1. Why did you decide to become a team leader for the Wildlife Medical Clinic?
Greta Doden (2nd Year Veterinary Student): After working as one of the summer interns, I wanted to continue my involvement in making treatment and diagnostic decisions with our wildlife patients. Previous team leaders told me they had more learning experiences and more chances to practice their clinical skills than when they were normal volunteers. I am also passionate about helping wildlife patients that don’t have an owner to advocate for them and I hope to become a zoo animal veterinarian in the future.
2. How is being a team leader different from being a normal volunteer?
Aubrey Engel (2nd Year Veterinary Student): As a team leader, I feel more involved in the diagnostics and decision-making process for each of our patients. I have to fully understand all the differentials, diagnostics, and treatments in order to teach the rest of the members on my team, rather than just following what I was told as a team member.
3. What is your favorite part about being a team leader?
Kyle Christensen (3rd Year Veterinary Student): Honestly, I think my favorite part of being a team leader is being able to help introduce people to wildlife medicine and a lot of the basics of veterinary medicine as a whole. Guiding someone through placing their first IV catheter in a bird or performing their first fundic exam and so on is really gratifying and helps reinforce a lot of the clinical skills and understanding that will be essential for both of us as we start our careers.
4. What kind of extra training do you undergo at team leader training?
Greta Doden: At team leader training, we delve deeper into various medical and surgical rounds topics and occasionally participate in wet labs. For example, I have learned more about interpreting blood values and blood smears, as well as how to repair fractures during our orthopedic wet lab.
5. What is your favorite experience from team leader training?
Sophie Turner (3rd Year Veterinary Student): Of course, the avian orthopedics wet lab is my favorite! I have also really enjoyed a blood work wet lab (the more blood smears you make the better you get!) and learned a lot on a few wound management lectures, which are super important given the amount of trauma cases that come into the WMC.
