This is one of the two electives in the "Medical Focus" option for the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program (or learners pursuing "Advanced" or "Masters" certification).

Please visit our “Certification” information pages to learn more about the Shelter Care Specialist Certification program.

Enrollment in the program is by application. Enrollment in this course is limited to students who have satisfactorily completed the two required courses, "Modern Sheltering Foundations" and "Animal Care Foundations."

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Course Catalog

Advanced Medical Care

Strengthen your ability to assess medical concerns, support advanced diagnostics and treatment, and provide practical, compassionate medical care in the shelter setting.

COACH-GUIDED MEDICAL-FOCUS ELECTIVE

Winter 2027

January 18–March 1

Future Session

Summer 2027

Typical Availability

Offered every other term

What to expect What you'll learn Sample schedule Live learning & completion

Course overview

What to expect

Advanced Medical Care is a Medical-Focus elective in the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program. Designed for frontline shelter professionals, the course builds the knowledge and skills needed to assess animals for medical concerns and support more advanced medical care.

You’ll explore medical documentation, preventative health, medications, diagnostics, emergency and supportive care, advanced procedures, telemedicine, euthanasia, communication, and the systems that help shelter teams deliver consistent medical care.

LENGTH

Six weeks

FORMAT

Online, coach-guided elective

PREREQUISITES

MSF + ACF completed

Your weekly rhythm

1

Learn

Work through focused lessons on advanced shelter medical care and clinical decision-making.

2

Apply

Practice medical calculations, documentation, procedures, communication, and care planning.

3

Connect

Learn alongside classmates and receive guidance and feedback from the course team.

Enrollment requirements

Learners must be accepted into the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program and must satisfactorily complete Modern Sheltering Foundations (MSF) and Animal Care Foundations (ACF) before taking AMC.

Practical capability

What this course helps you build

Assess with confidence

Strengthen medical assessment, documentation, terminology, preventative care, and diagnostic skills for shelter patients.

Provide advanced support

Build practical skills for medications, emergency care, special-needs patients, wound care, catheter placement, and other advanced procedures.

Strengthen medical systems

Improve communication, protocols, telemedicine, software use, documentation, and teamwork to support consistent shelter medical care.

View full learning topics

• Accurately documenting and reviewing advanced medical exams using SOAP formats, medical terminology, and anatomy knowledge.
• Designing and implementing preventative health programs, including vaccinations, parasite control, and routine health assessments.
• Recognizing when advanced diagnostics such as radiographs, cytology, and blood tests may be needed and understanding how they are performed and interpreted.
• Managing medications, including dosage calculations, controlled substances, and safe administration protocols.
• Providing emergency and critical-care support, including stabilization, CPR, pain management, and supportive care for complex cases.
• Caring for special-needs animals, including neonates, geriatric animals, and animals with nutritional or health challenges.
• Performing or assisting with advanced procedures such as wound care, catheter placement, and bandaging.
• Using telemedicine to extend medical access, collaborate with offsite veterinarians, and support remote consultations.
• Navigating euthanasia decisions and protocols with compassion, appropriate documentation, and self-care strategies.
• Communicating medical updates, discharge instructions, and care recommendations within the shelter and with the public.
• Creating, implementing, and updating protocols, SOPs, and work aids for advanced medical-care tasks.
• Using shelter and medical software to improve workflows, reporting, and resource management.

A typical AMC session

Sample Course Schedule

WEEKS 1–3

Week 1 · From Head to Tail

Mastering Medical Basics for Animal Care

Week 2 · Prescription to Precision

Navigating Animal Medications with Confidence

Week 3 · Advanced Diagnostics

X-Rays, Bloodwork, and a Whole Lot of Heart

WEEKS 4–6

Week 4 · Medical Mastery in Motion

Advanced Medicine for Busy Shelters

Week 5 · Making It Manageable

Euthanasia in the Shelter Setting

Week 6 · Shelter Synergy

Smart Communication, Data & Teamwork for Better Care

Live learning

Two live sessions during each course

Live sessions are designed to help you connect advanced medical-care concepts to the day-to-day decisions, procedures, systems, and challenges that shape shelter medicine.

Connect course concepts to practice

Live sessions provide opportunities to explore advanced medical care, diagnostics, medications, shelter systems, and real-world challenges with instructors and guest speakers.

Dates vary by session

Exact live-meeting dates, times, topics, and speakers are provided to learners for the session in which they enroll.

Course completion

One final course deadline

The final completion deadline is generally one calendar month after the course ends. Exact deadlines are provided for each session.

• Complete all required course content and assignments by the final course deadline.
• Extensions are not available beyond the final completion deadline.
• Because AMC is an elective, learners may continue to other eligible SCS courses even if AMC is unfinished.
• To earn certification credit, an unfinished AMC course must be retaken in a future session. A maximum of three total attempts is available per course.

Designed for working professionals

Course features

Flexible online access
Work through course content on the device and schedule that fit your needs.

Hands-on learning
Use practical activities and scenarios that connect advanced medical concepts to shelter work.

Practical tools
Build skills and systems that can be applied to everyday medical-care tasks.

Coach support
Receive guidance, feedback, and mentoring from the course team.

Why this course matters

Strong medical skills support better care

Frontline shelter professionals play an important role in recognizing medical concerns, supporting treatment, communicating clearly, and helping animals receive timely care. AMC builds advanced knowledge and practical skills that can strengthen daily medical operations while supporting continued professional growth in shelter medicine.

Questions about the program?

Shelter Learniverse

For questions about enrollment, course access, prerequisites, or the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program, email help@shelterlearniverse.com.

Course coaching

AMC coaching team

Chrissy Teuscher, RVT
Course Coach

Cindi Delany, DVM, KPA-CTP, FFCP
Co-coach

Coaching support, course discussions, and feedback are available throughout each session.