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Teaching Assistant or Associate Professor or Teaching Professor, Small Animal Oncologic Surgery

University of Wisconsin-Madison · Madison, WI · Full time

Posted Sep 7, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

The service usually has one faculty member, house officers, fourth-year students and technicians. How do you teach in the OR while keeping the patient safe?

What they are checking: Whether they can give trainees real experience without compromising outcomes.

Tell us about a surgical complication you've dealt with. How did you handle it with the team and the owner?

What they are checking: Whether they own complications openly and learn from them.

How do you mentor surgical residents who are working toward board certification?

What they are checking: Whether they invest in residents' growth, including case logs, research and exam preparation.

This is a teaching-track position. How do you teach fourth-year students who may never do surgery after graduation?

What they are checking: Whether they focus on practical skills and judgment that every general practitioner needs.

What would you add to the oncologic surgery service here?

What they are checking: Whether they have ideas for improving access to cancer care and growing the service.

What would you do

How do you work with medical and radiation oncology to build an integrated plan for a cancer patient?

What they are checking: Whether they see surgery as one part of a team approach to cancer care.

How do you talk with an owner about surgery for a pet with cancer when the prognosis is uncertain?

What they are checking: Whether they can give honest information with compassion and respect the owner's choices, including cost.

How do you handle disagreement with a colleague about whether to operate on a case?

What they are checking: Whether they can work through clinical disagreements respectfully within a team of eight surgeons.

About the work

This position focuses on small animal soft-tissue and oncologic surgery. How do you decide whether a tumor is a good surgical candidate?

What they are checking: Whether they think about staging, margins and the owner's goals before recommending surgery.

Walk us through how you plan margins for a soft tissue sarcoma on a dog's limb.

What they are checking: Whether they understand tumor biology and use imaging to plan for clean margins while keeping function.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Academic Staff Employment Type: Regular Job Profile: Teaching Assistant Professor Job Summary: The Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine seeks applicants for a position as a Teaching Assistant or Associate Professor or Teaching Professor in Small Animal Soft-Tissue and Oncologic Surgery. This position is open to surgeons wanting to focus on both soft tissue and oncologic surgery or exclusively oncologic surgery. The successful candidate will join a surgical team comprising one other dedicated oncologic surgeon (an ACVS Fellow in Surgical Oncology) and six other ACVS Diplomates in Small Animal Surgery (three dedicated Soft-Tissue surgeons, one Soft tissue/Orthopedic surgeon and two dedicated Orthopedic surgeons) providing surgical care to patients within the UW Veterinary Care hospital. The Oncologic Surgery service is typically staffed with 1 faculty member, 1-3 house officers, fourth-year veterinary students, and 1-2 dedicated veterinary technicians. This position will add to our existing team, to enhance access to integrated oncologic care for small animal cancer patients. Together, the Soft-Tissue, Surgical Oncology, and Orthopedic Surgery services support our current group of 10 small animal surgery house officers. Major responsibilities of this position include clinical service, classroom, laboratory and clinical teaching, research, and service. Participation in emergency and after-hours clinic duty, didactic and laboratory teaching of veterinary students, house officer training and service to the department and school is shared amongst small animal surgeons as appropriate. Appointment may be made in the Teaching, Clinical, or Tenure track as appropriate to the candidate’s background, experience, qualifications and career goals. Key Job Responsibilities: • 20% Develops and designs curriculum and instructional material relevant to a course of instruction • 10% Collaborates with department faculty and staff to develop teaching strategies relevant to the discipline Approximate allocation of responsibilities: 50-60% Clinical teaching and practice 30- 40% Other teaching and scholarship of teaching 5-10% Service • 15% May supervise student employees involved in development or delivery of instruction • 15% Facilitates classroom, online and/or laboratory instruction, including assessment of student performance • 20% Advises students on academic and career direction within a specific field of study • 10% Contributes to the strategic development of curriculum and academic content through various mediums to ensure the integrity of the educational mission of the work unit • 10% Contributes to the development of teaching and learning scholarly work including publications and presentations Department: University of Wisconsin, Madison - School of Veterinary Medicine - Department of Surgical Sciences Compensation: Commensurate with experience and qualifications. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf Required Qualifications: -American College of Veterinary Surgeons Board Certification or Board Eligibility with advanced training in soft-tissue and oncologic surgery at the time of start date may also be considered. An individual with European College of Veterinary Surgeons Board Certification or Board Eligibility at the time of start date may also be considered. -Wisconsin Veterinary License Required. Must be eligible to obtain and maintain licensure to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Wisconsin at the time of start date. Education: Terminal Degree DVM or equivalent degree How to Apply: To apply for this position, click "Apply Online" to begin the process. You will be required to upload a cover letter, current CV, and a document listing names and contact information for three professional references. This position is being announced simultaneously with JR 10008693 and JR 10008694; please note that only one vacancy exists. The deadline for assuring full consideration is December 31, 2026 however the position will remain open and applications may be considered until the position is filled. Contact Information: For questions regarding the application process, please contact Jody Silva at jlsilva@wisc.edu or 608-263-5633. Questions about the position or about the Small Animal Surgical Oncology caseload should be directed to Dr. Megan Mickelson, megan.mickelson@wisc.edu Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website . To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you. Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7). The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department .

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