Washington Middle School’s Veterinary Medicine class, taught by Stefanie Virgen, recently accepted animal visitors as a part of career-based clinical rotations stations.
"Areas of Career Interest" class Intro to Veterinary Medicine provides students with hands-on, real-world skills involved in medical science, especially specific to animals.
During the training leading up to clinicals, students rotated through hospital procedures stations. These stations including specializing areas like suturing wounds using simulated skin, dispensing and calculating "medications," wrapping wounds with bandaging techniques, and drawing liquid into syringes according to specified amounts.
In their final station, students underwent training on how to conduct clinical rotations, including essential skills learning in interview skills and office management skills to interact with visitors acting as "clients."
Students were then able to practice their learning with hands-on clinical examinations of dogs and baby goats. Students utilized the Cornell University clinical exam form with 14-point examination to engage their clients and analyze signs of health.
