I was wondering if anyone could tell me about 4th year practicum/ rotates at CSU. How many required rotations and how many open rotations are there? And are there options to do rotations outside of the VTH? Could not find much information about this on the website (unless I just missed it). Thanks!
Hi! I'm a fourth year.
🙂
Required rotations vary by track (small, large, mixed). Large by far has the most externship time (off campus), with the requirement that anything under the large animal approved externship time must be something like 80% LA work. They get I think 6 weeks for LA specific externships, 6 weeks for electives (which can be externships scheduled off campus), and 1 week of required externship that they give everyone because they shortened our radiology rotation by a week lol.
Mixed has 6 weeks elective time + the 1 week required externship. Small has 4 weeks elective + 1 week required externship.
Everyone also gets 8 weeks of vacation as well - many people take some of this time (PLEASE do not take all of it) to do some extra externships as they'd like.
Required rotations vary by track, if you have a specific one in mind I could give you more info. Everyone has to do the basics (can you read rads, can you knock something out without killing it, can you cut open a dead thing and diagnose stuff on it or at least submit samples, can you do basic medical workups and generate good differential lists) but things that are deeper into specialities etc aren't necessarily required depending on your track.
I'm also not sure what you mean by open rotations - like electives or off campus rotations?
I will say some of the electives include things like exotics, dentistry (I believe this will be required for all SA trackers soon), lambing rotations, ambulatory work, shelter rotations with DFL, etc. You can also just repeat rotations of something you liked or want more experience in or do a rotation that's not required for your track. For example a SA tracker doing a rotation on Livestock Medicine.
Hope this helped!
🙂 You all are welcome to let me know if you have any questions. Unfortunately I am probably no longer very useful for questions about things from earlier in the curriculum since I'm a little far removed from that, but for questions about later in your training, the program as a whole, the teaching hospital, etc I hope I can make myself useful.
I also did the MPH/DVM program if any of you have questions there or about life as a Year 0