Fellowship

Wildlife Rehabilitation + Veterinary Fellowship

P4W’s annual fellowship aims to advance animal welfare by elevating participants’ competency and knowledge across a broad range of wildlife rehabilitation topics. Wildlife rehabilitators and licensed veterinarians who seek to advance their career, build community, share knowledge, and increase access to resources on behalf of wildlife are eligible and encouraged to apply.

The P4W Fellowship is a part-time commitment designed to integrate into participants' existing work schedules. Fellows are compensated for their time and travel, with P4W managing many supplemental costs directly.

The P4W Fellowship is divided into four main elements – an in-person kickoff event, virtual rounds, in-person attendance at the NWRA Symposium, and a collaborative project effort. 

The following is a more detailed breakdown of these elements:

Kickoff Workshop: This three-day interactive workshop (typically scheduled in September) focuses on confirming and developing baseline knowledge of animal welfare, forming a community of practice, and getting to know your fellow cohort members, staff, and mentors. Fellows learn about the perspectives of veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators, and regulatory agency personnel involved in the wildlife rehabilitation sector. By the end of this workshop, Fellows begin to create a common understanding of the concept of animal welfare in the rehabilitation context and have practiced applying animal welfare concepts and assessment frameworks in wildlife rehabilitation settings.

Fellowship Rounds: Virtual meetings are held on a biweekly basis from October through April following the Kickoff Workshop. P4W staff, partners, and guest facilitators lead topical discussions and group collaborative problem solving on real-life case scenarios, helping Fellows expand their knowledge base for triage, treatment, and rehabilitation of wildlife. These rounds provide a chance to apply animal welfare concepts within the context of real-world decision making under the guidance of seasoned expert clinicians and rehabilitators. The knowledge shared in the course of these rounds supports the greater wildlife rehabilitation community’s advancement toward professionalism and establishing universal standards of care.

NWRA Symposium: Sponsored by the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, this weeklong symposium is an annual in-person touchpoint for hundreds of WR professionals and veterinarians. It serves as another major opportunity for Fellows to expand their knowledge base across a broad base of relevant topics as well as build their professional network.

Collaborative Project: Working in pairs, each cohort of Fellows explores the ins and outs of building a wildlife rehabilitation facility from the smallest medical details to the biggest ethical questions. Using key species of interest to address particular issues in wildlife rehabilitation, Fellows connect with one another, explore the cadre of resources available through the University of Minnesota, NWRA, and other organizations, and deepen their knowledge of all aspects of their work. In doing so, fellows promote community building with each other and the broader sector.