Veterinary Clinical Orientation

Dr. Nyoni Winchester, DVM, MVS
Email: nwinches@sgu.edu
Office: Large Animal Resource Facility (LARF) offices

Dr. Lucian Thomas, DVM, MSc
Email: lthomas8@sgu.edu
Office: Small Animal Clinic (SAC)

Office hours by scheduled appointment on Zoom but email anytime with questions/concerns. This course is a multi-teacher course with Faculty members from the Large Animal Department and Small Animal Department supporting the course director.

Additional LAMS 502 facilitators lecturing Faculty:

Kerri Nigito DVM, CPH, MPH, DABVP (Food Animal Practice) Nigker1@sgu.edu

Heidi Janicke, BVM, PhD, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS, FHEA hjanicke@sgu.edu

Inga Karasek, DVM ikarasek@sgu.edu

Bowen Louison, DVM blouison@sgu.edu

Jaelene Haynes, DVM jhaynes2@sgu.edu

Lectures:

Afternoon lectures will be given in the David Brown Hall. Morning lectures: to be determined. Changes may occur, please check your email regularly for announcements! Please check the course schedule as different venues are used.

Laboratory sessions:

• SIM lab session will be held at the SVM SIM lab on campus.
• Small animal lab session will be held at the Small Animal Clinic (SAC).
• Equine and Bovine lab sessions will be held at the LARF. You will find that around the corner behind the SAC.

1. Computer with functional camera and microphone

Supplemental reading for clinical orientation will be posted on SAKAI and students are recommended to read these.

Other recommended resources are the following:

Small Animal Internal Medicine, 5th Edition by Richard Nelson and C. Guillermo Couto Large Animal Internal Medicine, 5th Edition by Bradford P Smith

Further resources will be discussed during this class.

1. Students with disabilities who need accommodations should contact Student Accessibility and Accommodations Services (SAAS), located in the Dean of Students Office.
2. Information can be found at mycampus.sgu.edu/group/saas

Dress Code

Simulation Lab: The first laboratory session and the final OSCE of the course will be held in the SGU Simulation Lab. For this venue you will need to bring your stethoscope, a timepiece and appropriate lab attire (Scrubs (top & bottom) and closed-toed shoes are required). Hair needs to be tied back (no long ponytails), no dangling earrings, and nails must be cut short, we will be monitoring this, and it will be enforced before being allowed to participate in the labs. You must come only at your scheduled time.

Small Animal Labs: You will only need a pen or pencil, time piece, stethoscope, thermometer and appropriate lab attire Scrubs (top & bottom) with laboratory overcoat and closed-toed shoes are required. Crocs with open holes or any shoe with holes in the top are not acceptable. Hair needs to be tied back (no long ponytails), no dangling earrings, and nails must be cut short, we will be monitoring this, and it will be enforced before being allowed to participate in the labs. You must come only at your scheduled time.

Equine Labs and Bovine Labs: Please bring only your stethoscope, pen or pencil, time piece, thermometer, and appropriate attire Scrubs (top & bottom), or coveralls, and rubber over- boots. Tank tops are not acceptable. Do not wear farm boots from campus to the LARF (or from the LARF back to campus), this is a biosecurity hazard! Bring your boots with you and change at the LARF.

Hair needs to be tied back (no long ponytails), no dangling earrings, and nails must be cut short, we will be monitoring this, and it will be enforced before being allowed to participate in the labs. Please leave your book bags/back-packs in lockers on campus or at home. You must come only at your scheduled time.

***Please eat appropriately before you come to the LARF and stay hydrated. You can bring a bottle of water but ensure to be biosafe and do not forget it when you leave. Many first-term students are unaccustomed to the heat and humidity so please ensure you are properly prepared for these sessions! ***

a. Failure to comply with dress codes for any laboratory session will result in dismissal from the lab and be considered an unexcused absence.

This is a one-credit course designed to introduce first-term SGU veterinary students to the art of physical examination of domesticated animal species and to the practice of clinical reasoning and medical record keeping. This course serves as the foundation course for additional clinical skills courses held in terms two through six.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate/Describe how to perform a basic structured, clinical examination on companion animals, equine and farm animals.
• Integrate clinical skills with knowledge in other basic veterinary courses such as anatomy, physiology, and histology.
• Discuss the approach of and work with these animal species and demonstrate a professional attitude.
• Define basic veterinary terms, breeds, and reference values in small animal and large animal medicine.
• Know the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics (AVMA).
• Differentiate between types of medical records, discussing their contents.
  Prepare a complete medical record based on information obtained through history and physical exam findings.

Grading Policy: Below is the grading scale for this course:

The grade for this course will be based on the on-time submission of online Sakai quizzes completed after each module and professionalism.

5% of the class grade will comprise of attendance in mandatory class and lab sessions, engagement of the course material and professionalism (see rubric in Appendix).

5% of the class grade will comprise of Medical records and Biosecurity assessment (online quiz)

20% of the class grade will be based on engagement in the content and performance on the small animal physical exam module and small animal behavior.

20% of the class grade will be based on engagement in the content and performance on the equine and bovine physical exam module assessment.

Quizzes will be administered on Sakai/MyCourses. Students are to refer to the course schedule listed on Sakai/MyCourses (under the “Resources” tab) to ensure they do not miss the open/closure dates for the quizzes throughout the semester. Students will be notified via Sakai

/MyCourses announcement(s) if the quiz dates deviate from this schedule.

Failure to adhere to submission deadlines will result in 0% for that quiz.

There will be no make-up quizzes or remediations allowed. All the quizzes are open book and students will find the majority of the answers from the information distributed to them during lectures, articles resources, and videos posted on Sakai/MyCourses. Although quizzes are open book students are not to complete the quizzes in groups (it is against the honor code to do so). Preparatory material for each lab posted on Sakai. It is HIGHLY recommended that you read the relevant materials before each lab. Students are to please read the information made available to them prior to attempting the quizzes.

FINAL EXAM: The importance of clinical skills in the course LAMS 502 must be emphasized and recognized. There will be a comprehensive OSCE format final exam, worth 50% of the final grade, to be held on May 12^th, 2022 starting at 8:30am at the SIM Lab. Exam questions

will require the student to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to the labs clinical reasoning/medical records sessions taught during the term.

The Final OSCE assessment is MANDATORY. Students who complete the lab sessions in-person MUST also complete the final OSCE, in-person. If you are learning in person, you are obligated to take the OSCE in-person. Any student who completes the lab sessions in-person and does not complete the final OCSE in-person will receive a score of “0” for the Final OSCE Assessment. If you do not take the Final OSCE examination, you will receive 0 points for your final assessment grade.

Details regarding the format will be announced later in the term. Dates for practice sessions were scheduled tentatively in your course schedule.

Online Students

Students who are learning online will be required to take the Written Final Exam on ExamSoft on May 12^th, 2022, 12:00 noon. Online students who complete the lab sessions via zoom are obligated to take this written OCSE exam. Kindly note that there will be accommodations to provide an online “OSCE” experience for your written assessment. The questions will be as practical as possible (including pictures) in the format of MCQ’s, Hotspots and FITB. A grade reduction of 5% will be applied to that exam if students do not observe the parameters listed in the Assessment Policy for Students.

Each student will be responsible for using lab time to complete the required objectives. Students will be asked to demonstrate knowledge and clinical proficiency skills learned from each lab during the final exam OSCE. As in the case for online students, apply knowledge to answer questions.

Excuses

Students will only be accepted to be excused from the examination with the use of the online “Medical Excuse” policy. Please consult the SVM Dean of Students office for additional information regarding acceptable excuses. Make-up examinations may be essay or short answer questions using Exam Soft.

Remediation

Failure to remediate any OSCE (in person or written) before the end of the term will result in failure of the course (F Grade). Students who receive a grade of 70% or less on their final OSCE exam will be required to request remediation. The remediation will not change the student’s grade, however, students will be required to demonstrate (in-person) or describe (online) clinical proficiency skills taught during the term prior to progressing from this course.

*All students are expected to strictly adhere to the University’s Student Code of Conduct and to have reviewed the Honour Code Statement All other exam policies are followed according to the SGU Examination Policy and the Student handbook.

Professionalism rubric

5% of the class grade will comprise of attendance in mandatory classroom/ Zoom sessions, engagement of the course material and professionalism (see Appendix A).

Review all course material, lecture content, recorded lectures, and attend any LIVE classroom/Zoom sessions.

The student is expected to adhere to the guidelines provided throughout this syllabus including attendance, engagement, assessment submission and examination policies.

This is a paperless course. The syllabus and all other course materials are available online on the Sakai/MyCourses website under the “Syllabus”, “Resources”, and “Lessons” tabs respectively. The student is expected to read the required material before LIVE classroom/ Zoom sessions and show that they know the theory for a thorough and complete clinical examination.

All course announcements will be made online via email. Please check your sgu.edu email regularly to stay in touch with course announcements. You are responsible for keeping up-to- date with course changes as they may occur and for adhering tightly to all assessment deadlines.

When communicating and working with colleagues, faculty, staff, and animals we expect students to be professional. Professional behavior is an important part of the SGU, SVM curriculum and students will be graded on that during the duration of this course. We expect students to be respectful, open minded, positive, caring, careful, able to give and get feedback gracefully as true representatives of the veterinary profession. Turn cell phones off or silence them during LIVE Zoom sessions.

Students are expected to be available during the standard 8-5am AST school day, to virtually attend, engage with online content, and participate in all classes and clinical rotations for which they have registered. Employment is not an excusable absence. Although attendance, engagement, and participation may not be recorded at every academic activity, attendance, engagement, and participation is graded for mandatory sessions. Students’ lack of attendance, engagement, and participation may adversely affect their academic status as specified in the grading policy.

If failure to attend, engage, or participate in individual classes, examinations, and online activities, or from the University itself is anticipated, or occurs spontaneously due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, proper notification procedures must be followed.

Attendance to LIVE classroom/ Zoom sessions are mandatory and engagement in the course content is mandatory. This will be reviewed using weekly checklists and attendance logs and assessed using the professionalism rubric (See Appendix A). You are expected to utilize the checklists in order to allow course directors to track your progress and engagement with the course material as well as to ensure your success. Students are to be on time for each session and stay for the entire session to avoid being marked as absent due to tardiness or premature leaving.

Students who fail to attend an examination (Sakai quiz/test or Examsoft) or submit an assignment by the deadline without a valid reason (see student manual: SGUSVM POLICY ON AN EXCUSED ABSENCE (EA) FOR STUDENTS) will receive a score of “0” points for the examination.

Students who have technical issues during the examination MUST inform the Course Director(s) Dr. Nyoni Winchester, [nwinches@sgu.edu] and Dr. Lucian Thomas lthomas8@sgu.edu, and IT (tellexaminationservices@sgu.edu OR support@sgu.edu OR call 1-631-665-8500 ext. 4444 (US, NU, International) OR 1-473-439-2000 ext. 4444 (Grenada), AND Dean of Students (DOS@sgu.edu) during the open period for the examination. Failure to do so immediately will result in the student receiving the highest score recorded at the time, but NOT being eligible to take a completion examination.

Scheduling of examinations (regular, re-sit, completion, comprehensive, or exemption) is at the discretion of the University.

All students are responsible for knowing and complying with the University’s  Code of Conduct and the guidelines. Students must read and then sign the Honor Code statement at the start of examinations to indicate that they will comply with the University Code of Conduct.

Prior to Exam Day

1. Each student is required to have a laptop for the purpose of taking computer-based examinations (e-Exams) at SGU. Students must ensure that their laptops meet the current minimum system requirements prior to exam day:
2. Examinees must use their MY SGU Member Center username and password to access the Custom Home Page (www.examsoft.com/sgu) created by ExamSoft for the University.
3. Examinees are responsible for downloading and registering the latest version of Examplify on their laptop prior to exam day. Once Examplify has been successfully downloaded, examinees are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the software by downloading and taking practice exams.
4. Examinees are responsible for setting their laptop up for ExamMonitor prior to the exam (see links below).
5. Examinees will be notified via MyCourses, of all exam related information. Email notifications will also be sent from ExamSoft Support to examinees, notifying them of examinations available for downloading.
6. Examinees experiencing difficulties with their laptop are encouraged to visit the IT department for assistance prior to exam day. Examinees needing a laptop must visit the Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA) to request an exam loaner.
7. Examinees should visit the following information to familiarize themselves with the online proctored exam format and set up their baseline photo.
   • A Examsoft/ExamID quick guide for students (Please note that the current Examplify version is 2.3.8)
   • The Examsoft student perspective video 30mins
   • The Examsoft/ExamID FAQ
   • Examsoft information page
   • The general Reminders/Guidelines

The materials (such as slides, handouts and audio/video recordings) provided to students who are taking courses at St. George’s University (SGU) are the intellectual property of the Faculty and/or Administration of SGU. Students are free to use these materials solely for the purpose of group or individual study. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.