City Of Tulsa Animal Welfare: My Experience as a Veterinary Extern in an Underserved Area

SAVMA's Public Health and Community Outreach Committee (PHCOC) grants Underserved Areas Stipends to multiple students each year. Awards cover externships that are carried out between September 1^, 2012 and August 31, 2013. A total of eight (8) $500 awards are available for each academic year and awards can be distributed in a retroactive manner. For more information, please see https://www.avma.org/About/SAVMA/Events/Documents/Underserved-Areas-Stipend-Application-2012-2013.doc

Read on to see how one student spent his externship.

By: Ken Sieranski, 4^th year Veterinary Student, Texas A & M University

During a cold two weeks in the January of my final year of veterinary school at Texas A & M, I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to complete a two week externship at City of Tulsa Animal Welfare.  My experiences at this large municipal shelter impacted the lives of homeless pets in this underserved community and increased my confidence as a spay/neuter surgeon.  I worked under the supervision of Dr. Cathy Pienkos who is not only an exemplary shelter veterinarian, but a kind and patient mentor to many students, most of whom attend Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. 

I selected this particular externship, because my intended career path is to become a shelter veterinarian.   I have obtained an Internship in Shelter Medicine for next year at University of Florida which will allow me to work towards becoming a specialist in this emerging discipline.  The Tulsa externship has undoubtedly helped me to prepare for my internship next year.  In addition to our typical daily routine described below, I also joined Dr. Pienkos on shelter rounds, experienced the management and flow of the large municipal shelter, and participated in an animal cruelty investigation.   While this experience was invaluable to me as a future shelter veterinarian, I believe that this externship is ideal for any student wishing to both help shelter animals and increase their surgical confidence.   The externship is largely surgery-based, and it was noted on the Association of Shelter Veterinarian’s Website that externs complete an average of 20 surgeries per week. 

A typical day at the shelter started with performing preoperative physical examinations on animals scheduled for surgery that day.

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