Emergency Services

The Critical Care Program at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine is a same-day referral center designed to serve the needs of veterinarians in the Southeast. When a veterinarian refers a pet to the Critical Care Program, the pet owner is assured of the most advanced care available in veterinary medicine. The referral service is available Monday through Friday by contacting the College of Veterinary Medicine Small Animal Teaching Hospital.

The heart of the program is outstanding patient care. A fully staffed Intensive Care Unit at the College of Veterinary Medicine is operated 24 hours per day by highly qualified and skilled veterinary clinicians and technicians, who use all the progressive diagnostic and therapeutic equipment essential to the needs of critically ill pets. In addition to the urgent care provided at arrival, consultation services are available with specialists in surgery, neurology, ophthalmology, oncology and dermatology during a patient's hospital stay. Critical care clinicians communicate daily with pet owners and involve the referring veterinarian in the ongoing management of their patients.

The Critical Care Program is a Regional Training Center for students and veterinarians in the discipline of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. Its participants include fourth year professional veterinary students, interns, residents and visiting practicing veterinarians. In addition to Auburn students, the program is available to senior veterinary students from across the country as they complete elective rotations in the Critical Care Service as part of their professional curriculum.

The program is an approved residency-training site sanctioned by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine (ACVECC). At the conclusion of their training, residents sit for a specialty board certification examination leading to Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care.

Technician training is also conducted under the direction of highly trained veterinary critical care nurses. In addition to on-site training activities, the Critical Care Program also conducts formal continuing education seminars throughout the year.

The research component of the program involves projects that focus on diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of acute diseases in dogs and cats. Areas of ongoing research include nutrition, cardiovascular drug therapy, infectious disease, critical care monitoring techniques and transfusion medicine. (Patients are never involved in research projects without the consent of the pet owner and the Auburn University Animal Care and Use Committee.)

Faculty, residents, interns and students also report important findings that have been learned through the management of cases involving critically ill patients. This information is distributed to colleagues across the country through published reports and annual meetings.