Three Things to Know
Massey University, New Zealand’s sole veterinary school, collaborated with a local SPCA to establish a low-cost feline desexing program.
Following six months of planning, two trial days, and a six-month pilot period, the program launched. It ensures continuity by utilizing a ‘see one, do one, teach one’ model to promote mentorship and student leadership.
Due to continuous volunteer turnover, clear SOPs were developed. The program is largely self-funded through nominal client fees, donations, and volunteer contributions.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners
The veterinary industry’s staffing crisis impacts dog welfare organizations, yet partnerships with veterinary schools can offer a solution. While some veterinarians criticize low-cost clinics as unfair competition, a joint low-cost spay/neuter program, like the partnership between Massey University and its local SPCA, represents a win-win: it provides students with invaluable experience, cultivates relationships for future collaboration, and strengthens the veterinary workforce.
The Full Picture
Providing veterinary students with adequate desexing surgery training is a persistent challenge for veterinary schools. Curriculum constraints, limited resources, and low caseloads in teaching hospitals often hinder practical skill development. To overcome these obstacles, Massey University, in collaboration with the local SPCA, initiated a volunteer program in 2017. This program offers low-cost desexing services to clients on limited incomes, creating a valuable learning environment where students perform surgeries under direct veterinary supervision. By adhering to shelter medicine protocols and employing a ‘see one, do one, teach one’ model, the program fosters rapid skill acquisition.
Preliminary observations reveal substantial improvements in students’ clinical and surgical proficiency. This study, ‘Guidelines for Implementing a Low-Cost Volunteer Desexing Skills Training Program for Veterinary and Veterinary Technology Students,’ not only details the structure and success of the Massey University program but also provides practical guidelines for other institutions seeking to replicate this successful model.
Background
As New Zealand’s sole veterinary school, Massey University provides a five-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc) degree for aspiring veterinarians and a three-year Bachelor of Veterinary Technology (BVetTech) degree for veterinary technologists. A key challenge is that most students commence their studies with minimal hands-on clinical experience. Situated in Palmerston North, Massey University faces a further obstacle: the local SPCA lacks surgical facilities, severely restricting student access to crucial desexing surgery opportunities. The nearest SPCA offering such facilities is located 150 kilometers away in Wellington.
To mitigate these limitations, the volunteer program operates on weekends within the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (MUVTH), ensuring minimal disruption to the university’s regular academic schedule. To further ensure a safe learning environment, procedures are conducted in student practical lab facilities, equipped with anesthesia machines, scrub bays, and surgical tables, rather than the main surgical suites, thereby minimizing contamination risks. Currently, the program concentrates on feline desexing surgeries due to their relative simplicity and low complication rates, with plans to expand to canine desexing in the future.
Planning and Trial
The program’s implementation was preceded by a comprehensive planning phase of over six months, culminating in two trial days in August 2017. This was followed by a six-month pilot period, spanning October 2017 to June 2018, designed to refine operational procedures and facilitate a seamless transition of management to student leaders. During this pilot phase, 40 surgery clinic days were conducted, engaging 9 staff volunteers, 225 veterinary student volunteers, and 3 veterinary technology student volunteers. A total of 237 feline spays and 183 feline neuters were successfully performed, demonstrating a low complication rate consistent with similar programs.
Client and Patient Recruitment
The program’s client and patient recruitment model was adapted from the SPCA Desexing Caravan program, which offers low-cost desexing services to clients meeting specific low-income criteria. The SPCA Palmerston North actively promotes the program and maintains a comprehensive waiting list of eligible clients, who are required to present a Community Services Card. Notably, a significant proportion of patients had no prior veterinary care, mitigating potential concerns about competition with private veterinary practices. Patient eligibility criteria include a maximum age of seven years, non-lactating status, and safe handling characteristics. The program currently excludes trap-neuter-release initiatives due to ongoing debates surrounding feral cat management in New Zealand. Despite initial concerns regarding patient supply, the waiting list remains robust, with clients demonstrating their commitment by traveling up to an hour to participate.
Volunteers
Staff Volunteers
The program depends on staff volunteers who dedicate 3–4 hours per weekend to supervise veterinary and veterinary technology students. Roles include:
- Surgery teaching veterinarians, who oversee and assist with surgeries, ensuring students perform procedures safely. These veterinarians must be registered with the New Zealand Veterinary Council.
- Clinical teaching veterinarians or veterinary nurses, who supervise students in patient examinations, anesthesia, and recovery.
The volunteer pool consists of both clinical and non-clinical staff from Massey University. At least two veterinarians are scheduled per session to provide support, and inexperienced staff have opportunities to train alongside experienced veterinarians to improve their teaching skills.
Student Volunteers
The student volunteer program employs a structured team approach, assigning four students to each supervising veterinarian. Roles are strategically assigned based on the students’ academic progress within the veterinary or veterinary technology curriculum. This ensures a progressive learning experience, allowing students to gain hands-on proficiency in all aspects of feline desexing surgery, reinforced by the ‘see one, do one, teach one’ pedagogy.
Students advance through a defined hierarchy as their skills develop:
- Administration and Assistant (AA): Gathering patient history, assisting with physical examinations, monitoring recovery, and practicing injection techniques.
- Physical Examination and Recovery (PE): Conducting pre-surgical assessments, calculating drug dosages, administering injections, and overseeing post-operative recovery.
- Anesthesia and Cat Neuter (AN): Setting up and operating anesthesia equipment, inducing anesthesia, preparing surgical sites, and, for BVSc students, performing feline neuters.
- Cat Spay Surgeon (SS): Executing complete feline spays, maintaining strict aseptic technique, documenting procedures, and providing post-surgical client follow-up.
Students are required to complete at least one shift in each lower-level role before progressing to the next, ensuring a solid foundation of knowledge and skills. Higher-level students play a vital role in mentoring those in lower roles, reinforcing their own understanding through teaching. To ensure consistent training, an online learning module provides role-specific instruction, including step-by-step guides, visual aids, and assessment quizzes.
Furthermore, beginning in July 2018, experienced SS students were tasked with tutoring new SS students in the clinical skills lab prior to surgery day. This preparatory training utilizes practice materials and spay models to develop muscle memory and enhance surgical competency. This initiative has proven effective in reducing teaching time during live surgical procedures, ultimately benefiting patient safety and student learning.
Availability and Recruitment
Volunteer availability has remained consistently strong, with the exception of holiday and examination periods. Student participation is driven by the opportunity for hands-on experience and direct clinical instruction within a low-stress learning environment. With a combined student body of over 500 across the BVSc and BVetTech programs, the required commitment is minimal: 1–2 hours of preparation and one or two weekend shifts annually. To further enhance engagement, volunteers self-select their shifts based on availability, rather than being assigned. Due to high student interest, a random selection system has been implemented to ensure equitable participation.
Staff volunteers also report high levels of satisfaction, particularly those in non-clinical roles who value the opportunity to maintain clinical engagement. While the program’s initial setup was labor-intensive, student leaders now manage the majority of operational aspects, reducing staff commitment to 3 to 4 hours per surgery day. Potential future staffing challenges, such as volunteer fatigue or staff turnover, are being proactively addressed. Solutions under consideration include compensating weekend volunteers with weekday time off, integrating the program into standard clinical teaching duties, or inviting external veterinarians to contribute.
Developing Standard Operating Procedures
To ensure consistency and efficiency across a large team of staff and student volunteers, the program developed comprehensive standard operating procedures (SOPs). These detailed guidelines, incorporating step-by-step instructions, images, and videos, encompass a wide range of tasks, including administrative duties (e.g., scheduling, client booking, supply ordering), clinical procedures (e.g., patient admission, anesthesia, surgery, recovery), station setup, required documentation, and drug dosage charts.
The development of these SOPs required a four-month refinement process, as unforeseen challenges arose, such as inconsistencies in drug administration documentation and difficulties in restraining anxious cats. To address these issues, training materials now include detailed feline behavior guidelines, and staff members handle particularly fractious patients. All program resources are readily accessible online, and student volunteers are required to review them prior to clinic days, with their progress tracked via an online course management system.
The training materials also provide guidance on managing potential complications and reinforce the importance of supervised learning for new procedures. Collaborative discussions among staff members regarding surgical techniques and protocols led to a national survey in May 2018 to document current veterinary practices in New Zealand. Future research is planned to compare anesthesia and analgesia protocols. Institutions implementing similar programs can readily adapt these protocols to align with their specific requirements.
Clinic Day Procedures
A typical surgery clinic day commences at 7:30 a.m., with student volunteers gathering for a procedural and safety briefing. Following the briefing, students prepare their surgical stations, ensuring all necessary supplies and equipment are readily available. Patient admissions occur between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., during which animals are identified with collars and labels and prepared for their procedures. Feline spay surgeries begin at 9:00 a.m.
Upon completion of the spay surgeries, students transition to performing feline neuters. Surgical procedures are generally concluded by 1:00 p.m., followed by thorough cleaning, documentation, and patient recovery monitoring. Patient discharge takes place between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., with students responsible for conducting post-operative follow-up calls to clients.
The program is largely student-managed, with veterinary staff providing clinical supervision from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Any post-surgical complications are managed by the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (MUVTH) or emergency veterinary services.
Practical Considerations
Student Evaluation: To alleviate student anxiety and foster a supportive learning environment, skills acquired within the program are not formally assessed as part of clinical competency requirements. The emphasis remains on providing valuable hands-on experience, ensuring patient safety, and facilitating learning under expert guidance. Initial feedback indicates a notable increase in student confidence. Notably, students exhibited a more relaxed and engaged demeanor during these volunteer surgeries compared to those performed within the regular degree program, attributed to the absence of assessment pressure.
Equipment & Inventory: Initially, the program borrowed equipment from the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (MUVTH), which presented logistical challenges regarding location and maintenance. To streamline operations, a comprehensive inventory list was developed, and the program transitioned to procuring its own dedicated supplies. Each surgical station is now equipped with a designated plastic storage bin containing all necessary materials, housed in a dedicated cabinet for convenient access. A student leader assumes responsibility for conducting regular inventory checks and ordering replacements, while a secure, locked drug safe, accessible exclusively to teaching staff, ensures proper medication storage.
Finances: The program operates on a near-cost basis, facilitated by staff volunteer contributions, nominal client fees ($10–$20 NZ per surgery), and generous donations. MUVTH covers essential facility, waste disposal, and oxygen expenses, while the SPCA provides microchips and registration fees. Funding provided by Massey University and the New Zealand Companion Animal Council enabled the acquisition of essential surgical equipment, totaling approximately $1,400 NZ. Pharmaceutical and veterinary supply companies have also contributed free or discounted consumables. To enhance financial sustainability, the program intends to establish online donation platforms to further support desexing surgeries.
Program Evaluation
- Graduate Surveys: A three-page survey was given to the BVSc class of 2017 to gather baseline data on desexing experience and confidence. Only three students had participated in the new program. The survey was repeated for the 2018 and 2019 classes to measure improvements in surgical competency. It is hypothesized that enhanced fourth-year training will lead to increased desexing opportunities in the fifth-year clinical roster.
- Surgical Skills Evaluation: A new evaluation form was introduced in 2018 for the Community Practice Roster to compare the performance of students who participated in the desexing program with those who had less experience. This form will also be used in the volunteer program to compare student self-assessments with staff evaluations.
- National Veterinary Survey: From April to May 2018, a survey was conducted among New Zealand veterinarians to collect data on desexing techniques and opinions on supervising students. The results will be used to refine teaching materials to better align with real-world clinical practice.
- Community Impact Study: Data is being collected on the geographical distribution of desexed patients, which will be compared to cat intake at local shelters to evaluate whether the program helps reduce shelter admissions.
Conclusion
The program has demonstrably enhanced foundational clinical and surgical training for both BVSc and BVetTech students, while simultaneously providing a valuable and affordable desexing service to the community. The implementation of student-led learning and peer teaching has effectively reinforced essential clinical skills, with students reporting a profound sense of accomplishment derived from performing surgical procedures and engaging in post-operative client follow-up. Moving forward, the program is committed to continuous improvement, ensuring sustained positive impacts on both veterinary education and community welfare.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Diagram of the surgery lab, list of equipment and consumable supplies, list of standard operating procedures (SOPs), summary of volunteer roles, and clinic day timetable available here.
Year of Publication:
2019
External Link:
Gates MC, Littlewood KE, Kongara K, Odom TF, Sawicki RK. Guidelines for Implementing a Low-Cost Volunteer Desexing Skills Training Program for Veterinary and Veterinary Technology Students. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2020;47(1):27-38. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.0418-047r1