General Information About Preceptorships

Missouri students are encouraged to use free blocks as preceptorships to increase exposure to veterinary practice and to meet the requirements of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Practice Act. The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine does not have the authority to approve the use of student free block time or the veterinarians with whom they gain experience.

Evaluated preceptorships:

1. You must schedule your preceptorship with the Student Services Coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs at least the block before you begin (if you are going in block 3 the preceptorship must be on your schedule before block 2 ends – 5pm the day before block change).
2. You need four weeks of evaluated preceptorship to graduate – the minimum time spent at a location is 2 weeks.  One week equals at least 40 hours with no more than 12 hours worked each day.  You need to have a day off during your preceptorship.
3. An Affiliation Agreement must be in place with the business/ clinic that will be hosting you. The Student Services Coordinator needs at least 6-8 weeks to get this in place. A preceptorship will not be added to your schedule until we have a completed Affiliation Agreement.
4. These are the forms to fill out and return before you leave for an evaluated preceptorship:
   • University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Student Affiliation Confidentiality Agreement and Release
   • Contact Information Form
5. You must keep a log of the procedures you observe and/or take part in and the number of hours worked while you are away. The supervising veterinarian must sign the log at the end of the preceptorship.  The Student Services Coordinator will need a copy of this upon your return.
6. You will be required to complete an evaluation of the practice when the preceptorship concludes.
7. The evaluated preceptorship cannot be completed with a family member.

Preceptorship requirements and forms required by the Missouri State Veterinary Medical Board can be found at their website: http://pr.mo.gov/veterinarian.asp

The level of supervision required by preceptors is detailed at: http://pr.mo.gov/boards/veterinary/VetSupervisionChart.pdf

The Missouri State Veterinary Medical Board preceptorship form may be found at: http://pr.mo.gov/veterinarian-application-forms.asp