Veterinary Emergency Response
The International Animal Welfare Institute oversees the training of veterinary students in the Student Club Student Veterinary Emergency Response Team (sVERT) at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
UC Davis sVERT members receive training from staff and faculty from the School of Veterinary Medicine, members of International Animal Welfare Training Institute and the California Veterinary Emergency Team (CVET). They complete requirements and become California Disaster Service Workers Volunteers and are able to deploy to emergencies and disasters under the CVET.
In the past, the Special Studies Program training and deployment of sVERT members was provided by the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team Medical Reserve Corps (UCD-VERT MRC), which was primarily a training entity for disaster and emergency related veterinary response and preparedness. Members of sVERT deployed under the UCD-VERT Medical Reserve Corps as part of their training and in response to societal needs. The UCD-VERT MRC was activated on a local basis for assistance in disasters, as well as animal emergencies when additional expertise is needed for technical rescue.
The training of the Student Veterinary Emergency Response Team Club has focused on preparing veterinary students to work alongside veterinary professionals, first responders such as fire service and animal care services personnel, and animal emergency response teams in all aspects of animal related disasters including evacuation training, large animal rescue, animal sheltering, triage, medical evaluation and treatment of injuries related to fire, flood, and other animal emergencies. Training has included optional helicopter equine rescue.
The sVERT members alongside the UCD-VERT MRC leaders have performed demonstrations and training to community members on disaster preparedness at community events including County Fairs, 4-H Outreach, UC Davis Horse Day, UC Davis Picnic Day and more.
UCD-VERT MRC partnered with the HALTER Project - Leading Residents to Safety and Preparedness in outreach activities. These activities included training of first responders and community members in disaster preparedness.
What is the training of the sVERT Club?
The Student Veterinary Emergency Response Team training is a sequence of course modules for veterinary students that focus on development of specific knowledge, skills, and toolkit about emergency action in veterinary medicine. These skills include emergency animal rescue, triage and care of animals in emergencies and disasters, veterinary care at emergency shelter, emergency treatments, euthanasia and biosecurity, and collaboration with other organizations and agencies. Our goal is to train future veterinarians to have skill sets to aid and lead emergency situations involving the care of animals.
The students receive training by CVET that gives them the option of completing the requirements for the AVMA Veterinary First Responder Certificate Program.
The Disaster Service Worker credential allows students to deploy to emergencies and disasters under the California Veterinary Emergency Team (CVET) at UC Davis. This credential can be maintained after students graduate from veterinary school and wish to remain deployable volunteers with CVET.