Bothell Participates in Washington State University Preceptorship Program

Since 2004, Bothell Pet Hospital has been participating in a guided preceptorship program with Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, in which we host 4th year veterinary students for one month, so they can get a taste for how things operate in the “real world” outside of academia.

As one of only 5 participating clinics in the Seattle area, we are quite honored to be part of this program. We would like to thank our clients who have met our students for welcoming them and helping them to further their education.

What Does a Preceptorship with Bothell Pet Hospital Entail?

WSU veterinary students accompany our doctors into patient appointments, scrub in and assist with surgeries, come up with proposed treatment plans, and discuss these plans with the practicing veterinarian.

This year, our preceptee during the month of February was Kristy Burges, who grew up in Bellevue and attended Western Washington University for her undergraduate degree. Says Kristy, “I loved spending time learning from the doctors and staff here and enjoyed interacting with clients and their pets. This was a great experience for me, and I look forward to keeping in touch with the people here. I’ll always be grateful for the time I spent at BPH!”

Kristy is looking forward to graduating from veterinary school this May and starting her career as a veterinarian.

About the Guided Preceptorship Program

The Guided Preceptorship Program is a structured program, which serves to instruct professional veterinary students in private practice situations under the direct supervision of one or more practicing veterinarians. The Guided Preceptorship Program at WSU follows the guidelines established by the 1991 AVMA House of Delegates. WSU students are required to complete the four credit (4 week) guided preceptorship experience.

Each private practice participating in the Guided Preceptorship Program has met requirements established by the WSU CVM, and a practitioner in each preceptorship practice has been appointed as an adjunct faculty member of the CVM. Responsible for grading the student upon the completion of the 4 weeks, that person has responsibility for overseeing the 4-week experience and providing guidance and constructive criticism.

Practitioners in the program are keenly interested in participating in the education of DVM students and strive to make the experience as worthwhile as possible. Students should view this as an opportunity to test their veterinary skills in a private practice situation.

Through positive, active participation by students and practitioners, everyone benefits from the experience. However, poor performance or attitude can result in a failing grade. Since the Guided Preceptorship Program is a required course, failure will result in dismissal from the DVM program just as failure in any of the other required courses would.