A new pathway to success for our graduates

The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine opened the doors to the new Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic on June 1. This innovative and impressive 35,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building provides a unique opportunity to advance the clinical training for Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine students throughout all phases of their veterinary program, starting from the early days of their first semester and through the end of their fourth year. The Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic is one of the first primary care clinics operated by a college of veterinary medicine that embraces a spectrum of care model to educate and prepare students while serving as a new home to the existing Primary Care Service (formerly known as Community Practice).

During their first three years, students will learn business, practice management and marketing skills; practice customer service and communications; tailor and manage the client experience; shadow veterinary technicians to better understand how to utilize their knowledge, skills and attitudes effectively; and learn many other aspects of a successful companion animal practice. In their fourth year, students will develop the confidence and competence necessary to be ready to practice immediately on day one after graduation by taking the lead role in providing veterinary care while being overseen by faculty coaches.

The Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic will provide a greater opportunity for faculty to interact with fourth-year students as mentors and coaches, much like new graduates will experience at the beginning of their careers. The students will manage a broad range of cases as student-doctors to gain skills that will help them to be ready for practice on day one. The unique environment will also create more opportunities for clinicians and students to conduct clinical research that advances spectrum of care in veterinary medicine.

The new clinic provides a true general practice experience

Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine formed a Stanton Advisory Board in 2016 that is comprised of a group of approximately 20 members who are exceptional spectrum of care private practitioners. The Stanton Advisory Board ensures the college has a focus on spectrum of care in all general practice initiatives. Members of the board have been involved in other student mentoring opportunities, such as the Spectrum of Care Career Externships and establishing the program in the Veterinary Clinical and Professional Skills Center.

The Stanton Advisory Board was integrally involved in the design of the Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic to ensure the clinic accurately represented a private practice environment. The plan is for members of this board to serve as coaches for veterinary students in the new clinic in the near future.

“The Stanton Advisory Board serves as a guiding light when it comes to the college’s programs that prepare students for general practice,” said Roger B. Fingland, DVM, MS, MBA, DACVS, professor and executive associate dean, executive director and chief medical officer of the Veterinary Health System, and the Frank Stanton Chair.

Faculty with extensive general practice experience training veterinary students

Joseph Snyder, DVM, assistant professor, is one of the new faculty hired to teach in the Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic. Snyder worked in private practice for 27 years, the last 22 years at Proctorville Animal Clinic, where several Ohio State veterinary students have participated in the Spectrum of Care Summer Externship Program.

“Students will learn how to manage cases across a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds of clients to prepare them for how to provide excellent patient care regardless of the client’s budget. This will benefit pets and pet parents who will be receiving great quality care from exceptional student doctors who are confident and competent across the full spectrum of care," said Snyder. 

Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine has engaged veterinary partners across the state and beyond in the development of this concept since planning began, and those partners will also be actively involved in the coaching of students. This is another way the college hopes to provide a much broader private practice experience for students, ultimately graduating practice-ready veterinarians who are highly sought after by employers.

“I am honored and excited to have this opportunity to pass on my experience to the next generation of veterinarians. Having the perspective of a mentor and private practitioner, I will be able to portray to the students the important roles and the impact they will have upon graduation,” said Snyder.

What the clinic means for patient care

The Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic is the new home for the Veterinary Medical Center’s Primary Care team. The Veterinary Medicine Outreach Program will also utilize the clinic as a home base, creating access to veterinary care for underserved populations and providing expanded care that cannot be provided in clients’ homes or at community partner organizations or agency locations.

The facility includes an expansive lobby and reception area; nine exam rooms – including two dedicated to feline use only; separate cat and dog waiting areas and wards; two surgical suites with pre-and post-surgical care areas; a full dental suite; a separate entrance and exam room for pets with behavioral needs; a separate entrance, exam and housing isolation spaces for patients with suspected contagious infectious diseases; a spacious treatment room; as well as imaging, dispensary and lab areas.

Faculty and visiting veterinarians are situated in observation rooms adjacent to exam rooms, enabling them to provide coaching to fourth-year veterinary students as they care for the pets that visit the clinic. After the student completes the initial evaluation, assessment and treatment recommendations, the faculty clinician will join the client and the student to answer any remaining questions.

Susan Barrett, DVM, section head of the Primary Care Service at Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center, has been a part of the Primary Care team for ten years.

“We will continue to provide compassionate care for our patients just as we always have,” said Barrett. “Our clients will see a more immersive fourth-year student experience, and our students will be more involved with the pet parents than ever. Our clients and their pets will be an even more important part of the preparation of the next generations of veterinarians. Personally, this clinic demonstrates a commitment to something I have been my entire career – a general practitioner who serves all pet owners, from all backgrounds. It celebrates the family veterinarian that greater than half of our students will become,” Barrett says.

The Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic is adjacent to but separate from Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center, so students will not have immediate access to specialists. Instead, if the client chooses specialty care or the student doctor wants advice from a specialist, a referral or phone consultation will be arranged just as would be the case in general practice. This approach is very different from a hallway consultation or transfer of cases between services in the Veterinary Medical Center.

Candace Dark, MBA, M.Ed, director of outreach and engagement with The James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute, has been bringing her dog Apollo to the Primary Care Service at Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center for over 12 years.

“Facilities like the Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic will foster hands-on training accompanied by diverse thoughts and experiences that will span the healthcare continuum. Certainly, this state-of-the-art facility will provide an opportunity for students and veterinary clinicians to interact in a very meaningful and hands-on, clinical way that will improve and positively impact care for our beloved pets,” said Dark.

“Investments like this facility, world-class research and care, the amazing veterinarians like Dr. Barrett and the outstanding students; these all make Ohio State’s Veterinary Medical Center truly incredible! It gives me the confidence that Apollo will continue to thrive in his geriatric years and makes me tremendously grateful for each additional day that I get to spend with my little guy,” Dark said.

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Looking towards the future

Roger B. Fingland, DVM, MS, MBA, DACVS, professor and executive associate dean, executive director and chief medical officer of the Veterinary Health System and the Frank Stanton Chair, oversaw the concept, development and construction of the Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic. Fingland says that he looks forward to working with students, faculty and alumni as the college opens the doors to this exciting new chapter in its longstanding and ongoing journey of excellence in patient care and education.

“This clinic will have a transformational impact on veterinary clinical education at Ohio State and beyond, as well as our ability to serve an economically diverse clientele,” said Fingland. “Our mission is grounded in the spectrum of care philosophy and in partnership with our clients, we will prepare confident and competent veterinarians while providing compassionate care for every patient.”

The Frank Stanton Veterinary Spectrum of Care Clinic is an incredible milestone for Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Medical Center that advances our ambition to Be The Model^® comprehensive college of veterinary medicine in the world, impacting animal and human health through innovation, collaboration and excellence.