General Information About Preceptorships

Missouri students are encouraged to use free blocks for 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 for the hours required by the state of Missouri Veterinary Medical Board.

Evaluated preceptorships:

1. You must submit this Off Campus Elective/Preceptorship Request Form at least 2 blocks in advance of your proposed experience. If you are planning something for block 4 the form will need to be submitted during block 2.
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 5 days and 40 hours with no more than 12 hours worked each day.
3. An Affiliation Agreement must be in place with the business/ clinic that will be hosting you. The Office of Student and Academic Affairs 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. 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 Office of Student and Academic Affairs will need a copy of this upon your return.
5. You will be required to complete an evaluation of the practice when the preceptorship concludes.
6. The evaluated preceptorship cannot be completed with a family member.

The Missouri State Veterinary Medical Board requires 320 hours of work experience prior to being licensed.  Their requirements and forms can be found on their website: http://pr.mo.gov/veterinarian.asp.  Some of your graded preceptorship hours might count towards this requirement, but the board will determine what they will and will not accept.  If you have specific questions about licensing hours please send them an email vets@pr.mo.gov prior to starting your graded preceptorship.

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