At Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, surgical training runs throughout the four years a student spends on campus.
The College of Veterinary Medicine teams up with area animal welfare organizations to provide free wellness and spay/neuter care for animals in the college’s hospital facilities. Participating organizations bring their cats and dogs to Iowa State where third-year veterinary students, under the supervision of clinicians, provide medical assessments and preventive care, as well as spay/neuter surgeries as part of their Surgical Education Program.
During the surgical laboratory class students will conduct:
- Multiple medical exams before and after surgery to ensure the patient is healthy for surgery and experiences a normal recovery
- Evaluation pre-operative bloodwork including red blood cell counts, total protein, blood glucose, kidney indicators, fecal parasite exams and urinalysis
- Multiple pain scoring examinations and responsibility for making sure the patient has adequate pain control
- Medication administration including becoming familiar with the common protocols and products for vaccines, deworming and prevention of heartworm, fleas and ticks
- Diagnosis and treatment of common problems encountered in pets including ear, skin and urinary infections, internal and external parasites, eye problems, skin masses and minor wounds
- Perform spay/neuter surgeries
The program provides students the opportunity to learn about canine and feline preventative care for all life cycles including vaccines and parasite treatment, prevention and productions. This has a significant impact on preparing students for their fourth-year clinical rotations and life as a veterinarian.
Since the program’s inception in 2016, veterinary students have helped over 6,000 dogs and cats from two dozen organizations on their journey to forever homes.
The surgical training program also includes a live animal laboratory held during the spring semester, in which second-year students neuter intact male cats.
Thank you to our industry sponsors who have provided assistance for the program
- Hill’s Pet Nutrition
- Purina
- IDEXX Laboratories
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedia, Inc.
- Zoetis
- Ethicon
- Securos
- World’s Best Cat Litter
- Boys Foundation
- Dave and Jeanne Allbaugh
- Bayer Animal Health
- Merial
- Ceva Animal Healt