I send this petition because I feel that the practice of letting residents practice with little or no professional supervision is wrong.  It isn’t good patient care, it's experimentation.

The Teaching Hospital website appeals to the love and concern people have for their animals, saying “many animals are referred to our hospital as they have challenging ailments that require the best of what modern veterinary medicine can offer” and “Their (the faculty’s) expertise assures the best possible results for your animals.”  The site also says “Residents and interns work closely with clinical faculty-members to provide you and your animal with an excellent health care experience.”  To promote your program this way and then let students and residents practice independently without either the pet owners' or referring veterinarians' knowledge of what you are doing is dishonest and unprofessional.

Pet owners and referring veterinarians expect your Teaching Hospital to be more than a training program; they expect it to also function as a specialty referral center, and to put the needs of patients first.  Why else would someone take an animal for treatment there?

Please ensure that your faculty are actively involved in every case, on every visit, and on every day of an inpatient stay.  Residents are there to learn, and they aren’t ready to handle complicated referrals on their own.

Sincerely,

     Henry Ickes, Arlington, VA