A shelter preceptorship wasn’t in the cards for Dr. Marta Andelson (’19) when she was a fourth year veterinary student at Iowa State.
But today Andelson gets to observe the preceptorship first-hand on a regular basis.
As the contact person for Wayside Waifs in suburban Kansas City, Andelson coordinates the preceptorship program for that metropolitan area’s largest and most comprehensive no kill pet adoption campus.
“I really wish I had done a shelter preceptorship as a student,” Andelson said. “The closest I got was a preceptorship at the Crow Creek Reservation.”
That’s where Andelson caught the bug for nonprofit work. She has been at Wayside Waifs for the past three years. Prior to this position, Andelson worked at a non-profit clinic that provided low cost spay/neuter surgeries, urgent care services and vaccines.
In her role at Wayside Waifs, Andelson works with students not only from Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, but also students from other veterinary medicine schools across the United States and Canada. She shares the teaching component with another Wayside Waifs colleague which includes surgery, wellness and medical exams.
During the two-week preceptorship, Iowa State students perform spays and neuters in the mornings, followed by exams on both health and sick animals in the afternoon. If time allows, Andelson conducts rounds on medical topics with the fourth-year students discussing how to apply a spectrum of care approach when determining treatment options.
“We are really proud to be able to provide surgical mentorship for students at the individual level, which allows us to give feedback on the surgical challenges unique to each student,” Andelson said. “Showing them how different high-volume doctors complete spays also helps each student develop their own approach to the surgery.”
When working with students, Andelson seeks to be a good mentor and role model by showing them a realistic approach to high volume medicine that would be applicable not only in shelter settings but in general practice as well.
“I feel the preceptorship at Wayside helps students get ‘boots on the ground’ experience,” she said. “I want to instill confidence in every student in an environment where they feel safe discussing mistakes.”
Andelson teaches alternative approaches to surgeries while troubleshooting the most common intra-operative complications.
“Shelter medicine is a great place to see interesting medical and surgical cases,” she said. “Observing how a veterinarian handles stress or navigates an unexpected challenge can be great practice for when they are the ones making the decisions.”
It is those challenges why shelter medicine intrigues Andelson. While most of the day is routine veterinary work, she sees a higher percentage of “weird” cases which constantly test her diagnostic and surgical skills.
“Wayside Waifs is lucky to have a generous donor base which allows us to practice high quality medicine,” Andelson said. “But what really drew me to Wayside Waifs was our student program.
“I absolutely love teaching and my job at the shelter provides a wonderful opportunity to develop my skills as an instructor while also continuing to grow professionally.”
November 2025
