PTHB 540 Extra Mural Studies (EMS)

(38 cr.)

12 weeks pre-clinical
6 weeks preparatory clinical including 2 weeks equine, 2 weeks farm, 2 weeks small animal
20 weeks clinical EMS

All SGU students matriculated into the third year of pre-vet, FTV, or in the four-year DVM degree are eligible to participate in the 38-week Extra Mural Students (EMS) course. Those students in the pre-vet year or FTV will take and complete VSCI 310 Introduction to Veterinary Science and Medicine as a pre-requisite prior to starting any EMS work. The EMS course comprises three separate components: preclinical, preparatory clinical, and clinical. Preclinical deals with the normal animal in healthy settings and covers housing, nutrition, reproduction, health, and safety. Preparatory clinical exposes students to periods in small animal, production animal, and equine practices while clinical EMS puts the polish on day one competencies as additionally required by the RCVS. EMS beds in the application of theoretical knowledge in and with the “real world.”

EMS is carried out during vacations and it is therefore vital that students carefully plan their time and discuss with the course director their time commitments to this course prior to enrolling in the GVH track. The EMS components can be conducted anywhere in the world, and the location must be pre-approved by the course director. Students will be registered for the appropriate credits and should provide the course director with the proposed location, organization they will be working at, and the duration of time that they will spend working on their EMS. All students are encouraged to provide the course director with as much information about the proposed location of EMS activity as soon as they have an idea of where they would like to go. This will provide the course director with the opportunity to pre-evaluate the proposed study site and provide appropriate feedback to the student. Once approved, the student can enroll with the registrar and must provide a report of their activities to the course director at the end of each period of study. The EMS requirements must be completed prior to graduation. Because of the duration of EMS, students must plan their weeks very carefully so that they are able to complete the required 38-week course during their DVM degree program.