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College of Veterinary Medicine

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Government Elective

If you are interested, during your 4th year off-site elective experience, we provide a list of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine's previously approved locations.

If you choose not to work at any of the pre-approved sites, please find your own elective location and submit a request for approval through The College of Veterinary Medicine.

American Veterinary Medical Association Headquarters Externship

Schaumburg, IL

Description Experience: Not every veterinary student envisions clinical practice as the goal of attending veterinary school. Some students hope to teach, some to do research and some to work for a large corporation. Still others see themselves serving their fellow veterinarians in some leadership capacity. The American Veterinary Medical Association has a Headquarters externship program for students who would like to explore opportunities for careers outside clinical practice.
AVMA Governmental Relations Division

Washington, DC

Type of Experience: Governmental relations/advocacy externship Descri
AVMA Governmental Relations Veterinary Student Externship

Washington, DC

Description Experience: The AVMA Extern program pairs talented veterinary students together with the AVMA Governmental Relations Division for a four-week program that introduces Externs to the breadth of public policy issues facing the profession and provides hands-on lobbying experience with legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill.
CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine

Atlanta, GA

Description Students who are involved in the Epi-elective program at CDC usually participate in a 6 week rotation in the area of their choice. While in the epi-elective program, students engage in the activities of their assigment and are often deployed to assist with a domestic outbreak investigation. Individual experiences can be tailored to a student's interest. In the Quarantine Branch, students learn about and participate in the activies of the Zoonoses Team.
CDC-Hubert Global Public Health Fellowship

Atlanta, GA

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Description The year-long fellowship starts in July and is divided into three phases (fellowship experiences may very): Phase 1: Fellows complete fellowship activities while attending school
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NE Atlanta, GA

Description Students involved in the Epi-elective program and CDC usually participate in a 6 week rotation in the area of their choice. While in the program students usually engage in the activities within their assigned area, but may be deployed to assist with an outbreak investigation. Within the Division of Food, Water and Environmental Diseases, Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch, students learn about and participate in foodborne disease outbreak related activities.
Department of Defense Joint Pathology Center

Silver Spring, MD

Type of Experience: Diagnostic pathology Description Experience:
Fort Sill Veterinary Treatment Facility (U.S. Army)

Fort Sill, OK

Type of Experience: Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Equine medicine, some exotic wildlife medicine
Indiana State Department of Health

Indianapolis, IN

Type of Experience: Externship in Public Health Description Experienc
Maine Department of Agriculture

Augusta, ME

Description Experience: Job shadowing with State Veterinarian, State Lab director and other field employees.
ODA Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory

Reynoldsburg, OH

Description Necropsies are primarily of food production animals (cattle, swine, sheep, goats) and poultry (turkeys, chickens), with fewer horses, dogs, cats and miscellaneous animals (few exotic animals, deer and other wildlife, camelids and pet birds).
Ohio Dept of Agriculture (ODA) Div. of Meat Inspection

Reynoldsburg, OH

Description The student will learn about the role of veterinarians in the area of food safety as it relates to meat and poultry products. The intern will shadow agency veterinarians as they do their daily activities. The student will learn first hand the activities of the regulatory program in accomplishing their mission of assuring meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome and truthfully labeled.
Pennsylvania Bureau of Animal Health Region 1 Office

Meadville, PA

Type of Experience: In a regional office of the Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services of the Department of Agriculture the student will be exposed to regulatory veterinary medicine.
South Dakota State University Dept of Veterinary Science

Brookings SD

Description An opportunity to get hands on experience in diagnostic laboratory medicine and pathology of food animals. There is also an opportunity for field investigation and food animal infectious disease research. Details Associate Veterinarians and special expertise available The SDSU Diagnostic Laboratory is AAVLD accredited full service laboratory. There are 7 pathologists, 10 infectious disease researchers and one extension veterinarian.
U.S. Sheep Experiment Station

Dubois, ID

Application Program Flier The USSES Veterinary Student Externship is a collaborative program between the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and the University of Idaho (UI).  All of the animals on the facility are currently involved in active research projects.  The objective of this externship is to:
United States Army Veterinary Corps

multiple locations around the world

Description Important note: This off-campus elective opportunity is available to HPSP Students only. An Army Veterinary Corps Externship experience is very individual depending on the location and the interest of the student. The typical Veterinary Services location will give exposure to clinical veterinary medicine focusing both on government owned working dogs and privately owned pets. Clinical practice can range from your typical sick call appointment to laparoscopic surgery depending on the location.
USDA APHIS VS

Riverdale, MD

Type of Experience: The student will be working at USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service headquarters for Veterinary Services. The office is in the Washington DC metro area.
USDA APHIS VS NCAHEM

Riverdale, MD

Description Experience: Externship for student will be sponsored by USDA-APHIS-VS-NCAHEM, and will be in the field of emergency management and regulatory veterinary medicine.
USDA APHIS VS One Health

Riverdale, MD

Type of Experience: Regulatory veterinary medicine Description Experi
USDA APHIS VS/UF Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory

Ruskin, FL

Type of Experience: This externship is intended to provide the vet student with a hands-on experience on ornamental aquaculture, aquatic animal health and related regulatory activities - including pathogen surveillance.
USDA APHIS, Veterinary Services, Ohio

Pickerington, OH

Description Our agency deals with livestock disease and control programs, plus export of animals and animal products. Students can observe a variety of activities, both in the office and in the field. The experience varies with what activities are occurring at the time. Details Associate Veterinarians and special expertise available Students can observe field Veterinary Medical Officers, plus interact with the export Veterinary Medical Officer, Scrapie Veterinary Medical Officer, Area Epidemiologist, and Area Veterinarian-in-Charge (AVIC).
USDA ARS Avian Disease & Oncology Laboratory

East Lansing, MI

Type of Experience: The mission of the Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory (ADOL) is to provide leadership in solving current and future problems in neoplastic and other viral diseases of poultry using basic and applied multidisciplinary, team approaches thereby benefiting the po
USDA FSIS Madison, WI

Madison, WI

Type of Experience: Role of the Public Health Veterinarian with USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
USDA VS Centers for Epidemiology & Animal Health

Fort Collins, CO

Type of Experience: Epidemiology/Spatial Epidemiology/Modeling Descri
USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services, Mississippi State Univ. CVM

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USDA, FSIS, IO EST. P-970

Canton, OH

Description Performing ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection in USDA inspected poultry and red meat plants; pathology; sampling for residue and salmonella, humane handling of red meat and poultry in a slaughter house setting. Details Associate Veterinarians and special expertise available Student will shadow Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian in a slaughter/processing facility:
USDA-APHIS-VS

Sacramento, CA

Type of Experience: Government/Regulatory Medicine Description Experi
USDA-APHIS-VS New York Animal Import Center

Rock Tavern, NY

Type of Experience: Government/Regulatory Medicine
USDA-FSIS-Headquarter Plant P-2130

St. Henry, OH

Type of Experience: Performing ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection in USDA inspected poultry and red meat plants; pathology; sampling for residue and salmonella, humane handling of red meat and poultry in a slaughter house setting.
USDA/APHIS/VS/National Poultry Improvement Plan

Conyers, GA

Type of Experience: Poultry Policy and Regulatory Medicine Description Experience:
USGS Patuxent Veterinary Hospital

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Type of Experience: Wildlife veterinary medicine in a research setting. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is the largest wildlife research institution in the US.