The completion of Pre-clinical EMS requires 6 weeks of satisfactory performance while engaged in clinical experience in veterinary practices covering both small and large animals. Pre-clinical EMS occurs in Year 4 after completion of VM4110 Small Animal Clinical Studies 1, VM4111 Companion Animal Surgery, VM4112 Anaesthesia, Analgesia and Fluid Therapy, VM4113 Clinical Pathology, VM3010 Veterinary Practice & Professional Studies 1 and VM4010 Veterinary Practice & Professional Studies 2.

This course is a preparatory phase for Clinical EMS, which consist of 20 weeks of external placements in veterinary practices during Year 5 and 6. Oversight of Pre-clinical EMS will be provided by the JCC Pre-clinical and Clinical EMS Coordinator.

At the pre-clinical EMS placement, one veterinarian will be the Placement Supervisor, and will be the major point of contact for the JCC Pre-Clinical and Clinical EMS Coordinator and for the student. During pre-clinical EMS placement, the student will work under the day-to-day direction of the Placement Supervisor who may also assign the student to work with other clinicians on a one-to-one basis. With the permission of the owners, in accordance with the policy of the particular practice, and within the legal constraints of the Veterinary Surgeons' Registration Ordinance, students will, under the close and direct supervision of a registered veterinary surgeon, participate in the clinical examination, diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of animals and the recording of case data. Students will also familiarize themselves with the veterinary clinic/hospital design and business model, the services provided, pharmacy management, teamwork,professional behaviour, animal management and patient record management systems.

Students will undertake their Pre-clinical EMS in three two-week blocks, with each block being undertaken in a different practice. Two weeks of small animal practice and two weeks of equine or livestock practice are a compulsory requirement for successful completion of this course. The remaining two-week placement is an elective placement chosen by the students in areas of their career interest.

Both Pre-clinical EMS and Clinical EMS make a major contribution towards the development of the competencies, skills and attributes required by the Australasian Veterinary Board Council Inc (AVBC) of veterinary graduates. It also contributes to the development of the general professional skills and attributes, practical and clinical competencies expected by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) of newly qualified graduates. Pre-clinical EMS and Clinical EMS will also contribute to the underpinning knowledge and understanding required by RCVS in relation to the development of effective interpersonal skills and an ethical approach to animals and veterinary practice.

Assessment Schedule:

Students will maintain a reflective diary of experience similar to the RCVS to enable them to keep a record of the practical and clinical skills that they have acquired and developed both during EMS and during their clinical rotations. Students will also be required to submit activity logs of the cases they have participated in the diagnosis and treatment of the patients.

The veterinarian with which the student has most experience, in consultation with other veterinarians in the practice, will assess the performance of each student using a EMS Placement Supervisor Report Form. The EMS Coordinator will consider the contents of the activity log, reflective diary of experiences and the supervisor report form, and if they are unfavourable to the student, discuss the situation with the student before determining whether the student’s performance at the particular placement was unsatisfactory or not. A PASS grade will appear on a student's transcript for satisfactory performance, whereas an unsatisfactory performance requires that the particular category of placement be repeated.

Attendance Requirement:

Students are required to attend each 2-week placement for a minimum of 9 days. If students fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement, they are required to make up the days of absence at the placement practice.