Carolina Raptor Center

CRC’s rehabilitation program is a teaching program

Few raptor centers in the country handle as many patients as CRC. This high patient load provides an enormous amount of data for future research. It also provides a great environment for learning. High school and college students, adult volunteers and interns, veterinary students, rehabilitators and educators - they all come to CRC to take advantage of the hands-on opportunities we can provide. For several years, CRC has hosted groups of six veterinary students from NCSU-College of Veterinary Medicine (see testimonials) for a one week veterinary selective, allowing students to immerse themselves in raptor rehabilitation and medicine at CRC’s rehabilitation center.

As one of the largest raptor rehabilitation and education facilities in the United States, Carolina Raptor Center (CRC) realizes that it has a professional obligation to teach others. CRC will establish a raptor medicine teaching program for veterinarians and veterinary students called the Medical Environmental Research and Learning INstitute (MERLIN©). One of the main objectives of the MERLIN© program is to increase the knowledge base of veterinarians, particularly concerning the medical care of raptors, and to increase the preparedness of veterinarians for issues relating to human-wildlife interactions such as bio-contaminants (mercury, pesticides), avian flu, and other zoonotic diseases that can be transferred from birds to humans.

The MERLIN© program will directly impact a small segment of the population: veterinarians and veterinary students; but the large-scale, indirect impacts of this program are enormous. Veterinarians serve as the bridge between people and animals, and are relied upon for their knowledge and expertise in the care of all animals, including wildlife. As human-wildlife interactions continue to grow in number due to increased human populations and decreased land and habitat available to wildlife, it is increasingly important for veterinarians to be skilled in the health and medical care of wildlife. Because the study of raptor medicine can reveal the presence of bio-contaminants such as mercury and pesticides, which can have negative consequences for human health, knowledge of avian health will assist veterinarians with effective public education. Furthermore, as zoonotic diseases such as avian flu and West Nile virus continue to spread and have an impact on the human population, it is crucial that veterinarians have a solid foundation in avian medicine so that they are effectively able to understand these diseases and accurately communicate the potential threats and viable solutions to the general public.

The MERLIN© program will offer veterinary students and professionals engaging, hands-on experiences with raptor medicine and will provide knowledge not normally acquired in standard veterinary school curriculum. This program will be designed to provide veterinarians with the skills and expertise needed to effectively diagnose raptor injuries and prescribe proper medical treatments.

The MERLIN© program will have a number of different components. First, Carolina Raptor Center seeks to establish RAPTORVET©, an immersive and intensive week-long summer institute designed for veterinary students and practicing veterinarians. Modeled after similar established programs, AQUAVET (focused on aquatic animal medicine) and MARVET (focused on marine animal medicine), RAPTORVET© will be established in the summer of 2009 and held on-site at Carolina Raptor Center’s raptor rehabilitation facility. Professional rehabilitators and CRC’s staff veterinarian will team up with CRC’s education department to develop and present an engaging teaching program, allowing students to learn current methods in raptor medicine through interactive class lectures, case studies, group discussions and problem solving exercises, one-on-one instruction, laboratory diagnostic techniques, and hands-on care of injured and permanent resident raptors in CRC’s clinic.

The second component of the MERLIN© program is the establishment of year-round internship opportunities (called externships in the veterinary community) for veterinary students at Carolina Raptor Center’s raptor rehabilitation facility. This internship program will enable veterinary students to spend between one and six weeks at CRC’s rehabilitation facility working in the clinic and gaining hands-on experience with raptor medicine. In addition to the internship’s clinical component, students will also be engaged in classroom exercises, case studies, problem solving discussions, and laboratory diagnostic techniques.

Before the full program is implemented, staff at Carolina Raptor Center will be testing small segments of the program with groups of veterinary students from North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (NCSU-CVM). CRC regularly collaborates with Dr. Degernes, D.V.M, professor at NCSU-CVM, and her avian veterinary students, and they will be an instrumental part of evaluating the success of the program components. The MERLIN© program will be evaluated in several ways. First, students will be asked to do a subjective evaluation of the program. Pre and post questionnaires will be distributed, inquiring about students’ knowledge both before and after taking part in the program. Specifically, they will be asked about their comfort level with patient evaluations, patient treatments, procedures, and diagnostic techniques. Additionally, to gauge the effectiveness of the MERLIN© program, students’ learning will be formally assessed using pre and post testing. Students will be presented with specific case-studies and problem solving questions both before and after taking part in the program, and will be evaluated on their acquisition of new knowledge and skills. These assessments will allow the staff to modify the teaching components of the program, if necessary, to allow for increased student retention of new knowledge and skill sets.

The creation of the MERLIN© program will require an investment in additional technology. Interactive computer tutorials and on-line teaching modules will be a crucial component of this program, and will require the purchase of additional computers and software. Additionally, learning assessments and evaluations will be created for the computer so students can complete those tests electronically. In addition to increased computer technology, laboratory and surgical equipment will be purchased to allow students to gain experience with current medical technology and laboratory diagnostic techniques. Furthermore, this technology will allow Carolina Raptor Center to stay at the forefront of raptor medicine and continue to provide the highest quality care to injured raptors in their rehabilitation clinic.

CRC has already made some strides towards many of these goals. A gift from the Sen Gupta family in memory of long-term volunteer Lola Sen Gupta has allowed us to upgrade technology in both the lab as well as the surgery room.

An integral part of MERLIN© includes staff additions at CRC. We are currently advertising for a full-time staff veterinarian, a brand new position here at CRC. Along with the rehabilitation staff, this veterinarian will be responsible for developing and implementing the veterinary teaching programs at CRC.

A recent survey of all 31 veterinary colleges in the United States and Canada revealed the limited number and types of courses available to students that address avian and wildlife medicine. Waiting lists for similar programs like AQUAVET and MARVET indicate that veterinarians and veterinary students are seeking intensive learning programs focused on non-traditional animals. Carolina Raptor Center’s own raptor rehabilitation courses have always received more applicants than could be accepted. CRC’s MERLIN© program will fill a need in the professional community, allowing veterinary professionals the opportunity to gain experience in the field of raptor medicine and enabling them to address the increasing need for skilled avian veterinarians.

Promotional materials in the form of letters and posters in email format will be developed and sent to avian professors at veterinary schools nationwide, veterinary students involved with avian student organizations, veterinary college internship coordinators, veterinary college career offices, and veterinary college alumni associations. Local, state, regional and national veterinary associations and their annual conferences will be targeted with similar promotional materials to advertise MERLIN© and the educational opportunities available. Carolina Raptor Center’s website, websites of wildlife rehabilitation groups, and the website of the Association of Avian Veterinarians will host regularly updated information on available MERLIN© internships.

Long-term funding of this program will require a concerted effort. A recent Museums For America grant from ILMS (Institute for Libraries and Museum Services) will provide a base for the next two years. We are exploring other grant opportunities to supplement the ILMS grant and are looking for any and all avenues for long-term funding. This might include sponsorship of teaching modules, for instance, or corporate sponsorship of the RAPTORVET© program. An endowment has been established to help with medical expenses. Interest from The Raptor Care endowment fund will help defray costs of medical and teaching supplies.

The opportunities CRC can provide for veterinary professionals are incredible. Your help is needed. Help us teach raptor conservation, help us get people excited about raptors and the environment, and help us build careers. We are looking for support in many ways, from donations of appropriate supplies and equipment to architectural drawings, from support of the Raptor Care Fund to assistance with grant research and grant writing.