Our students are the backbone of the Wildlife Medical Clinic. We have a team of over 100 volunteers each year that work in the clinic, all of whom are veterinary and undergraduate students! We have two student managers and 24 team leaders who share responsibility for leading our six teams of students. We collectively care for around 1,000 animals during the school year! The Wildlife Medical Clinic plays a big part in each student’s educational journey and provides valuable hands-on clinical skills to each student.
Our managers work directly with our zoological medicine faculty and house officers. Together, they coordinate any procedures or treatments and cohesively provide support to our students. Our team leaders and managers complete multiple training sessions over the summer to prepare for a successful year in the clinic. The managers mentor each of our students, with a special focus on guiding our team leaders. The managers hold monthly team leader trainings throughout the school year to refine their skills and knowledge. They also keep the clinic running smoothly by stocking the clinic, cleaning, and ordering any supplies needed. Chloe Dupleix, our senior student manager says, “WMC is the best part of vet school for me, and I enjoy working together with other students!”
Our team leaders play one of the most important roles in the clinic. Each of our teams is collectively managed and overseen by four student team leaders. In this role, our students mentor each of the 16-18 students on their team, training our volunteers to work independently in the clinic while strengthening everyone’s communication and team building skills along the way. They take over cases as primary and show each team member how to manage a case. Teaching is one of the most important parts of the clinic and being a team leader allows these students to teach and share their knowledge. The motto in the clinic is “watch one, do one, teach one” and this is so that each student gets to be a part of each phase of the learning process. Haley Kenyon, one of our second-year team leaders says “It is very rewarding to help students grow in confidence and in their knowledge and clinical skills in the clinic!”
Our student volunteers are critical to our program. These students show up to the clinic every single day to provide to treatments to our patients that are hospitalized. We also have an orphan feeding team that feeds any babies in the clinic five times a day and provides any treatments as well. We also have a triage team on call every day from 7am until 8pm. The triage team receives any patients that come to our clinic during the days (weekday or weekends!) and stabilizes them for treatment. The students that volunteer in our clinic love getting to apply the knowledge they learn from class with each case and patient.
Overall, each student that works within the Wildlife Medical Clinic has a huge impact on the animals we care for, the people they work with, and our community. Each role is critical to maintaining the clinic and providing the best possible care to our patients. The faculty and house officers are so important to teaching and leading our students to be the best veterinarians they can be. The Wildlife Medical Clinic is an exceptional place to learn and grow as future veterinarians!
Written by Danielle Money, Class of 2024
