While I'm very much in favor of students acquiring as much hands-on experience as possible during their training, I strongly believe that it is ESSENTIAL TO INFORM THE OWNER if a student will be treating their animal AND to RECEIVE THE OWNER'S INFORMED CONSENT PRIOR TO STUDENTS PERFORMING ANY TASK ON THE ANIMAL FOR WHICH LISENSURE IS REQUIRED.

Posting a notice informing clients of students working at that location is NOT the same as owner consent.

The proposed regulations are significantly better than what was contained in the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action. I specifically support
– The requirement for written informed consent for surgical procedures
– The requirement that any student performance of surgery be included in the consent
– The requirement that the supervising veterinarian be present in the operatory at any time that a student is performing surgery

Please include in the regulations the REQUIREMENT FOR WRITTEN INFORMED OWNER CONSENT FOR ALL TASKS TO BE PERFORMED ON AN ANIMAL BY A STUDENT THAT WOULD ORDINARILY REQUIRE LISENSURE.