Q. Is the primary care experience the right fit for your clinic?

Primary care is the initial and ongoing care of domestic species by a veterinarian. To meet the primary care experience requirements, eligible small animal, mixed animal and large animal practices must focus on:

• emergent and/or common animal health conditions
• general surgical procedures
• preventive medicine and general case management

The clinic’s primary case load, as seen by students, may not include more than 10 per cent referral cases under supervision of a board-certified veterinarian.

Q. What doesn’t fit the primary care experience?

• Discipline-specific specialty clinician supervision
• Emergency-only centres

Q. What do I have to do before hosting a primary care experience?  

All primary supervisors must complete mandatory training that will include information on evaluation expectations, injury reporting and other items as required by the AVMA (the college’s accrediting body). The WCVM will also conduct periodic in-person visits to host practices and required annual visits (done virtually).

Q. What do I gain as a host?

By hosting students at your clinic, you’re helping all WCVM students gain diverse clinical experience that will better prepare them for private practice. In turn, your involvement in student training helps to enhance the overall quality of animal health care that’s available to western Canadian animal owners. Your actions directly contribute to the future of your profession.

Participating as a host also allows you to meet veterinary students at a critical point in their education when most are still seeking career opportunities — potentially at your veterinary clinic!

Another bonus: all WCVM rotation and externship hosts have access to University of Saskatchewan library resources (including online research publications) while hosting students.

Q. Does the WCVM offer other training options for veterinary clinics?

Yes! In addition to the four-week primary care experience, veterinary clinics can become involved in senior veterinary student training through the college’s external rotations and externships.

Contact the WCVM for more details about all clinical year engagement opportunities, and we can help you find the best fit for your practice!

Q. Sounds like a great program. How do I sign up? 

The WCVM associate dean clinical programs or a WCVM student may have already contacted you about participating in the primary care experience. If not, please contact us for more details about this exciting new learning experience!