Students are provided with many opportunities to work with large and small animals throughout their education at SMUSVM. Students in the early semesters learn animal handling techniques and participate in local projects in the community that help local businesses/farms and provide students with hands on experience with a variety of animals.
At our clinical facility, faculty and students work closely with the Cayman Islands Department of Agriculture and have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of local domestic large and small animals. Students have opportunities to work up real cases with faculty and local veterinarians, gaining a wide variety of experience that only comes from exposure to actual cases in the field.
Because of our location in the Caribbean, students also gain exposure to many exotic animal species, including marine turtles, iguanas, tropical birds and fish.