Preparing students for clinical work, UF veterinary lab serves as a national model
A day in the life of a veterinarian is rife with challenges — from surgeries and vaccinations to performing euthanasia. Veterinary medical students need in-depth training and hands-on experience to prepare for the emotional and intellectual demands of this work.
That’s where the Clinical Skills and Techniques Laboratory at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine comes in. One of the first teaching and learning spaces of its kind in the veterinary profession when it was established in 2015, the $4 million facility continues to serve as a national model for innovative veterinary medical education.
Pioneering hands-on learning
When veterinary students at UF step into their first clinical rotation, they carry more than medical knowledge; they bring confidence forged in a revolutionary training ground that has transformed veterinary education over the past decade.
“In the beginning, we were teaching students in whatever venue we could find about the skills they would need to face their surgery course,” said Amy Stone, D.V.M., Ph.D., a clinical associate professor of primary care and dentistry at the college and one of the lab’s original course coordinators. “It quickly grew into preparing students not just for surgery but for comprehensive clinical rotations.”
The lab’s approach combines sophisticated models that closely match real animal anatomy with simpler, basic training tools to enable students to practice critical veterinary techniques. Developed primarily by clinical assistant professor Julia Wuerz, D.V.M., with assistance from lab director Joice Gardner, the training modules cover skills from IV catheterization and bandaging to more complex scenarios using dog, cat and horse models.