FARMS Residency Program » Large Animal Clinical Sciences » College of Veterinary Medicine

FARMS

Residency Program

The UF Veterinary Hospitals (UFVH) and the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences (LACS) offer a 3-year Master’s of Science (MS) degree in Veterinary Medical Sciences (VMS) combined with a Residency Program in the Food Animal Reproduction and Medicine Service (FARMS).

Program Description

The Food Animal Reproduction and Medicine Service (FARMS) conducts instruction, service and research activities with food animals, in Florida, primarily with dairy (75%) and beef (15%) cattle, but also with small ruminants (7%), primarily sheep, and swine (3%). Virtually all these activities are on-farm, and they are heavily focused on preventive and production food animal medicine. FARMS undertakes clinical activities at private farms and ranches at both local and distant locations, providing herd health care (preventive medicine) and emergency support. In addition, FARMS has responsibility for the health of all agricultural animals used for research at the University. Herd health and regulatory responsibilities extend to University dairy, beef, sheep and swine units. FARMS provides experience in “hands on” cases as well as investigations of special problems throughout the State of Florida. Residents are an integral and significant part of this program, progressing towards greater autonomy with both clients and students as their residency progresses.

All residents will assist in student laboratories on a rotational basis. Residents are expected and encouraged to attend the formal teaching activities conducted by FARMS faculty in didactic courses as well as attend relevant seminars in the CVM, Department of Animal Sciences and other venues both on and off campus. These activities include State and National meetings in relevant areas. Regular scheduled participatory activities include student and Faculty/Resident journal clubs (which alternate weekly with student-led discussions of research journal papers), case rounds and research project discussions (at regular intervals) within FARMS. Residents are expected to help supervise student club activities for the Food Animal Club and Theriogenology Club, often on Saturdays. In addition, residents are required to present seminars at the Resident seminar series.

FARMS faculty, residents, and interns are involved with a number of research projects, acting both as principle investigators and co-investigators. Excellent collaboration exists with Animal Sciences as well as with other Departments in the CVM.

Objectives

The objectives of the program are to train graduate veterinarians for careers in preventive and production food animal medicine. The ultimate objective is completion of a Master of Science degree and/or certification by the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine or the American College of Theriogenologists. This is achieved through development of clinical skills and judgment through supervised field experience, didactic course work, teaching of professional veterinary students and participation in clinic rounds and seminars.

Goals of the Residency Program

The program is designed to provide a broad-based knowledge of the fundamentals of food animal reproduction and medicine including the following:

Herd health and management
Reproductive management
Nutrition management
Mastitis control
Infectious disease control
Neonate health and management
Foot health
Parasite control
Toxicosis prevention
Responsible drug use and residue prevention
Therapeutics
Necropsy/Pathology

Prerequisites

DVM degree or equivalent
One or more years of an approved internship or practice experience in food animal medicine is required
Candidate must be fluent in English

Resident Selection Procedure

Residents are recruited from internship programs or private practices. FARMS faculty evaluate the application pool and select the candidates. Selection will be based on:

The individual’s curriculum vitae including college transcripts
A statement of interests and goals
Reference letters from a minimum of three qualified individuals
Prior veterinary experience
Previous scholarly activities
Optional interview is encouraged

Application

Applicants must complete the standard VIRMP application, including a personal statement/letter of intent, copy of academic transcripts, CV, and 3-4 letters of reference. We encourage in-person interviews for resident candidates.

Case Load

FARMS sees ~40,000 cases per year; therefore, our residents serve as primary clinician on a large number of the cases seen by the FARMS service. We also encourage the residents to take the lead on employee training and troubleshooting disease outbreaks or management issues at the clients’ farms.

Responsibilities of Residents During Their Clinical Training

Responsibilities of FARMS residents consist of clinical assignments, which include patient care, participation in the clinical teaching of veterinary students, lectures to underclassmen, resident seminars, and some participation in the Theriogenology and palpation laboratories and continuing education courses. Responsibilities will include rotating night and weekend emergency duty.

Academic Requirements

All residents must conduct a research project, and prepare a manuscript in a format acceptable for publication in a refereed journal. Requirements of specialty boards will be completed in accordance with the board requirements.

MS Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits will be required as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MS degree.

Core courses:

You must have a total of 30 credits that count towards the degree. ASE (Academic Spoken English) courses do not count towards the 30 credits.
A minimum of 3 semester credit hours of graduate level courses in Statistics, with emphasis on experimental design and computer literacy.
A minimum of 3 semester credit hours of graduate level courses is required. For example, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Immunology, or equivalent.
There is a maximum of 5 credits of VME 6910 (Sup Research) that can count towards the degree.
There is a maximum of 5 credits of VME 6940 (Sup Teaching) that can count towards the degree.
There is a maximum of 6 credits of Master thesis credits (VME 6971) that count towards the degree and you must register for at least 3 credits if your last term is fall or spring and 2 credits if your last term is summer term.

Residency Certificate Requirements

Each resident will present one seminar per year in the CVM Resident Seminar Series. Topics must be selected three months in advance.
Each resident must complete a research project and have one major manuscript submitted or ready for submission to a refereed journal by the end of his or her program.
The Residency Program Coordinator maintains a folder for each resident. Residents are responsible for keeping their file current by noting fulfillment of required obligations, updating their curriculum vitae, and providing a copy of all manuscripts submitted for publication.
A certificate of residency will be awarded at the end of the residency only when stipulated requirements are satisfied and the resident’s committee members have signed the Residency Completion Form.

Rounds and Seminars

The FARMS Section meets weekly on Fridays for journal club, student case presentation, and seminar for students. The residents are required to participate in all activities by presenting research articles, participating in case discussions, and presenting seminars to students. Residents are required to present a seminar to fellow residents and faculty as part of the Resident Seminar Series every year.

Research

Residents will produce at least one manuscript during their program. Resident research projects must be reviewed by the resident’s (Masters of Science or American Board of Veterinary Practitioners) advisor as well as appropriate FARMS faculty. Each resident will be expected to participate in an independent or joint prospective study and/or original research and the resident is encouraged to seek funding from both local and national sources. An annual Resident Research Award Competition through the Dean’s office funds many small resident projects (up to $2,500.00) with (mandatory) faculty assistance.

Resident Evaluation

The FARMS faculty will evaluate the progress of each resident every semester. This serves for guidance of the resident and to provide constructive criticism to aid their clinical, academic and professional development. Each resident will be requested to evaluate the residency program annually, and the FARMS faculty at the end of their program. The University of Florida is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Applications by members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged.