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>> NARRATOR: Pet owners needing routine check-ups for their cats or dogs can find great care
at the Pet Health Center located in the Kansas State University Veterinary Medical Teaching
Hospital.
>> DR. MARJORY ARTZER: The Pet Health Center is a primary care facility where, within the
hospital, anybody can come have care for their pets.
>> DR. SUSAN NELSON: We do wellness exams, vaccines, heartworm checking, everything that
your primary care physician outside of here would do. We just do it within the confines
of the hospital.
>> Described as the “family doctor” within the hospital, the Pet Health Center provides
preventive and illness care for all dogs and cats, whether they be puppies and kittens,
adult pets or senior members of the family.
>> In addition to these services, the Pet Health Center’s main teaching mission is
to give fourth-year veterinary students a hands-on education. With supervision from
the Center’s clinicians and experienced veterinary technicians, the students receive
experience in the entire examination process — from collecting patient history, to performing
a physical exam, to writing discharge instructions.
>> DR. LINDSEY BLEVINS: We make them responsible for their cases like it’s their very own
case so whether it’s vaccinations, they perform the vaccinations. If it’s a small
mass removal, they get to perform the small mass removal. If it’s an ear cleaning, they
get to do the ear cleaning. So its a more hands-on approach for our students in the
Pet Health Center.
>> Dr. JENNIFER AKERS: Again, one thing that we teach our students is a thorough physical
exam and we hear a lot of them say after the rotation how appreciative they are that they
have learned that thorough physical exam and really get an idea of what general medicine
is going to be like for them out in practice.
>> Client interaction skills receive particular emphasis during the students’ rotation in
the center. With the client’s permission, the Center often uses a video camera system
that records a student’s contact with the client allowing the interaction to be reviewed
and critiqued.
>> DR. SUSAN NELSON: It really tends to push them out of their comfort zone. It’s very
uncomfortable to be on camera, like it is for all of us, but in the end . . . they’ve
learned ways they can see themselves that might make them more approachable to the clients
while they’re in the room.
>> By replicating the experience of a small-animal clinic, the Pet Health Center fulfills a vital
role at the teaching hospital.
>> DR. LINDSEY BLEVINS: A large majority of our students will not go out and go into specialty
practice right off the bat. A lot of them will go into a general practice setting.
>> DR. MARJORY ARTZER: And since most of our students are heading in that direction, our
role is vital in making sure that they have the basic information to function as a veterinarian.
>> If you are interested in bringing your pet to the Pet Health Center, call 785-532-5690
to set up an appointment.