Course Descriptions

Year 4 | Core Courses

DVM 8480 Small Animal Medicine and Surgery (4-week block; 4 credits). Consists of supervised clinical instruction in a selected, pre-approved, high quality practice, focusing on small animal species; primarily canine and feline. Students will see a wide variety of medical and surgical cases and are active participants in their diagnostic and therapeutic management, to include; preventative care, dentistry, medical case work up and management, and clinical surgical procedures. Students are involved in the preparation and management of medical cases and surgeries along with follow up and client interaction under the supervision of veterinarians and staff and have access to subject matter expertise. Students are also active in comprehensive medical recordkeeping and retrieval in formats specific to the practice. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.

DVM 8400 Equine Medicine and Surgery (4-week block; 4 credits). Consists of supervised clinical instruction in a selected, pre-approved, high quality practice, focusing on equine. Students will see a wide variety of equine cases in the clinic and ambulatory format and will be active participants in their diagnostic and therapeutic management, to include; preventative care, dentistry, medical case workup and management, emergency, sports medicine, and clinical and field surgical procedures. Students are involved in the preparation and management of medical cases and surgeries along with follow up and client interaction under the supervision of veterinarians and staff and have access to subject matter expertise. Students are also active in comprehensive medical recordkeeping and retrieval in formats specific to the practice. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.

DVM 8490 Food Animal Medicine and Surgery (4-week block; 4 credits). Consists of supervised clinical instruction in a selected, pre-approved, high quality practice, focusing on food animal species, primarily beef and dairy cattle. Students will see a variety of food animal cases in the clinic, in the field and in consultative settings. Areas of diagnostic and therapeutic management to include; herd health evaluation & management including reproduction, population health evaluation, treatment and problem-solving strategies, emergency case management, and individual case medical and surgical management. Students are involved in the work-up, assessment, and recommendations in the consultative setting and are involved in the preparation and management of medical and surgical cases in individualized patient settings; along with follow up and client interaction under the supervision of veterinarians and staff. Students will have access to subject matter expertise and are also active in comprehensive medical recordkeeping and retrieval in formats specific to the practice. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.

DVM 8250 Diagnostic Pathology (2-week block; 2 credits). Consists of a combination of in-house, state diagnostic, and outside reference laboratories along with in-field clinical instruction by subject-matter experts in necropsy of various vertebrate animal species with emphasis on domesticated animals. There will be application of diagnostic procedures and techniques in anatomic and clinical pathology; case-based, problem-oriented approaches to diagnostic problem solving utilizing current SVM teaching labs and referral cases and prepared materials that illustrate the aspects of disease mechanisms, pathogenesis, tissue changes, and factors needed for accurate diagnoses. Students will learn concepts, pathogenesis, and gross, microscopic, and ultrastructural changes associated with general pathology: cell injury and death, tissue mineralization, tissue pigmentation, disturbances of tissue growth, disturbances of circulation, and inflammation; recognition of gross, microscopic, and ultrastructural tissue changes and pathogenesis. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.

DVM 8151 Diagnostic Imaging (2-week block; 2 credit). Consists of supervised clinical instruction in a selected, pre-approved, high quality diagnostic imaging facility, approved radiology course programming, or SVM faculty moderated diagnostic imaging training. Within the context of the diagnostic imaging facility, students will be supervised by subject matter experts in diagnostic imaging as a variety of cases are evaluated. This will include, Digital X-ray, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound, CT, MRI, and Nuclear Scintigraphy. Animal species will be both large (primarily equine), and small animal. The diagnostic imaging clinical affiliate facility houses 4 boarded radiologists. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.

DVM 8210 Clinical Assessment, Orientation, and NAVLE (8 weeks; 2 credits). Required Course where reasoning and assessment is offered three times during the clinical year; once in the fall semester, once in the spring semester and a final year assessment, (after rotations are completed and prior to commencement). Students will return to the TTU-SVM campus for a debriefing and assessment of their clinical year experiences and will be assessed on learned clinical skills and professional development. Fall and spring assessment periods will have students participating in grand rounds, providing feedback on programmatic improvement and participating in remediation, if necessary. Clinical year orientation will occur one week prior to the first rotational block. The NAVLE Administration (4 weeks) will occur in this course during the fall. Students will prepare and sit for the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE®). Students will conduct independent studies and review in order to prepare for the NAVLE® by completing ~80% of an approved NAVLE prep course. Students will take the NAVLE® at the location that they applied for during the summer June-August application window. Students will return for a final assessment week and will share clinical year experiences with peers and faculty. Responsibilities during this week will include; completing various surveys, addressing financial aid separation, debt repayment methods and commencement celebration. Prerequisite: successful completion of pre-clinical course work, clinical year standing.