Welcome Samantha - Our Newest Veterinary Extern From Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine!
Did you know that Animal Hospital of Statesville has an externship program? That’s right! We are investing in the future development of our profession by helping veterinary students get real-world experience in a veterinary hospital. Our fantastic doctors are generous with their knowledge and their time. Externs like Samantha (“Sam”) have the opportunity to not only follow (aka shadow) the doctors and our medical team, learning the day-to-day operations of a veterinary hospital, but they also get to assist in surgeries and procedures that they may not be able to experience in their university settings. Samantha is a 4th-year veterinary student, meaning that she’s getting ready to graduate come late spring of 2025. She is here for 3 weeks to absorb all that she can. Traditionally, we have heard from other veterinary students that they do not learn a lot about the actual functionality of a veterinary hospital, nor do they gain experience about how to communicate with pet parents – especially important when there is a problem observed with a pet. Also, the way our CSRs, registered technicians, VPCs and doctors work together to make the day “flow” as smoothly as possible is another subject not taught in university classrooms. Our externs can see how our Team works together to provide the best care and service to our patients, as well as how we help each other achieve the common goal of superior care. We’ll talk to Samantha when she’s finished with her externship here – she has two more in other animal hospitals when she has completed her time at AHS. She’s fitting right in and she just started on Monday! Samantha is currently a student at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Virginia. That might sound familiar, as we’ve been lucky enough to gain two wonderful veterinarians from that school – one that visited us prior to our really focusing on our externship program – Dr. Julia Zuercher, and one who completed an externship at AHS – Dr. Amber Talbot. We were so lucky they came and got to know us – we knew we had two veterinary stars we wanted to add to our Team!
While we are currently focused on veterinary externships, veterinary technician externships are another valuable service, if you will, that we provide. Registered Veterinary Technicians must have externships at a small animal hospital, a large animal hospital, and a hospital that treats exotic pets. We have had several externs that we have hired after their time at AHS was up. For example, Diane, Jesse, Lauren and Lydia! They are here to this day! They are always ready and willing to train other up and coming technicians and share their knowledge. They know that their professional reputations depend on having qualified, enthusiastic, compassionate people who want to continue the tradition of fine patient care and nursing skills. Again, our RVTs (which also include Austin, Morgan and Jess, who did not participate in an externship at AHS) can fill the gaps that a college education can’t offer and support students and show them how honing their skills elevate a veterinary practice and support the doctors which in turn, elevates the quality of the patient care we deliver.
Back to Almost-Doctor-Samantha - if you get to meet her, please make her feel welcome! 3 weeks just doesn’t seem long enough!
To see other veterinary students’ experiences in their externships at AHS, please follow this link!
If you are a veterinary technology student, interested in an externship with AHS, click here!
Solensia - Feline Pain Medication
Animal Hospital of Statesville is happy to announce that we now offer a new medication for cat pain management - Solensia. Watch the video below to learn more.