Companion Exotic Animal Medicine & Surgery Service

• Companion Exotic Animal Medicine & Surgery Service Home
• Wellness Service
• Parrot Wellness Service
• Aquatic Animal Health
• Clinical Activities and Procedures
• Our Team
• Residency Program
• News / Patient Stories
• Fact Sheets / Brochures / Newsletters
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Small Animal Services Home
• Small Animal Clinic (530) 752-1393

Zoological Companion Animals - ACZM Residency Program

Objectives

• To provide advanced training of the broadest scope in companion avian, small exotic mammal, herpetological and aquatic animal medicine.
• To provide clinical teaching experience.
• To provide limited experience in the design and implementation of an investigative project in a clinically related area.
• To provide experience in manuscript writing and publication.
• To work with board certified faculty and to prepare residents for board certification in the American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM)

Justification

Non-domestic species, whether in a zoological institution or a companion animal situation, are becoming increasingly popular and familiar to the average animal owner. Commensurate with the captive situation is the need for informed and appropriate medical care to prevent and to treat disease. As traditional veterinary medical education only briefly examines zoological companion animal husbandry, anatomy, and physiology, a training program designed for graduate veterinarians to specialize in and to advance the field of companion avian and exotic animal medicine via research and clinical practice is needed. From a larger perspective, through active and informed medicine, the service also affords a valuable consulting resource for the veterinary medical community. In addition, by improving the health and reproductive fitness of imported animals and their progeny, the program can help to reduce further importation for the pet trade. Finally, the residency serves the public interest by the creation of a peer-trained and examined specialist who offers an advanced standard of medical care complementary to the current demands of either a zoological institution or private ownership. At completion of the program, graduates should be well prepared for clinical academic positions or for practice.

Qualifications Required of Applicants

Applicants must have a DVM, VMD or equivalent degree and completion of a one-year internship or comparable post-graduate training is preferred. Practice experience is considered in lieu of formal internship training. Please note: Foreign nationals must be eligible for either a TN or J1 visa with no bars or home country requirement.

Duration

The duration of the residency program is 3 years. Renewal for the second and third years will be contingent upon satisfactory performance. The resident may be able to continue in a Master's or PhD program in an area of interest following completion of the residency. Funding for such a program will have to be secured through extramural grant requests and is not part of residency funding.

General Scope and Nature of the Training

1. First Year Program

• The resident is allocated two days of paid vacation per month. Vacation is scheduled by the chief of service.
• The clinical portion of the service includes 7 months on the Companion Exotics/Aquatic Animal Health Service which involves a primary care and referral service for zoological companion animals and injured wildlife, fish health service, and weekly visits to the Micke Grove Zoo and the California Raptor Center. Additionally the resident spends 1 month at the Sacramento Zoo.
• 1.5 months are reserved for development of a research proposal and grant and for research. This allocation of time is subject to change depending on the needs of the service.
• Professional development time (approximately 1 month) is provided to allow the resident time to complete projects and prepare for specialty board examinations.
• Residents have primary patient care responsibilities. Under the supervision of a senior clinician they will develop an understanding of the general concepts of disease processes and case management of routine cases as well as referred cases to help prepare them for ACZM specialty boards. Species seen at the service include birds, reptiles, small exotic mammals such as guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice, chinchillas and ferrets and fish and amphibians, as well as in captive and free-ranging wildlife ( with an emphasis on raptors).
• The clinical service has responsibility for the zoological collection at the Micke Grove Zoo, located in Lodi, CA. Veterinary care of the collection occurs during once weekly ambulatory visits to the zoo as well as emergency admissions at the UC Davis Companion Exotics/Aquatic Animal Health Service.
• The resident will work closely with surgery residents and faculty when surgery is required for clinical cases. Close working associations with radiology, anesthesia, and anatomical and clinical pathology residents/faculty are also a component of the program. Since the caseload will involve many species of non-domestic animals and problems involving all body systems, this exposure should allow the resident to develop broad clinical competency.
• Another primary training objective is to promote clinical judgment and maturity. Formal evaluations will be done every 6 months by the service faculty in the first year.
• Full and complete competency in all routine and special diagnostic procedures will be cultivated. As the resident gains proficiency, routine procedures may be performed autonomously.
• The resident will learn how to induce and maintain anesthesia in a wide variety of animal species for the purposes of diagnostics or treatment modalities.
• The resident will be expected to critically evaluate laboratory results from various laboratories within the United States that specialize in analyzing bird and exotic animal samples. The resident will also receive exposure to zoological animal gross pathology and histopathology via direct participation in necropsies and via bi-monthly rounds. Initial training with the use of endoscopy will commence and be continued on in the later training years.
• Residents share out-of-hours emergency duty on a rotational basis. Each resident will be on call for 7 days out of every 2-3 weeks, dependent upon vacations. Residents are responsible for weekend and holiday duty during the weeks that they are on call and will be required to be present for morning and evening treatments.
• Residents will be involved in teaching and will be working on a research project (please see below: “Teaching” and “Research”)
• The VMTH is committed to building strong relationships with its constituents. A major part of the residents' duties, therefore, includes timely communication with referring veterinarians and clients.

2. Second and Third Year Programs

• Duties will be similar to those of the first year, but with increasing responsibility for patient management. Residents will have some supervisory responsibility for training and supervision of first-year residents.
• Two days per month of paid vacation is allowed each year. The second and third year residents will have the same allotment of clinical, research, writing, and professional time as described for the first year resident.
• During the second and third year the resident will spend 2 weeks/year training at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. and 4 weeks/year at the Sacramento Zoo.
• After the first year, the residents will be evaluated by the faculty once a year.
• Over the next two years, the resident should become more familiar with the comparative anatomy and physiology of various species. Skills with coelomic endoscopy should be solidified, and the residents will be able to perform these procedures with little guidance. Exposure to advanced imaging via CT and MRI will acquaint the resident with the clinical indications, interpretation, and limitations for these modalities in avian/exotic animal species.
• During the second or third year of the training program, residents must deliver a research presentation at the VMTH House Officer Seminar Day program (please see below: “Teaching” and “Research”). They are encouraged to also present at least one time at the annual Association of Zoological Veterinarians, Association of Avian Veterinarians, Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians or Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians Meetings.
• The resident is expected to submit required ACZM documentation that will allow the resident to be considered for credentialing.

3. Teaching and continuing education:

Residents will have the opportunity to enhance their teaching skills and will be expected to have significant responsibilities in clinical instruction. This duty will be performed, in part, by assisting in the tutorial teaching of junior and senior veterinary students and conducting clinical student rounds. Experience lecturing to a large audience will be provided in a seminar/rounds format. Residents will receive assistance and guidance in the preparation and delivery of manuscripts and lectures. The Zoological Companion Animal residents are heavily involved in clinical teaching. In addition, they are encouraged and mentored in developing skills in didactic teaching. Each resident is required to give at least one lecture in the VME417: Companion Avian Medicine Course, one lecture in VME419: Companion Exotic Animal Medicine Course. They are provided with materials to give the lectures and are counseled ahead of time regarding lecturing style, syllabus preparation, etc.

Residents will develop the ability to critically evaluate veterinary literature and will obtain the broad scientific knowledge base that is critical for understanding medical problems. The residents are encouraged using the medical library and computer-assisted learning programs and to attend as many campus seminars as possible. Zoological Companion Animal and Zoological Medicine journal club rounds with faculty are scheduled weekly. Attendance at a major professional conference such as the Annual Association of Avian Veterinarians or American Association of Zoological Veterinarians meeting is encouraged, and funding may be provided from resident training funds to help defray expenses. When scheduling trips, priority is given to second and third year residents when conflicts arise.

4. Research:

In the last quarter of the first year or first half of the second year, the resident will be required to undertake an investigational project focused on an aspect of zoological companion animal health. The project should have approval from the mentor and chief of service. The resident will be required to publish at least one manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal based on an original investigation. In addition, it is expected that the resident will also publish 2 to 3 retrospective studies, case series or case reports in peer-reviewed journals. The program is designed to provide sufficient time for research and writing. The faculty will encourage residents to complete five first authored peer reviewed publications prior to the end of the residency program, to fulfill the publication requirement for ACZM.

Selection

Selection will be 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 on the VMTH web site.

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.

ALL RESIDENTS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO OBTAIN A CALIFORNIA LICENSE WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE RESIDENCY IN ORDER TO WRITE PRESCRIPTIONS.

RESIDENTS IN THIS SPECIALTY MUST BE ABLE TO ARRIVE AT THE HOSPITAL WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF AN EMERGENCY CALL; THEREFORE, RESIDENTS MUST PLAN TO LIVE WITHIN 8 MILES OF THE HOSPITAL.