Small Animal Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Residency
The Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care residency program is a 3-year program designed to provide advanced training both in stabilization of animals sustaining life-threatening injury or illness, and in the in-hospital care of critically ill animals. Residents participate in primary inpatient care and emergency receiving (including exotic animal emergencies), clinical and didactic instruction of veterinary students and interns, and daily cage-side rounds. Our seminars and conferences are also an integral part of residency training. The residency program is designed to meet the requirements of the ACVECC Standards for Residency Training and includes 72 weeks of immersion in emergency and critical care, as well as 22 weeks of immersion in allied specialties. In addition, residents are provided with dedicated off clinic time for the design and execution of a clinical research project, and for board preparation. Residents are required to complete a clinical research project and are encouraged to present results in abstract form at a national meeting. Residents attend one major conference per year as part of their residency training. As a contribution to the educational mission of the school and an opportunity to gain additional teaching experience, residents in the Department of Clinical Sciences are required to teach students on clinical rotations, assess student performance through student grades and clinical competency tracking, and instruct one clinical skills laboratory per year.
The Emergency and Critical Care services operate in adjacent but separate rooms within the same facility, providing care for both referral and "walk-in" emergency patients as well as for general medicine and surgical referrals from veterinarians in the greater New England area. The emergency service manages over 15,000 cases annually and is supported by 8 Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 12 residents, 15 rotating interns and a team of highly skilled nursing staff. The Critical Care Services houses up to 30 patients of any specialty services in need of intensive monitoring. Our nursing staff rotate between ICU and emergency medicine, participate in teaching of house officers and students, and are encouraged to pursue VTS certification. Residents split their time between emergency receiving and inpatient critical care according to a rotating schedule. Our goal is to provide residents with hands on experience in the management of the sickest of animals, while developing high-level clinical reasoning skills and a proficiency in advanced monitoring techniques. All residents participate in mechanical ventilation of nearly 50 animals each year.
The Foster Hospital for Small Animals at the Cummings School is a full-service hospital, an approved ACVECC residency training facility, and is designated as an ACVECC-recognized Level 1 Veterinary Trauma Center as well as a VECCS Level 1 facility.
Appointments are 12 months with annual renewal based on satisfactory performance of the resident. A certificate of residency is awarded to the candidate upon successful completion of the training program.
Residents participate in the University benefits programs, including health and life insurance. Two weeks annual vacation, a travel allotment and professional liability insurance are provided. Participation in the TIAA-CREFretirement plan (conditional upon completion of the three-year program) is available. The applicant should be aware that the hospital has a dress code.
The applicant should submit his or her application through AAVC‘s Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program.
For further information, please contact Dr. Armelle de Laforcade at (508) 837-4415.
Tufts University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.