Spotlighting the CVM’s unique exotics experiences
Students in Auburn University’s DVM program have ample opportunity for experiential learning with specific subsets of exotic animals. The Journal of American Veterinary Medicine recently highlighted the College of Vet Med’s Aquatic Digital Badge program and clinical course experiences offered by the Auburn University Raptor Center.
DVM students who are interested in working with aquatic species can earn a digital badge and diploma seal demonstrating their commitment to learning about marine and freshwater species. Through the college’s Aquatic Digital Badge microcredential program, students complete experiences through the CVM and external partners and finish a capstone project. Classroom and hands-on coursework focuses on anatomy, physiology and clinical medicine of aquatic species.
Other exotic animal learning opportunities extend from the Auburn University Raptor Center, a unit of the CVM. Established in 1972, the AURC treats approximately 300 ill or injured raptors each year with the goal of returning as many as possible to the wild.
Auburn’s DVM students have two opportunities to earn clinical course credit for completing rotations with the AURC. One rotation includes visits to the center as part of the exotic rotation in the Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital, while the other enables selected students to have a hands-on, intensely focused rotation within the AURC.