Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Residency --Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists  

Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists (CCVS) is a 24-hour small animal emergency and specialty center with one available position for our emergency and critical care residency. This is a three-year program that supports 4-6 ECC residents. Our mission is to create high-quality, board-eligible critical care doctors who practice a high standard of individualized care in private practice and use critical thought when making medical decisions. In support of this mission, the CCVS residency works continuously to advance animal health and well-being by providing educational and leadership experiences both for and by residents, performing meaningful clinical research, and practicing exceptional veterinary care. We strive to uphold our central values of a drive for excellence, trust, respect, integrity, innovation, collaboration, and compassion.  

About Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists  

CCVS has two locations on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The primary hospital is located at the gateway to Cape Cod in Buzzards Bay, MA, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The second hospital is mid-Cape in South Dennis, MA, is currently available for emergencies on weekends (including overnights) and has a growing specialty presence. Interns, associate veterinarians, and criticalists work shifts at both locations. In specific situations, residents may also work at both locations, including during their independent practice weeks, as additional per diem shifts, and for emergency surgery training.  

Our facilities offer a wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, including anesthetic, ICU, and transport ventilators; oxygen cages and pulse oximetry; capnography; digital radiography; a GE multi-slice helical CT scanner; endoscopy, ultrasound capability (ER and specialty); continuous and 6-lead ECG; and direct and indirect blood pressure monitoring.   

Each facility has an in-house laboratory with CBC, chemistry, blood gas, electrolyte, lactate, and coagulation testing capabilities (PT, aPTT, and viscoelastic coagulation monitoring). We maintain a blood bank and have parenteral nutrition formulation and administration capabilities.  

About the Program  

This residency program is designed to give residents a strong clinical background in a private practice environment while maintaining an academic atmosphere. Cage side rounds with specialists occur twice daily. Residents will experience direct supervision and guidance from the criticalists in support of the program on greater than 70% of their ECC shifts. A criticalist is also available 24/7 for phone consultation. There are in-depth, specialist-guided, weekly didactic rounds incorporating clinical cases, physiology, and pathophysiology. There is also a separate resident-led journal club. There are dedicated ventilator-on-call-only weeks to study, perform research, or spend one-on-one time with critically ill pets.  

Our objective is to prepare candidates for the certifying examination successfully. Residents are expected to spend time off shift studying for rounds, learning about cases, and/or working on research projects to achieve the required clinical acumen. Residents are required to prepare a first-authored paper for submission per the ACVECC publishing requirement.  

An additional objective of this residency is to develop competent emergency surgeons. Residents are, therefore, trained in emergency surgery by 6 ACVS Diplomates. Those with a preference for surgery are given more experience opportunities, but all residents will receive supervised training.  

Supporting this program are over 20 specialists across nine specialties, including ECC, surgery and anesthesiology, internal medicine, cardiology, and diagnostic imaging. Additionally, we have a board-certified dermatologist and a board-certified exotics specialist. There are also a board-certified cardiologist and a board-certified ophthalmologist with limited hours at our Dennis facility.   

To maximize our employees' quality of life, CCVS has prioritized paying a competitive salary for this position. We have also expanded our support staff to include doctors' assistants for medical record support and employ a veterinary social worker to support our clients and employees. On-floor mentorship expands our doctors' professional development and leadership skills, in addition to medical growth.  

About Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists

Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists (CCVS) is a growing specialty and emergency-critical care hospital in Buzzards Bay and Dennis, MA. With more than 20 specialists across nine specialties, our highly skilled and compassionate team works to ensure pets receive quality, gold-standard medical care. As the only emergency and specialty referral hospital serving Cape Cod and the Islands, CCVS continues to grow to keep up with the needs of our community.

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