This is the second 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

Clinic Skills and Operations

Build practical clinic skills and efficient systems for medical care, surgery support, special procedures, public clinics, telemedicine, and client communication.

COACH-GUIDED MEDICAL-FOCUS ELECTIVE

Fall 2026

October 5–November 16

Future Session

Spring 2027

Typical Availability

Offered every other term

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

Course overview

What to expect

Clinic Skills and Operations is one of the Medical-Focus electives in the Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program. Designed for frontline shelter professionals, the course helps learners build the practical knowledge and skills needed to work in or support shelter medical clinic settings.

The course focuses on current best practices that support animals, shelter teams, and communities while emphasizing efficient systems, high-quality care, and reducing stress for both animals and people.

LENGTH

Six weeks

FORMAT

Online, coach-guided elective

PREREQUISITES

MSF + ACF completed

Your weekly rhythm

1

Learn

Work through focused lessons on shelter clinic skills, workflows, and operations.

2

Apply

Use practical activities, scenarios, and assignments to connect learning to daily work.

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 CSO.

Practical capability

What this course helps you build

Build strong clinic systems

Improve clinic setup, scheduling, workflow, delegation, and teamwork to support efficient and high-quality medical care.

Strengthen hands-on skills

Develop practical skills for surgery support, anesthesia monitoring, equipment preparation, and special procedures.

Extend care beyond the clinic

Support public wellness clinics, telemedicine, and effective medical communication with clients and shelter teams.

View full learning topics

• Best practices for medical clinic setup and efficiency.
• Surgery scheduling and workflow for efficient, high-quality care.
• Medical-care scheduling and workflow.
• Appropriate delegation of medical-care duties and tasks.
• Preparing animals for surgery.
• Monitoring animals before, during, and after anesthesia and surgery.
• Preparing and maintaining surgical packs, equipment, and supplies.
• Preparing for, assisting with, and performing appropriate special procedures.
• Preparing for, assisting with, and coordinating public vaccination and wellness clinics.
• Using telemedicine to improve care and increase efficiency.

A typical CSO session

Sample Course Schedule

WEEKS 1–3

Week 1 · Foundations Refresher

Building Strong Shelter Skills

Week 2 · Clinic Ready

Set Up for Success

Week 3 · Flow Mode

Mastering Schedules and Teamwork

WEEKS 4–6

Week 4 · Beyond the Basics

Special Skills That Make a Difference

Week 5 · Surgical Assist

Be the Backup Every Vet Needs

Week 6 · Public Clinics and Telemedicine

Expanding Your Reach

Live learning

Connect with the course team and your cohort

CSO includes live learning opportunities during each session. These meetings are designed to deepen course topics, explore practical clinic challenges, and give learners an opportunity to connect with instructors and classmates.

Live Session 1

Practical clinic operations, workflow, and problem-solving.

Live Session 2

Deeper learning around clinic skills, surgery support, and teamwork.

Exact meeting dates and times are provided to enrolled learners for each session.

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 CSO is an elective, learners may continue to other eligible SCS courses even if CSO is unfinished.
• An unfinished elective must be retaken in a future session to receive certification credit.
• Learners have a maximum of three attempts to complete the 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 directly to shelter clinic work.

Practical tools
Learn techniques and systems you can apply to everyday clinic operations.

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

Why this course matters

Strong clinic skills strengthen the whole shelter

Frontline shelter professionals play an essential role in protecting animal health and well-being. CSO gives learners tools they can use to improve daily clinic operations and the care animals receive while also building skills that support continued professional development in medical care and shelter operations.

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

CSO 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.