Zoo Medicine in Texas and Under the Sea in Washington

We are excited to share Emily Olszewski’s experience below, funded by Charlie’s Angels fund.

This spring, I traveled to the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas and the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Washington for veterinary externships in zoo and wildlife medicine. During the externships, I was able to connect with professionals in a very close-knit field, perform necropsies on many different species – Texas horned lizards, red wolves, horned toads, rockfish – as well as participate in exams and surgeries that are unique to the zoo field including an eyelid mass removal on a tawny frogmouth, a neuter on an Asian small clawed otter, kidney stone surgery on a rockfish, and an echocardiogram on an Indian crested porcupine recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. We also discussed red wolf conservation and the plan to breed and reintroduce this species to the wild. These experiences allowed me to grow my knowledge base of the unique species seen in zoo medicine as well as put what I have learned thus far into practice.

Along with gaining invaluable experience in this field that is not covered in The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine curriculum, I was also exposed to a multitude of cultures that vary greatly from what is seen in Ohio. In Texas, I was welcomed with the southern hospitality you always hear about and treated like a member of the family at the house I stayed at. The family took me out for authentic Mexican food and brought me to the Stockyard, a piece of traditional Texas history. During my time in Washington, I was able to rent a car and explore Olympic National Forest during one of the sunnier weekends, as well as visit the top of the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass. I dined on some local-recommended Reubens at a Jewish deli and cheese blintzes at a diner in Tacoma that it seems all the locals frequented.

Overall, my time spent at these externships provided me with valuable clinical experience, priceless professional connections, and exposure to a wide variety of different cultures that I can now integrate into my future career.