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A new partnership with Liberty Wildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation facility in south central Phoenix, has given ������Ƶ’s College of Veterinary Medicine fourth-year students a new opportunity to learn about and practice wildlife medicine.

As of April 2023, CVM students in their final year of school can request a four-week elective rotation at Liberty Wildlife, learning about and practicing wildlife medicine under the primary mentorship of their faculty member, Dr. Alexandra Goe. While it is common for students who select the wildlife rotation to have a long-standing interest in the care of exotic species, some students are completely new to the field. At Liberty Wildlife, they learn critical skills like safe handling of wildlife, triage examination, diagnostic testing, treatment administration, anesthesia, and surgery for a variety of species.

Since starting the program in April, ������Ƶ faculty and students have provided primary care for over 500 injured and orphaned animals. Students have a unique experience at Liberty Wildlife, as they gain real-world hands-on medical experience with wildlife species. Many students start their first day of the rotation having never handled a bird or exotic mammal of any species before. By their last week, they are often comfortable performing a complete patient work-up, including anesthesia and surgery if needed. The goal of this program is for graduating doctors to feel comfortable providing necessary critical care to injured wild animals, prior to transferring them to a certified wildlife rehabilitation center.

Starting in July, the partnership with ������Ƶ will expand when the University welcomes their first wildlife intern. Veterinary interns are graduated veterinarians who spend an additional year of training in a specialty area, often as a necessary step before starting a residency program. Residency programs are typically two to three years long, depending on the type, after which veterinarians are eligible for becoming certified specialists in their field of training (typically after taking a comprehensive examination and publishing research).

“It is incredibly rewarding to see students gain clinical confidence and compassion for wildlife medicine through their time here,” says Dr. Goe. “������Ƶ and the College of Veterinary Medicine are truly thrilled to join in this new partnership with Liberty Wildlife and we look forward to the continued growth of the program.”