I have three comments on this proposal. First, practice before the start of the third year should be limited to observation only.

Second, I cannot support any expansion of student practice in an off-campus setting until the Board takes steps to assure that those veterinary practices are safe in terms of professional examples. 25% of the vet school’s list of approved practices in Virginia have one or more veterinarians who have been fined and/or reprimanded, some more than once, for infractions ranging from the “minor” issue of failing to obtain required continuing education to problems as major as permitting an unlicensed individual to perform surgery. These clinics having serious infractions should not be teaching students. Any new clinics need to be reviewed for professional ethics before being approved.

Third, student access to patients/pets is a privilege, and one which should only be granted by the patient’s owner. Yet currently regulations permit veterinarians to use patients as teaching material without even informing the owner – much less obtaining their consent – unless they intend to go to the extreme of letting the student perform surgery unassisted. This has to change. Thank you, Edna Whittier, Floyd, VA