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Care Team Roles

Each patient at the Equine Medical Center is treated by a team of equine health care professionals, which includes board-certified veterinarians, service technicians, and support staff.

All care team members are committed to exceptional, compassionate care for our patients and a standard of excellence in interactions and communications with team members, customers, and referring veterinarians.

Also called senior clinicians or clinicians-in-charge, these board-certified veterinarians oversee patients admitted to our hospital. In addition, they instruct residents, interns, and fourth-year veterinary students.

Residents are veterinarians enrolled in a specialty training program. They are responsible for the primary care of the patients under the supervision of the faculty clinician. Residents receive routine and emergency cases with faculty clinicians on each service.

Interns are veterinarians pursuing additional training in veterinary medicine. They have a variety of responsibilities for diagnosing and treating horses and are supervised by the senior clinicians on each service.

Students from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine observe and discuss cases and assist clinicians, residents, and interns with patient care.

Licensed Veterinary Technicians (LVT) have completed specialized education and received extensive training to become licensed by the State Board of Veterinary Medicine. They are an integral part of the equine patient care team and are responsible for coordinating the care ordered by the clinicians. Our LVTs also administer treatments, participate in patient evaluation and client education, and assist in the delivery of a wide range of services, including anesthesia, surgical nursing, diagnostic imaging, advanced nursing care, and mentoring students.

* Veterinary technicians do not have the authority to discuss your horse's condition with you. Please ask them to direct you to your horse’s clinician.

Veterinary assistants are the backbone of the patient care support system and are extensively trained to provide a wide range of equine inpatient and outpatient services. These staff members include equine nurses and nursing assistants who maintain proper animal husbandry by administering treatments and monitoring the health status of all patients on a 24-hour basis.

* Veterinary assistants do not have the authority to discuss your horse's condition with you. Please ask them to direct you to your horse’s clinician.

The Equine Center has specialist technicians in diagnostic imaging, the operating room, and the dispensary, and laboratory/pathology medical technologists and biomedical equipment specialists.