RAVS volunteer training

Each RAVS clinic team will be made up of volunteers with a range of backgrounds and experience levels. Once we gather on-site, we will have a very short time in which to get to know each other, set up and orient everyone to the clinic and their roles before we see patients. It is imperative that all volunteers arrive as prepared as possible and ready to learn and contribute from the start.

Please review the information and materials listed here and provided with your trip acceptance information well in advance of your scheduled clinic. Pre-trip training assessments are due 30 days prior to the clinic start date.

Volunteer Training Manual - Required reading for all clinic volunteers. 
All volunteers are required to review the RAVS volunteer training manual provided with your acceptance materials and to be familiar with the protocols and clinical procedures relevant to their volunteer role as they are taught and practiced in our clinics.

Protocols and techniques have been developed to provide a standard level of care for the animals treated in our field clinics and allow for a standardized teaching curriculum across each new group of volunteers. All participants are expected to follow these protocols and recommendations.

Cultural Humility Training - Required viewing for all clinic volunteers.
Recorded presentations highlighting key concepts and information regarding cultural awareness and cultural humility relevant to community service work will be provided with your acceptance materials.

Clinic Walk-Through Video - Required viewing for all clinic volunteers.
Includes general overview of clinic setup and flow.

Surgery Training Videos - Required viewing for all veterinary student volunteers.
Includes demonstration of basic surgical skill requirements and assessment criteria.

Successful RAVS students show initiative and resourcefulness. The more prepared you are in advance, the more you will have a chance to do in the clinic. Students who put time and effort into preparation will be given a great deal of responsibility. To get the most out of your volunteer experience, it will be up to you to commit sufficient time to study and practice prior to the clinic.

If you have any difficulty accessing the information, have questions about the material or concerns about a specific protocol, please contact RAVS staff well before your scheduled trip.

Pre-trip training assessment

All volunteers (student, professional and support) are required to complete an online training assessment at least 30 days before your scheduled trip. A passing score of 80% is required. A new score must be submitted each calendar year.

Topics covered in the assessment will be:

• Veterinary students: All training materials
• Technicians/assistants and tech students: All materials except surgery sections
• Veterinarians: All materials except anesthesia sections
• Support volunteers: All materials except anesthesia and surgery sections

Participants will receive an individualized link to the online training assessment in their trip confirmation and pre-clinic planning emails.

Surgery skills assessment for veterinary students

All veterinary students will participate in a surgical skills assessment at the start of each clinic to demonstrate proficiency in tying secure ligatures and completing a basic closure pattern on a model using suture. Student participation and responsibility levels in surgery will be defined by the level of preparation demonstrated during this assessment.

The purpose of this assessment is to ensure basic proficiency of skills before attempting them in a patient. This is our responsibility to our patients and their families. We acknowledge that assessments and observation/scoring of technical skills can create nervousness and even anxiety for many students. This is not unlike the feeling experienced when doing surgery. Nervousness may contribute to a performance that is not as skilled as you know you are. Regardless of performance on the assessment, all students will rotate through surgery, participating at a level consistent with their assessment, gaining experience, and building skills in parts of surgical procedures that are challenging to replicate in models.

Detailed requirements for the skills assessment are outlined in the surgery section of the Volunteer Training Manual. It's up to you to practice and prepare. Many students overestimate their preparedness and/or are more nervous than expected when taking the practical. You will want to prepare more than you think necessary. Please make the time to practice and get coaching as needed before your trip.