Student Surgical Opportunities I

This course is an introduction to High Quality High Volume (HQHV) surgery in the shelter environment and is based on the Association of Shelter Veterinarians veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. Lecture topics and examinations are delivered online and include an overview of HQHV surgery, patient handling, anesthesia and pain management in the shelter environment, partner protocols, patient monitoring, patient pre-surgical preparation, basic surgical principles and sterilization of the male cat. The lab component of this course consists of two hours of knot laboratory and knot certification followed by six hours at a partner shelter participating in the peri-operative activities, organized as stations, which include physical exam, induction, patient preparation and recovery. The final eight hours are devoted to rotation through the stations and performance of cat castrations under direct supervision. This course is designed to prepare students to pursue “castration certification” (certification that a student can castrate a male cat without direct supervision, required for Student Surgical Opportunities II). This elective can be taken after the spring semester of first year, including the summer, and grading is pass/fail.

Credits: 1
Course Organizer: Dr. Brittany Watson
Schedule: 8 lecture hours – 16 lab hours