Mission
The Department of Clinical Sciences is committed to teaching the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, to conducting clinically relevant research, and to providing care for the small animals of Mississippi and the surrounding area, and service to local pet owners and care givers.
Commitment to Teaching
The faculty and staff in Clinical Sciences highly prioritize teaching. Our department is responsible for a large part of the training of future veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Our faculty and staff contribute heavily to pre-clinical lectures, and also to on-the-floor clinical case-based training of students. Our emphasis is on providing the practical knowledge and skills needed for future veterinarian and technicians to be Day One “practice ready” when they graduate. Veterinary education is provided by a healthy mix of generalists and specialists, in order that our students are exposed to all aspects of a career based on the care of small animal patients such as dogs and cats. We take great pride in our signature “two-by-two” curriculum, where our veterinary students spend only two years in didactic lectures, and then undergo two years on clinics receiving the practical training (including performing, on average, between 50-100 canine and feline surgeries by the time they graduate) needed to prepare them for companion animal practice. We also have a strong and large house officer program, committed to preparing interns and residents (graduated veterinarians receiving additional specialty-level training) to become the next generation of teachers and specialists.
Commitment to Research
Research within our department is focused on clinically relevant research in areas relevant to the care of small animal patients, with research focused on anesthesia, orthopedic surgery, treatment of brain tumors, ophthalmic medications, diagnostic imaging techniques, hematology, hemostasis, immunosuppressive therapy and transfusion medicine. Our clinician educators are also interested in research into effective teaching techniques. Many of our interns and residents participate in clinical research, including enrollment in thesis-based Masters and PhD programs.
Commitment to Service
Core to our department’s mission is the provision of general veterinary care, and specialist services, to the dogs and cats of Mississippi and surrounding states. In many instances, our clinicians are the only veterinarians providing specialty services to the regional community. Specialty services serving small animals within the AHC and AERC include small animal surgery, small animal internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, dermatology, physical therapy, diagnostic imaging (radiology), and anesthesiology. Both the AHC and AERC are open 24/7, every day of the year, to provide emergency care of dogs and cats, and to provide specialty-level “tertiary” care for unwell patients in our large and well-equipped ICU. Vital general veterinary services are also provided in primary care and emergency medicine. We have the only state-licensed veterinary hospital pharmacy in the region. We also provide service to Mississippi animal shelters through our nation-leading Shelter Medicine program, which supports many shelters throughout the region with our robust spay and neuter program. The Department of Clinical Sciences is also committed to supporting the pet owners, care givers and veterinarians of Mississippi by the provision of advice and continuing education programs.