Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Health Professions
 
Board
Board of Veterinary Medicine
 
chapter
Regulations Governing the Practice of Veterinary Medicine [18 VAC 150 ‑ 20]
Action Elimination of restriction on practical training only in final year of veterinary school
Stage NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 7/1/2015
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6/24/15  10:54 am
Commenter: Jackie Davis

Guidance When Examing Animals
 

We have used the Vet School many times. While we are lucky to have dealt with some really caring young students, I did and still do have some concerns about my fubaby's care. While I agree that students need the experience working with our furbabies, they need to be limited to what they can do. If you are not going to have them immediately supervised while doing so, then the owner needs to have some way to be assured that their furbaby is receiving the care that they deserve and are paying big bucks to get. We, as customers, are providing the one thing you need the most, an animal for your students to work on. Without our support, it would be most difficult for you and your students to continue. As has been suggested, maybe a signed waiver from us that we understand that an unexperienced student will be examing or performing tasks on our furbaby that normally require a license. I certainly do not think that it is to much to ask for a set of enforceable standards about what students are permitted to do at each stage of their education. There surely should be set enforceable standards for veterinarians to supervise students and limit their students to performing only the tasks for which they have already received instruction. I am not sure that all of the doctors as they are designated are actually at the point that they are quailified as veterinarians themselves. Again, I think the costs are way more than they should be, since we are providing "guinea pigs" for the Vet School and their students. Without us, as customers, you would be very limited to what real world instruction you can do. But that is another issue all together.

CommentID: 40381