VEM5321 - Integrating Veterinary Medicine with Shelter Systems

Course Description

Understand the critical role played by veterinarians in protecting the health and welfare of

sheltered dogs and cats and develop population wellness and management practices that

optimize their wellbeing and best outcomes. The course will use common real-world scenarios

to explore preventive healthcare, population medicine, infectious diseases, behavior, housing,

animal cruelty, spay/neuter, and careers in the Shelter Medicine. Students will earn Fear Free

Professional certification, a valuable credential and competency for clinical rotations.

Course Outline

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Use the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters and other literature as a guide for the practice of veterinary medicine in a shelter environment.
2. Develop population management practices that optimize animal wellbeing and best outcomes for homeless and sheltered animals.
3. Employ evidence-based medicine and best practices to develop cost-effective preventive healthcare, biosecurity, and public health measures.
4. Prioritize situational urgency and respond appropriately to common health threats and animal welfare issues. 
5. Analyze recent trends, issues, and epidemiology related to animal homelessness, and identify rational and culturally competent strategies to address these.
6. Apply key concepts crucial to the practice of Shelter Medicine, including the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, Fear Free principles, capacity for care, high-quality high-volume spay-neuter, and One Health.
7. Recognize and respond to evidence of neglect and abuse.
8. Monitor employment opportunities for veterinarians in Shelter Medicine and analyze the training and experience needed for career success.
9. Promote a healthy/positive work environment via the integration of factors such as time management, team leadership, workplace safety, and personal wellness to promote career satisfaction for the entire veterinary team.
10. Recognize longstanding inequities, lack of diversity, and bias in the animal welfare field and design protocols to improve inclusivity.
11. Adapt written and oral communication and leadership styles in interactions with shelter personnel and professional peers.
12. Earn the Fear Free Professional certification.

Learner Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Use the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters and other literature as a guide for the practice of veterinary medicine in a shelter environment.
2. Develop population management practices that optimize animal wellbeing and best outcomes for homeless and sheltered animals.
3. Employ evidence-based medicine and best practices to develop cost-effective preventive healthcare, biosecurity, and public health measures.
4. Prioritize situational urgency and respond appropriately to common health threats and animal welfare issues. 
5. Analyze recent trends, issues, and epidemiology related to animal homelessness, and identify rational and culturally competent strategies to address these.
6. Apply key concepts crucial to the practice of Shelter Medicine, including the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, Fear Free principles, capacity for care, high-quality high-volume spay-neuter, and One Health.
7. Recognize and respond to evidence of neglect and abuse.
8. Monitor employment opportunities for veterinarians in Shelter Medicine and analyze the training and experience needed for career success.
9. Promote a healthy/positive work environment via the integration of factors such as time management, team leadership, workplace safety, and personal wellness to promote career satisfaction for the entire veterinary team.
10. Recognize longstanding inequities, lack of diversity, and bias in the animal welfare field and design protocols to improve inclusivity.
11. Adapt written and oral communication and leadership styles in interactions with shelter personnel and professional peers.
12. Earn the Fear Free Professional certification.