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Residency Program in Small Animal Emergency Medicine and Critical Care

ER

 

Residency Program in Small Animal Emergency Medicine and Critical Care

This is a 36-month, postdoctoral, non-degree clinical training program. The program meets all the requirements of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and prepares the resident for examination for diplomate status. The UC Davis ECC faculty are committed to providing a supportive, highly mentored training program. Didactic rounds and weekly journal clubs are organized and led by ECC specialists. DACVECC specialists are on the floor working alongside residents daily. We have 8 residents and 4 emergency interns, and we prioritize House Officer welfare. We provide guaranteed time off including 11 or more off-clinics weeks annually.

Objectives of the program:

The main objective of our program is to train individuals to be excellent emergency and critical care clinicians. We focus on the development of critical thinking skills, help our trainees acquire an in-depth knowledge base, and encourage life-long learning skills. The program provides experience and expertise in clinical teaching and guidance in the area of research. Our Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is an approved Residency Training Facility for the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and the residency program meets all the requirements for board eligibility.

The need for specific training:

The UC Davis Small Animal ECC residency training program emphasizes the importance of understanding physiology and provides an intensive didactic resident rounds course. Our high caseload of complex cases exposes the residents to a broad variety of conditions with ample opportunity to participate in cutting edge veterinary medicine. This program prepares individuals to be highly competent in stabilization and management of the emergency patient as well as be capable of providing high level critical care. Particular strengths of our program include training in respiratory medicine, mechanical ventilation, physiology of hemostasis, and hemodynamic stabilization. It is excellent training for future academicians as well as private practitioners. This program does not provide extensive surgical training beyond that required for board credentials.

Course of activities:

Approximately 60% of the residency is clinical duty in the emergency room or intensive care unit, and approximately 80% of this time is under the direct supervision of an emergency and critical care specialist. Residents have case-based interactions with specialists in diagnostic imaging, surgery, cardiology, neurology and neurosurgery, anesthesia, oncology, renal medicine and hemodialysis, internal medicine, dentistry and oral surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology, nutrition, clinical pathology, and anatomic pathology. Approximately 15% of the residency is spent in non-ECC specialty rotations as required by the ACVECC. Residents are on weeknight call approximately 30% of the time and on ICU weekend duty for 25 to 30 weekends of the 3-year period. Protected off-clinics time is provided for preparation and completion of a research project, attending scientific meetings, and vacation. The remaining 25% of the residency is professional development time for study, preparation and completion of a research project, attending scientific meetings, and vacation.

Clinic duty on the emergency service includes primary assessment, management, and treatment of primary, secondary (referral), and tertiary referral emergency cases. The majority are weekday or swing receiving shifts under the direct supervision of an ACVECC Diplomate with approximately 6–8 weeks/year of overnight and weekend shifts included in the schedule. Residents are responsible for client communications, referring veterinarian communications, and timely maintenance of high-quality medical records. Clinic duty when working in the ICU includes examination and evaluation of ICU patients, consulting with students and clinicians of other services regarding patient management, and performing procedures including advanced catheter placement and care of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation.

A primary aim of this residency program is to provide a high level of academic instruction. Resident rounds are held weekly for 10 months / year; residents are required to complete assigned reading and participate in these sessions. In addition, journal club is held weekly and residents are required to read the assigned article and to contribute to the discussion. Residents do at least two didactic lecture presentations annually including E/CC grand rounds, house officer rounds, and student club events, which easily fulfill the ACVECC requirement for didactic teaching.

Residents in our program participate in clinical and didactic student and specialty intern teaching. Residents also participate in teaching veterinary student laboratories. Performance of a research project is required for ACVECC board certification and to attain the UC Davis E/CC residency certificate. Residents will be guided and assisted through all stages of development of a research project including project design, grant writing, data generation, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and abstract presentation.

Structure and organization:

Day clinic duty starts at 7:00 am, though exact start time is determined by case requirements. The ER receiving day ends at 5:30 pm but residents are responsible for completing their own patient assessments, diagnostic tests, and institution of treatment before leaving the building. The ICU day is finished at ~6:00 pm or when all patients are adequately stabilized. Dedicated faculty members are on duty in both the emergency room and the ICU all day on weekdays. During after-hours, there is a board-certified E/CC specialist on call at all times for phone or in-person consultation. The majority of case management and student teaching is performed under direct supervision of a faculty member.

Residents share office space. There is access to numerous shared computer terminals throughout the hospital and an extensive library of relevant hard copy and digital textbooks is readily available. The University has full online access to many medical resources including PubMed, Cab Abstracts and Web of Science. The facilities and resources for research opportunities are extensive.

ACVECC Diplomates participating in the program: Jamie Burkitt, Steve Epstein, Kate Farrell, Sabrina Hoehne, Kate Hopper, Karl Jandrey, and Helen Philp.

Process of evaluation:

Residents receive 4 formal evaluations (written and verbal) during the residency program at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months. More frequent evaluations may be performed as needed. If resident performance is considered inadequate they will receive written letters of warning describing the concerns and what is required to rectify them and in what time frame. If these performance issues are severe the resident will be informed that failure to improve could result in termination from the program. If the performance of the resident fails to improve despite two or more of these warnings the resident may be dismissed.

Certification:

Successful completion of a minimum of 45 weeks of clinical duty in emergency receiving and 40 weeks of clinical duty in the ICU, participation in rotations with other services as required by ACVECC, and completion of a research project at UC Davis during the residency period are required in order to be awarded a residency certificate.

State Licensure:

SPECIAL NOTE: The California Veterinary Medical Board requires all veterinarians working at the University of California, Davis with primary patient care duties to hold a full California license or a University veterinary license. To obtain a University veterinary license, veterinarians who are not licensed in the state of California will be required to take a short open-book jurisprudence test, in addition to being background checked. The cost of obtaining the one of these veterinary licenses will be the responsibility of the trainee. The University license only permits individuals to work in California as veterinarians for University-related practice.

Advanced degree during residency:

None

California Driver's License:

Not required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • Graduated from a college or school of veterinary medicine accredited by the AVMA; or possess a certificate issued by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG); or are legally qualified to practice veterinary medicine in some state, province, territory, or possession of the United States, Canada, or other country.
  • Have demonstrated unquestionable moral character and professional behavior.
  • One year rotating internship or equivalent mentored practice experience.

Requirements for foreign applicants:

In addition to the minimum qualifications above, foreign graduates must also meet the following requirement.

  • Candidates should be US citizens, US permanent residents, or foreign nationals eligible for a J1 scholar visa (and at the time of application not be subject to holds, bars or in-country rules) or Canadian/ Mexican citizens eligible for a TN visa. We will NOT pursue other visa categories. Candidates will be expected to pay for their visa fees. The offer of a residency may be withdrawn if written evidence of a visa is not provided by July 1, 2024.
     Information for Foreign Applicants

Service/Board requirements:

Certifications
TOEFL – No but encouraged
NAVLE – No
PAVE - No
ECFVG - No
OTHER - No

Selections will be made in accordance with the guidelines of the Veterinary Internship/Residency Matching Program. For application procedures, salary and benefits, and other information about the residency program, please see General Information.

Application: Zoom or Skype interview is required for consideration and is by invitation only. One-day visits can be arranged for invited candidates during VIRMP season. Applicants selected for interview will be contacted by Dr. Jamie Burkitt (jmburkitt@ucdavis.edu) or another UCD ECC faculty member by email..

The University of California, Davis, and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are interested in candidates who are committed to the highest standards of scholarship and professional activities, and to the development of a campus climate that supports equality and diversity.

RESIDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO ARRIVE AT THE HOSPITAL WITHIN 20 MINUTES OF AN EMERGENCY CALL; THEREFORE, RESIDENTS SHOULD PLAN TO LIVE WITHIN REASONABLE DISTANCE OF THE HOSPITAL.