![]() ![]() Part of the requirements for becoming a zoologist are a one-year small animal rotating internship, a three-year zoo residency, and being the first author on research papers. can be challenging, Schaff maintains her goal of making this work her lifelong career. Though finding residencies in zoology or wildlife medicine in the U.S. ![]() It was hard, but my first year of grad school was so much easier than it was for my peers, because my PUC professors fought through my classes with me and taught me what I needed to be prepared for my future.” ![]() “It’s a really intensive program, and the professors expect a lot. “Honestly, my biology studies at PUC gave me a huge leap forward into the work I do now,” Scaff says. In December, Schaff begins a rotation at the San Diego Zoo. Then she spends her day shadowing an oncologist, assisting with consults, chemotherapy treatments, exams, and evaluating specimens to determine if a mass is benign or cancerous. Her day begins at 7:30 with rounds and reviewing patients. So if the keepers notice something abnormal, we basically sit and watch the animals for an extended period of time to try and figure out the cause of what the keeper is seeing.”īecause the Phoenix Zoo has a breeding center for the endangered black-footed ferret, Schaff did a lot of exams on the animals in the center, making sure they were healthy and ready to be released into the wild.Ĭurrently, Schaff is completing a rotation at a speciality hospital in Phoenix, specializing in oncology. “If you need to physically handle these animals, you have to sedate or anesthetize them, and it’s a big deal. “A lot of zoo work is just doing visual exams,” Schaff explains. She completed many wellness exams, mostly on birds and reptiles, and assisted with any necessary procedures. This year, Schaff completed a veterinary rotation at the Phoenix Zoo, where she worked with three main veterinarians and an intern. “Because we rotated through the various departments, a couple of times a week I’d find myself stuck in a room with a dozen baby raccoons who behaved like hungry, tired human children, screaming and throwing things.” “There were a lot of babies that needed constant feedings,” she says. It wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds, Schaff assures. “At CROW, they have several veterinarians on staff.”ĭuring her six-month fellowship, Schaff assisted with surgeries, treatment of rehabilitating animals, neonatal care, feeding, medicating, and exams. “There are many wildlife rehabilitation clinics, but they don’t always have vets usually they operate with certified wildlife rehab specialists,” Schaff explains. It was a rare paid fellowship at one of the few wildlife hospitals in the U.S. ![]() “That trip was what cemented my future as a wildlife or zoo veterinarian.”įollowing graduation, Schaff was accepted into a fellowship at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel Island off the southwestern coast of Florida. “That was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” she says. While a student at PUC, Schaff took a trip to South Africa, working with wildlife veterinarians treating African wildlife. “I love cats and dogs, but I’ve always wanted something a little different than regular veterinary medicine,” she says. So, when the time came to head to college, she chose PUC, and enrolled as a biology major. She has also always known she wanted to be a veterinarian. Amanda Schaff, 2014 biology graduate, has been fascinated by science for as long as she can remember. ![]()
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