Extramural Studies Program Rules and Regulations
Students can receive the following academic credits for extramural experiences:
- 4th year rotation credit - maximum of 6 credits (3 rotations)*
- Exceptions: students in the Clinician Scientist Focus Area, Food Animal Focus Area, Epidemiology & Public Health Focus Area, or Contract Students.
Required Documentation:
- Due ONE MONTH BEFORE the experience begins:
- Registration Form
- Due ONE MONTH AFTER the experience ends:
- Supervisor Evaluation
- Student Report
- Student Case Log (signed by supervisor)
Overall Rules:
- The Extramural Registration Form must be completed with all signatures and turned into the Student Services office one month prior to the experience. Some experiences must be scheduled YEARS ahead of time.
- Because the Registration Form is due to Student Services 1 month in advance, students should retrieve all signatures ahead of time, including the Course Coordinator's.
- *Not applicable to Community Classroom/ Large Animal Extramural Experiences—see Dr. Robert’s website for instructions.
- The sign up/drop deadline is at least one month before the experience begins, unless the course coordinator decides to grant an exception for special circumstances.
- Within one month of returning from the experience, students must submit the signed Supervisor Evaluation and their Student Report, with the required case log (signed by the supervisor) attached, to the Student Services office. A case log is a written log of cases seen by the student during their experience and must be signed by the supervising veterinarian. (Please note that the Student Services office will scan and send all documents to the course coordinator.)
- Also not applicable to Community Classroom/Large Animal Extramural Experiences—see Dr. Robert’s website for instructions.
- Students will be graded on a pass/fail basis. The major input into the grade will be the supervising veterinarian/scientist’s grade sheet, but other evaluations may also be used. Failure to complete the course requirements will result in an unsatisfactory grade.
Time Required at Extramural Experiences:
- CVM 4th-Year Students: all Clinical extramural experiences must be taken for a minimum of 10 full working days.
- Both 2-week and 3-week rotations require CVM students to complete a minimum of 10 full working days. The understanding is that students will work both the full amount of days (10 full days) and the full amount of hours (80 hours). If the externship location has alternative work hours, the student can indicate them on their Registration Form for the Course Coordinator to approve, but the student must meet the overall amount of hours/days required.
- Regarding 3-week extramurals: while the minimum requirement is 10 full working days, the understanding is that students will work every available workday of the 3 weeks (excluding holidays). Students should not plan to work the minimum 10-day requirement and then plan a week's vacation. The 10-day minimum was put in place to account for rotations that included holidays and holiday weekends - students are expected to spend all other available workdays at the externship location.
- Clinical Off-Shore Students: Work requirements for Extramural Experiences
(Effective June 11, 2012)
- Extramural experiences in a 2-week block require 10 full work days for 2 weeks of credit.
- Extramural experiences in a 3-week block require 15 full work days for 3 weeks of credit. If you choose to spend only 10 days at an externship in a 3-week block, you will receive 2 weeks of credit for the experience and the 3rd week will be considered a vacation week.
- Extramural experiences may be taken in Block 1 for 2 weeks of credit only.
- Blocks 14, 15, and 16 are 3 week blocks. All other blocks are 2 weeks.
- For Selectives Credit: (1st-3rd year students) One week (5 working days) is the minimum length of time for 1 credit of extramural experience. Two credits requires 10 days of work.
Fourth Year Rotation Rules:
- If a student plans to request academic credit for an extramural experience, but fails to organize the experience with the course coordinator within the stated deadlines, the block will be listed as a vacation block.
- If a student completes an extramural experience but fails to complete the required paperwork, an unsatisfactory grade will be recorded. Students are reminded that grades for clinical blocks are turned in at the end of the fall and spring semesters, not at the end of the clinical year.
- Students cannot be matched to a practice in which a family member (parent, spouse, sibling, etc) is an owner or employee.
- A maximum of 2 students can be at the same practice at any one time.
- Students cannot be paid for work done during an extramural experience. The student is responsible for all travel, lodging, and meal expenses. Students may accept food and lodging, if offered.
Questions Regarding Insurance:
- Fourth year NCSU students who are asked to provide proof of liability insurance should complete and submit the “Request for Certificate of Insurance” form found on the web: DVM Forms — at least one month prior to the experience.
- Students should only request certificates if their externship location requires/requests proof of liability insurance. If the externship location does not require proof of liability insurance, the student does not need to request a certificate.
- Students going outside the USA must contact the Director of the Veterinary International Program regarding needed insurance.
- If the student is going to a practice in North Carolina, the student must register with the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Board before the practice experience starts. The appropriate Veterinary Medical Board should be contacted for experiences in other states.
- If I want to complete an externship while on a vacation block, am I still covered by NCSU's liability insurance?
- NO - the Extern Liability Insurance Policy only covers NCSU students completing externships for academic credit. It would not cover students who make other clinic visits while on vacation or on their own.
- If a student is planning to visit an externship location while on vacation, he should check with the externship location if they have AVMA Plit coverage. If they do, he can procure AVMA Plit Student Liability Insurance.
- NO - the Extern Liability Insurance Policy only covers NCSU students completing externships for academic credit. It would not cover students who make other clinic visits while on vacation or on their own.
What happens if a student has to leave the extramural experience because of extraordinary circumstances (sickness, safety concerns, ethical concerns, etc)?
- The student should contact the course coordinator or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs immediately.
- If the experience is a required course (selective or clinical rotation), the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs will work with the course coordinator to schedule a replacement experience.
Minimum course requirements for extramural clinical practice experiences:
- Due one month prior to the experience:
- The student must submit a completed Clinical Registration Form (with all signatures obtained) in to Student Services.
- Due one month after the experience:
- The supervising veterinarian must evaluate the student, and the evaluation must be returned to Student Services.
- The student must evaluate the practice using the Student’s Extramural Experience Report and attach a case log signed by the supervisor. Both forms should be turned in to Student Services.
Minimum course requirements for extramural non-clinical experiences:
These experiences are individually designed by the student and the course coordinator. These are essentially “special topics”-type experiences that happen outside the CVM.
- Course coordinators design these experiences so that the experience can be verified, the student is evaluated, and the experience is evaluated. A supervising veterinarian/investigator must be identified for each experience.
- Due one month prior to the experience:
- The student must complete a Non-Clinical Experience Registration form for the course coordinator and submit the completed form to the Student Services office.
- Due one month after the experience:
- The supervising veterinarian/investigator must evaluate the student, and the evaluation must be returned to the Academic Affairs office.
- The student must complete the required summary of the experience and return the evaluation form to the course coordinator.