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:
- You must submit the Off Campus Elective/Preceptorship Request Form at least 2 blocks in advance of your proposed experience (i.e. something in block 4 needs to be submitted during block 2).
- You need four credit hours of evaluated preceptorship to graduate. These can be completed at a single location or at two different locations. No single credit hour experiences are allowed. One credit hour equals at least 4 days and 40 hours with no more than 12 hours worked each day. A two-credit hour experience requires a minimum of 10 calendar days spent at a single location and a four-credit hour experience requires a minimum of 24 calendar days at a single location.
- An Affiliation Agreement must be in place with the business/clinic 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.
- You must keep a log of the procedures you observe and/or take part in, including the number of hours worked while you are away. You will be assigned Coursework via eValue, allowing you to either type directly into the weekly text fields or upload a completed file (i.e. WORD, PDF, TEXT format preferred).
- You will be required to complete an evaluation of the practice when the preceptorship concludes.
- 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