Shelter Medicine

Students at the University of Florida have the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Shelter Medicine, a credential that documents their intensive study and expertise in this emerging area of veterinary medicine.

Nationally, there is a shortage of veterinarians adequately trained in the clinical, managerial, and legal issues in shelter medicine. Similarly, there is a shortage of veterinarians skilled in high-quality high-volume spay-neuter, considered to be an essential component for reducing the number of unwanted pets. This is a transitional time for the animal welfare field as growing demand for animal-friendly solutions is challenging traditional sheltering paradigms, and veterinarians are needed to lead this transition.

The Shelter Medicine Certificate Program offers a broad range of training opportunities in this emerging field of specialization. Certificate students will develop strong skills in companion animal group health and sterilization. Students exposed to the sheltering system and the problems of animal homelessness first-hand will graduate with a clear understanding of the urgency of the problem and how they are positioned as veterinary professionals to provide key leadership to benefit shelters. Thus, even those students who do not elect to pursue a career in shelter medicine are likely to be supportive of their colleagues that do or to help in other ways through their own private practices.

The Certificate in Shelter Medicine will expose students to a cross-section of opportunities in the field, including veterinary care of sheltered animals, animal disaster management, disease outbreak intervention, cruelty investigation and forensics, shelter animal behavior and welfare, high-quality high-volume sterilization surgery, and research in shelter medicine. A Special Projects elective offers the opportunity for mentored in-depth participation in an a shelter-related topic, such as working with a shelter to perform a shelter population management analysis, the creation and implementation of shelter medicine protocols, or directed study in a topic of importance in shelter medicine. The certificate will identify students who have completed an intensive training program in this field, providing a valuable credential for students seeking employment in animal sheltering or the pursuit of residency training.

The Certificate program includes 8 units of required courses, clerkships, and externships and 7 units of electives selected from 12 units of elective offerings. All required and elective credits also fulfill credits toward the DVM degree with the exception of 1 unit of elective credit for attending shelter medicine-related continuing education, which does not count toward the degree. Students are required to join the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and to enroll in the listserv where shelter medicine issues are discussed. Student membership in ASV is $5/year. Students must also sign up for the ASPCA Shelter’s Edge blog. Students are also required to read and understand the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters.

Certificate course offerings span all four years of the curriculum and are offered at least once each year. Students must enroll in the certificate program by the end of the junior year, but are encouraged to enroll as soon as they identify interest in the program. A faculty advisor from the Shelter Medicine Program will be assigned for each enrolled student. The Shelter Medicine program will maintain a database of each student’s progress and will report completed certificates to the Office of Instruction. Students will receive their certificates during the graduation ceremony.

List of Required and Elective Courses

Note: Please see the student handbook for detailed course descriptions.Course descriptions can be found from pages 18-31. The find feature (Ctrl-F) is extremely helpful.

Faculty and Staff in Support of the Certificate Program