Clinical Medicine and Pathology Residency Programs

Clinical Veterinary Medicine

©WCS/J.Maher

The Department of Clinical Care, of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wildlife Health Sciences Division, in conjunction with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, offers a three year residency in Zoological Medicine and Surgery. The first year of this program is based at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and the second two years at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. During the first year at Cornell the resident rotates through various specialized rotations in zoological and wildlife medicine (http://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospital/wildlife/), as well as domestic animal veterinary rotations. The second and third years are based at the Bronx Zoo but the resident is also involved in the veterinary care programs of the Central Park, Queens, and Prospect Park Zoos and the New York Aquarium. The resident participates in preventative medicine program development and implementation as well as daily medical and surgical care of the animal collections. This residency is approved by the American College of Zoological Medicine (www.ACZM.org) as meeting their criteria for an approved training program.  WCS program mentors include three veterinarians who are board certified in Zoological Medicine and one board certified in Avian Medicine. Applicants must be a graduate veterinarian with at least one year of clinical experience, preferably in a structured program, and are required to live in an apartment on zoo grounds to be available for night emergencies and night treatments. Applications are made through the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program (http://www.virmp.org/virmp/).

Pathology

The Department of Pathology at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City and the Biomedical Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine  have created a combined Residency training program in Anatomic Pathology, special emphasis in the pathology of Zoo Animals and Wildlife(www.vet.cornell.edu/biosci/).  This residency program requires three years of training and is designed to prepare candidates for a career in veterinary pathology and certification by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (www.acvp.org/).  Moreover, the residency is designed to provide specialized training in the diagnosis of diseases in exotic and wild animal species.  Training involves 2 years of general anatomic pathology training at Cornell University and a third year of training at the Wildlife Conservation Society.  The trainee will be exposed to extensive case material available through the necropsy and surgical pathology services at both institutions. Learning via responsibility for case material is supplemented by slide seminars, lectures, and rotations through specialty laboratories.  Opportunities exist to progress to graduate research training in a variety of research laboratories affiliated either with Cornell or WCS.  A DVM degree or equivalent and good academic record are required.

Additional information is available by contacting Dr. Donald Schlafer, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, New York 14853, telephone (607) 253-3352, e-mail dhs2@cornell.edu.