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Selective Applied Learning Rotations

For 32 weeks, students will be assigned individually to study and work in 8 different rotations of four weeks each. Students will be required to satisfy pre-determined learning objectives and detailed skills checklists during these rotations. Four weeks will be added for examinations. These rotations are selected by the student in collaboration with the Curriculum Committee with the goal of further exploring or focusing their career aspirations. Their choices of rotations are not limited by geography; they may select applied veterinary settings (clinical practice, laboratory, consultant, governmental, etc.) locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.

The fourth-year Selective Applied Learning Rotations will allow students to assume broader responsibility in the apprentice-veterinarian role. Students will choose their complement of fourth-year rotations at various "Teaching Contract Sites" to include areas of veterinary medicine that appeal to their long-term career goals or enhance their understanding of their potential career choices. Similar to the 3rd year, students will be required to address a scientific question, gather data, and present their information in written and oral form. These "Senior Presentations" are described below.

Senior Presentations

Each student will be required to make an oral presentation with a written report of a case, series of cases, or a herd/flock problem with which they have been involved during Phase I, II and/or III. The approach to presentation should follow the dictums of "Evidence Based Medicine" defined as "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions with regard to either the care of individual animals or a group of animals." For example, the accuracy and precision of diagnostic test, power of prognostic markers and the efficacy and safety of the therapeutic or preventive regimens should be investigated.

Students, in preparing their case presentations, must carry out a thorough literature search and evaluate the strengths of relevant published materials as it may apply to their case(s). Presentations, both oral and written, will be evaluated by faculty using formal criteria, but students will be encouraged to be both critical and analytical in their reports, recognizing that practical circumstances may often preclude the practicing of optimal medical care.

Students in the fourth year will also conclude an optional track of "Independent Research with Thesis"; this four year project will allow them to work with all aspects of scientific research.

Independent Research with Thesis

Students will be actively encouraged to conduct scholarly research and submit a thesis during their four-year curriculum. The thesis should explore an original question relating to the basic sciences, a clinical problem, or a public or environmental health issue involving veterinary medicine. Students will be supervised by faculty members from CVM or jointly with faculty from other institutions.

This will offer an opportunity for collaborative research with other units of WesternU. Funds to support this research could be sought from external funding agencies such as the Geraldine Dodge Foundation. Alternatively, students may wish to work with a faculty member who has an ongoing externally funded research program. International opportunities also would be very suitable for thesis research. Ideally, the thesis should be completed prior to the beginning of the Phase III (4th year) of the curriculum. Students would be required to submit a publication from their thesis, either in a peer-reviewed journal, or in a local publication such as the California Veterinarian or Pulse. Students who successfully complete a thesis would be acknowledged at graduation, and their achievements recorded in their permanent academic records.

Time Commitments

Scheduled Time:

• Selective rotations:
  
  
  • Contact time: 40-50 hr/wk
    • rounds
    • outpatients
    • inpatients
    • business meetings
    • record maintenance
      
      
  • Non-contact time: 20 hr/wk
    • Library/computer/case research
    • Learning objectives
    • Reading

Self-directed, individual study time:

• Approximately 10-20 hr/week