Small Animal Option

**Small animal option students, VCS 455 and 456 each must be taken at least once.  One of the courses satisfies the overall required block requirement, the other satisfies the small animal option requirement.

Required Block: (Total 20 Credits required of all students)

Course Title Credits
VCS 453 Small Animal Medicine 2
VCS 455 or VCS 456 Small Animal Soft Tissue or Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery (as assigned by the schedule optimizer) 2
VCS 457/VCS 464/VCS 458 Equine Medicine (457)/Equine Field Service (464)/Equine Surgery (458)
(must have one equine course as assigned by the schedule optimizer)
2
VCS 460 Radiology 2
VCS 463 Primary Care 2
VCS 466 Anesthesiology 2
VCS 468 Intensive Care/Emergency Med 4
VDPAM 477 Food Animal Medicine and Surgery 2
VPTH 456 and 457 Necropsy and Clinical Pathology (Taken together as one 2-week block) 2
VCS 495 Seminar (non-credit) R
    20

Required courses for Small Animal Option ONLY= 6 credits:

Course Title Credits
VCS 453 Small Animal Medicine  2
VCS 455 or VCS 456** Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery or Small Animal Orthopedic Surgery 2
VCS 469 Ophthalmology 2

Selective Choices (Total = 0 credits required):

There are no selectives required for this track.

Electives (Total = 18 credits required):

Electives strongly recommended by the VCS Curriculum Committee for students planning on entering small animal or mixed animal practice include:

Course Title Credits
VCS 409 Oncology 2
VCS 441 Canine Rehabilitation 2
VCS 446 Neurology 2
VCS 452 Dermatology 2
VCS 475 Cardiology 2
VCS 482 Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery (not currently offered) 2

Electives may include external experiences for credit including: shelter medicine external electives (VCS 459 and VCS 437) and VCS 423 zoo preceptorships; preceptorships at private, corporate, ISU-affiliated, or public practices/institutions that fulfill the requirements for VCS 419 (Preceptorships in small animal or equine) for a maximum of 6 credits; and/or any other course offered by the College. Preceptorships, defined as learning experiences or time spent at a veterinary practice away from the College, must follow course guidelines to qualify for credit.

Students may repeat any course offered in the general core, required small animal track, or electives one additional time (above that required) for credit, depending upon availability and with permission of the instructor-of-record for that clinical rotation unless otherwise noted in the ISU Catalog. 

Unscheduled Time Off (Total = 4 blocks [8 weeks]): This time will fall randomly throughout the schedule to allow time for interviews, unapproved preceptorships, additional rotations and/or personal time.

Small Animal Option credit summary:

Required = 20, Option required = 6, Selectives = 0, Electives = 18

Total = 44