seniors are able to participate in the hospital's outpatient milk service program, which includes weekly first aid visits to cows and calves on dairy farms and currently has four rotating dairy farms. Additional services and learning opportunities range from emergency care to cardiology, dentistry, oncology, neurology and more, all available at the small animal clinic.
City :Schwarzsburg
Condition :Virginia
Located in Blacksburg, VA on the Virginia Tech University campus, this school was founded in 1978 and is the state vet school for students living in Virginia or Maryland. The school offers service hospitals for small and large animals and an equine service program that provides farm and hospital care. This operates within a 35 mile radius of the Blacksburg area providing primary, emergency and preventive care to horses in a farm setting. In fact, more than 79,000 animals are treated annually through the school's hospitals and field service program.
The hospital also offers many other services, from equine acupuncture and ultrasound to inpatient and outpatient diagnostic imaging, providing many opportunities for veterinary students to immerse themselves in animal care.
City :Athens
Condition :Georgia
“Supporting Georgian agriculture, one herd at a time” is a keyword for this teaching hospital, which offers an opportunity to be part of a production medicine team and to monitor and improve the health of dairy cows and cows in the region. But that is not all; Students can also gain hands-on experience through the more than 25,000 small and large animal visits that take place at the hospital each year and by working under the supervision of board-certified specialists.
The hospital moved to a new location in 2015 and now offers state-of-the-art equipment, including a 64-slice CT scanner and a 3T open-hole MRI, which may interest students interested in learning more about these technologies. In addition, there are more than 25 specialties provided through the hospital, which offers emergency services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
City :West-Lafayette
Condition :Indiana
Students gaining experience at this West Lafayette, IN teaching hospital can work under the supervision of physicians trained in areas such as anesthesia, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, oncology, and more. Treatment is provided through the group practice, which is specifically available to county and campus staff and students, and through the school's small and large veterinary clinics, where providing compassionate care is a priority.
Fourth-year veterinary students at the hospital can take medical histories, perform physical exams on new patients, and work with physicians to create appropriate diagnostic plans. Emergency care is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in addition to diagnostic referral treatment.
City :Pullmann
Condition :Washington
At this Pullman, WA teaching hospital, veterinary students and fourth-year interns, residents and graduate students work alongside clinical professionals to provide animal patients with the best care and treatment.
Students at this hospital, which opened its doors in 1996, can become acquainted with various technologies, including CT scans, endoscopy, MRI, radiation therapy and more, and acquire knowledge in specialties such as cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, pharmacy and radiology. . In fact, the hospital offers more than 15 specialized service areas ranging from clinical pathology to oncology.
City :Stab rojo
Condition :Louisiana
Students earning veterinary skills at this Baton Rouge, Louisiana hospital work under the direction of board-certified specialists in anesthesiology, cardiology, internal medicine, oncology, total hip replacements and more. Students can attend events ranging from spaying day to animal emergency boot camps and ultrasound workshops, and can even participate in the school's Shelter Medicine program, which aims to help unwanted animals living in shelters in southern Louisiana.
Two classes related to animal shelters have even been included in the school's veterinary program, and zoological services, livestock services, and wildlife care are also available.
City :knoxville
Condition :Tennessee
Knowledge, compassion and discovery are key elements of care at this Knoxville, TN veterinary center. As a student, you can learn and discover how to care for small animals, horses or even livestock at any of the four animal clinics. If that's not enough, there's even an avian, exotic and zoo hospital and the opportunity to work under the direction of board-certified specialists.
Additionally, seniors often begin adopting small animals by finding out a pet or animal's history, conducting a physical exam, and then speaking with trained veterinarians about treatment options.
City :Raleigh
Condition :North Carolina
Whether it's learning how to handle small animals, livestock, horses, or more, this Raleigh, NC veterinary clinic offers many different learning opportunities.
There are more than 17 board-certified specialists on staff who direct animal care and three veterinary learning facilities, including a service animal medical center, equine and livestock medical center, and veterinary health and welfare center. There are 30 examination rooms and 10 operating rooms in the pet center alone, providing students with many opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills.
City :colon
Condition :Ohio
Students who receive veterinary training at this Columbus, Ohio veterinary center learn to perform routine and specialized animal care and become part of a general care system that treats more than 35,000 animals each year. Cutting-edge technology is important for learning, as is the opportunity to acquire specialized skills in areas such as cardiology, gastroenterology, urology, reproductive science and more.
In addition to treating pets, students may have the opportunity to work with various farm animals or even service animals such as police dogs and guide dogs.
City :north of Grafton
Condition :Massachusetts
Tufts University Animal Hospital in North Grafton, MA offers an approach that goes beyond simply treating animals and helps nurture entire families. Student learning opportunities include a small veterinary clinic, a large veterinary clinic, an outpatient service, and a spay/neuter clinic. It also offers "Tufts at Tech," whose goal is to provide affordable basic and preventative care for pets in the area. Internships for veterinary technicians and assistants are offered every summer.
City :university station
Condition :Texas
With a hospital for small and large animals, this veterinary curriculum in College Station, Texas allows students to learn how to care for dogs, cats, birds, horses, cattle, goats and more. The university hospital, founded in 1915, has a caseload of more than 24,000 animals per year.
The school, the state's only veterinary teaching hospital, employs many board-certified teachers in their fields and can help pass their knowledge on to students. In addition, a pet care center offers opportunities to ensure care for the rest of a pet's life.
City :Ithaca
Condition :NY
Located in Ithaca, NY, this veterinary teaching hospital offers students the opportunity to work under the direction of board-certified veterinarians and apply cutting-edge approaches. Care facilities include a pet facility, equine hospital, livestock hospital, all three serving as inpatient facilities, as well as a wildlife health center and outpatient medical services for production.
The Wildlife Center allows students to work with injured or rescued animals, including owls, while the Ambulatory Services allow them to develop skills in routine and emergency animal care on farms within 25 to 30 miles of Ithaca.
City :Philadelphia
Condition :Pennsylvania
This veterinary clinic ranks as one of the busiest in the country, processing more than 30,000 small animal visits annually, about a third of which are emergencies. This Philadelphia, PA hospital also allows students to work with exotic animals such as amphibians, birds, and reptiles.
The school also has a large animal clinic in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which oversees the care of about 4,000 animals a year, most of which treat horses. However, a field service program also allows students to study on local farms, especially since the school treats around 36,000 animal patients annually through outreach.
City :Davis
Condition :California
The University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is ranked #1 nationallyUS News and World Report. Provides state-of-the-art veterinary care in world-class facilities. This hospital is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and partners with two other satellite campuses in the UC system in San Diego and Tulare.
This veterinary clinic offers services for small and exotic animals, equine/livestock, laboratory, appointments and referrals. In addition, an on-site veterinary pharmacy is available for unique drug preparations and a 24/7 emergency clinic.