Veterinary students aspiring to careers in shelter medicine need as much experience as possible.
That’s why Kelsey Klosko, a fourth-year student in the College of Veterinary Medicine, recently spent two weeks in suburban Kansas City at Wayside Waifs, the area’s largest and most comprehensive no kill pet adoption campus.
“I’ve always loved the impact shelters have on a community,” Klosko said, “and since I want to go into shelter medicine I want as much experience as I can get.”
During her two-week preceptorship, Klosko and fellow College of Veterinary Medicine student Ethan Hornbuckle were thrust right into working with some of the 40,000 pets that come through Wayside Waifs doors.
“A colleague and I share the teaching component once the students arrive,” said Dr. Marta Andelson, veterinarian at Wayside Waifs and a 2019 Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine graduate. “That instruction includes surgery, wellness and medical exams.
“We are proud to be able to provide surgical mentorship for students at an individual level, which allows us to give feedback on the surgical challenges unique to each student. Showing them how different high-volume doctors complete spays also helps each student develop their own approach to the surgery.”
This is a system that fit well into both Klosko and Hornbuckle’s plans.
“I wanted additional surgery experience,” Hornbuckle said. “Just yesterday I did five neuters and that will help develop my muscle memory for doing these surgeries.”
Surgeries are performed in the morning with both Klosko and Hornbuckle working basically on their own. Andelson and other Wayside Waifs veterinarians will stop by the surgical tables from time-to-time, but generally the Iowa State students are on their own.
“They don’t let you do a surgery unless you are ready to do it by yourself,” Klosko said.
Afternoons are set aside for students to work on their exam skills on both healthy and sick animals.
“We really encourage the students to collaborate with us on diagnostic and treatment decisions,” Andelson said, “and if time allows, I round on medical topics with them and discuss how to apply a spectrum of care approach when coming up with treatment options.”
Klosko and Hornbuckle are just two of several fourth-year Iowa State students that make the journey down I-35 to Wayside Waifs each year, although the shelter does host students from other U.S. and Canadian vet schools.
November 2025