Intern or stay in GP

[BlueroseAC3]

Hello, I'm looking for input from people that have done internships and residencies. I've been in GP for 2 years and keep circling back to thinking I need to do an internship. I have a lot of concerns about interning and am hoping to get some feedback from people that have been through it already or are currently in an internship. Thank you so much.
1. Is interning worthwhile if not followed up with a residency? Worthwhile in managing challenging cases in GP, owners, ER exposure?
2. Can doing an internship open doors to other sectors of vetmed aside from clinical practice?
3. I have a big energetic dog and am worried about meeting his needs with the time constraints of internship.
4. I have general concerns about being able to handle the rigors of interning having been out in GP for awhile. I'd be pursuing one without any home support (no SO or family that would be coming with me). I did vet school the same way, but I imagine internship being much more demanding and stressful than vet school. How draining is it mentally, physically, emotionally?
5. Finding an internship with appropriate mentorship and support is a big concern, can anyone vouch for any programs specifically?

Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[WildZoo]

Why do you want to do an internship? What is your goal?

1. Is interning worthwhile if not followed up with a residency? Worthwhile in managing challenging cases in GP, owners, ER exposure?

Depends on what kind of internship you're talking about. Small animal rotating? Specialty? None are going to be very useful for you in GP, at least not useful enough to offset the major paycut. You just don't see the same kinds of cases in an internship that you see in GP.
Useful for ER potentially, but you also don't need to do an internship to do ER, so unless the goal is ECC I'd have a hard time justifying it. So, most of the time, my advice is going to be don't do it unless you're pursuing a specialty.

2. Can doing an internship open doors to other sectors of vetmed aside from clinical practice?

Depends on what sectors you're talking about. Clinical pathology or radiology? Sure, they often want a rotating internship before you apply for residency. Non-clinical industry jobs, government jobs, things like that? No, it's not going to be necessary or all that useful for most of those.

3. I have a big energetic dog and am worried about meeting his needs with the time constraints of internship

Yup, this is definitely a concern. I'd talk to some current or recent interns at programs you're looking at to get an idea of their schedules.

4. I have general concerns about being able to handle the rigors of interning having been out in GP for awhile. I'd be pursuing one without any home support (no SO or family that would be coming with me). I did vet school the same way, but I imagine internship being much more demanding and stressful than vet school. How draining is it mentally, physically, emotionally?

I'm not really sure how to quantify that. Again depends on the kind of internship you're talking about, but generally the answer to the question here based on experiences of friends I've watched go through small animal rotating internships is... "Very"

I'll leave #5 for others

 

[that redhead]

The biggest question is why you feel you need an internship.

 

[futuredvm297]

Internship year is absolutely draining me, and I feel like I have given up a portion of who I am to it. It is exhausting, but I could not tell you how invaluable the experience I am getting. It is almost a break you down and build you back up type deal that you are getting into ESPECIALLY if you are at a large hospital. I will say the ER experience is fantastic, but if your goals are to return to GP, stay in GP. There is a toxic power dynamic in the hospital I'm at specifically on the ER side that makes me reconsider why I am even an intern when I could be in GP making an actual salary. If your goal is residency, sacrifice the year and knock an internship out. I have internmates with pets, and fortunately, we watch out for each other and will walk each others pets if trapped in the hospital. I'm at one of the big 3 on the east coast, so feel free to DM me if you have more questions!

 

[BlueroseAC3]

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice. I don't like GP and largely that's what is driving the consideration of interning - to find a different sector of vetmed.

The things I don't enjoy about GP are largely the types of cases (skin, ears, dentals, eyes). This partly may be related to not having enough instruction or experience in these topics. I also have a hard time with the limitations of GP in general. Getting a definitive diagnosis often doesn't happen without referral. Vetmed is becoming more advanced and people are more willing to go for gold standard at referral.

ER is scary to me and I don't want to feel inept at managing ER cases that find their way to me. I think a large part of me wants confidence and thinks internship would help me develop it. If I decide I don't want to do clinical practice anymore then I would need a rotating internship to pursue radiology or clinical path as well.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. Thank you again.

 

[SocialStigma]

An internship takes part of your soul and it's likely not worth it if the end goal isn't to specialize imo. I'm sort of kidding but not really. I regularly was at the clinic from 6am to 8-10pm during my internship and all I had time/energy to do once I got home for the night was shower and sleep. My now-husband always had to travel to come visit me, because I never had a weekend off to go visit him. And I actually loved my internship - I learned a lot, my internmates were awesome, and so were the clinicians.

Not to scare you, but I remember in particular one Friday night I was close to tears after getting called in for an emergency back surgery at midnight (after having left the clinic at 8-9pm)..and then realizing I would have to be at the clinic again by 5am the next morning to SOAP and be ready to round and call clients at 8am for my 14 inpatients. The fact that I can still recall this 7 years later definitely says something. To this day, I still have never felt so physically and mentally defeated in my life (and I've since finished a surgery residency). I don't know that I would've had the mental fortitude to continue putting myself through that if not for the fact that I knew it would be worth it in the end if I matched to a residency.

 

[that redhead]

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice. I don't like GP and largely that's what is driving the consideration of interning - to find a different sector of vetmed.

The things I don't enjoy about GP are largely the types of cases (skin, ears, dentals, eyes). This partly may be related to not having enough instruction or experience in these topics. I also have a hard time with the limitations of GP in general. Getting a definitive diagnosis often doesn't happen without referral. Vetmed is becoming more advanced and people are more willing to go for gold standard at referral.

ER is scary to me and I don't want to feel inept at managing ER cases that find their way to me. I think a large part of me wants confidence and thinks internship would help me develop it. If I decide I don't want to do clinical practice anymore then I would need a rotating internship to pursue radiology or clinical path as well.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. Thank you again.

If you don’t like GP, fair enough to consider returning to an internship to specialize. My opinion is that you’d probably want to at least start with some direction that you’re aiming, which maybe you have as your mention radiology or clin path. It will absolutely be hard and it would suck to make intern money after GP money but it may be worth it if you want out of GP. If you’re waffling on that, consider ways that your current DVM leadership could help you feel more supported, or if a different clinic might help. It’s important to take the time to identify what you don’t like versus what you don’t feel comfortable with or feel could be managed better so you can make the best choices for yourself moving forward. If you’re just generally unhappy and grasping at straws, it may be out of the frying pan and into the fire.

 

[BlueroseAC3]

If you don’t like GP, fair enough to consider returning to an internship to specialize. My opinion is that you’d probably want to at least start with some direction that you’re aiming, which maybe you have as your mention radiology or clin path. It will absolutely be hard and it would suck to make intern money after GP money but it may be worth it if you want out of GP. If you’re waffling on that, consider ways that your current DVM leadership could help you feel more supported, or if a different clinic might help. It’s important to take the time to identify what you don’t like versus what you don’t feel comfortable with or feel could be managed better so you can make the best choices for yourself moving forward. If you’re just generally unhappy and grasping at straws, it may be out of the frying pan and into the fire.

That makes sense to me. I left my first practice after my contract was up because the mentorship didn't match what was agreed upon, same with the work life balance. In hindsight I wish I had just done an internship that year. My current practice is a unicorn of GP's. It's definitely not for lacking mentorship or quality of life where I'm at. I'm just feeling quite a bit of fear making the leap so I chicken out each time the match comes around. Thank you for your insight.

 

[BlueroseAC3]

An internship takes part of your soul and it's likely not worth it if the end goal isn't to specialize imo. I'm sort of kidding but not really. I regularly was at the clinic from 6am to 8-10pm during my internship and all I had time/energy to do once I got home for the night was shower and sleep. My now-husband always had to travel to come visit me, because I never had a weekend off to go visit him. And I actually loved my internship - I learned a lot, my internmates were awesome, and so were the clinicians.

Not to scare you, but I remember in particular one Friday night I was close to tears after getting called in for an emergency back surgery at midnight (after having left the clinic at 8-9pm)..and then realizing I would have to be at the clinic again by 5am the next morning to SOAP and be ready to round and call clients at 8am for my 14 inpatients. The fact that I can still recall this 7 years later definitely says something. To this day, I still have never felt so physically and mentally defeated in my life (and I've since finished a surgery residency). I don't know that I would've had the mental fortitude to continue putting myself through that if not for the fact that I knew it would be worth it in the end if I matched to a residency.

I appreciate the transparency. I've heard experiences like this before and it definitely contributed to feeling unease about going for it. Thank you for sharing.

 

[allygator13]

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice. I don't like GP and largely that's what is driving the consideration of interning - to find a different sector of vetmed.

The things I don't enjoy about GP are largely the types of cases (skin, ears, dentals, eyes). This partly may be related to not having enough instruction or experience in these topics. I also have a hard time with the limitations of GP in general. Getting a definitive diagnosis often doesn't happen without referral. Vetmed is becoming more advanced and people are more willing to go for gold standard at referral.

ER is scary to me and I don't want to feel inept at managing ER cases that find their way to me. I think a large part of me wants confidence and thinks internship would help me develop it. If I decide I don't want to do clinical practice anymore then I would need a rotating internship to pursue radiology or clinical path as well.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. Thank you again.

Do you have real interests in radiology or clin path, or do you just like them because they are shiny and outside the standard umbrella of clinical practice? If you don't have a true interest in these fields (or any you could potentially go into), then changing your direction to pursue these is not going to put you in any better position in terms of career satisfaction.

 

[BlueroseAC3]

Do you have real interests in radiology or clin path, or do you just like them because they are shiny and outside the standard umbrella of clinical practice? If you don't have a true interest in these fields (or any you could potentially go into), then changing your direction to pursue these is not going to put you in any better position in terms of career satisfaction.

Good question, I like a lot of aspects of vetmed. I really like ultrasound and imaging, I like internal medicine, and I do like urgent care/ER (even though it scares me). I don't have one area I'm really passionate about at this time. I just know the main staples of GP are the areas of medicine I least enjoy. I used to think I wanted to specialize in surgery, but found once I was in practice I didn't really enjoy it. I see your point and agree, it would be silly to pursue something I wasn't really passionate about or else I'd end up in the same position I am now.

 

[JaynaAli]

Do you have real interests in radiology or clin path, or do you just like them because they are shiny and outside the standard umbrella of clinical practice? If you don't have a true interest in these fields (or any you could potentially go into), then changing your direction to pursue these is not going to put you in any better position in terms of career satisfaction.

I came to say something similar. I am a clinical pathologist and love my job, but even as someone who loves pathology, internship and residency was not all that fun. I don’t have any regrets, but you need to choose a specialty because you legitimately enjoy it, not just because you dislike GP. It may seem like a silly distinction between the two, but even in specialties we have a ton of repetitive cases we see day in and day out…in clin path like half my cases each day are mast cell tumors, lipomas or lymphomas, surgeons are going to do a ton of tplos, cardio is going to do tons of mitral valve disease, neuro sees paraplegic frenchies and dachshunds, etc.

Internship was rough, residency was not quite as bad but still not exactly fun, and I wouldn’t recommend you specialize unless you truly wanted to do it. And as tough as this might be to hear, as someone who has been on house officer selection committees before, if your application’s “why” just comes off as “I don’t like GP”, you’ll probably be passed over for people who are more passionate about another specialty. That’s not to say you couldn’t be successful, but you’d need to have a better goal than “not gp” imo. Maybe talk to people in other aspects of vet Med or even consider switching gp hospitals? I’ve heard of people who felt lots happier when they found a different environment that fit them better.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Before going down the internship route, maybe try something new that is less of a high stakes? Maybe drink the koolaid and try VEG? I don’t see the appeal myself but everyone who works there seems really happy (like creepily so… they all say the same things in every online veterinary groups) so maybe there’s something to it. They provide a lot of training, and it sounds like you wanted to dip your toes in urgent care/ER. And they give you free groceries?

 

[CalliopeDVM]

1. Is interning worthwhile if not followed up with a residency? Worthwhile in managing challenging cases in GP, owners, ER exposure?

No, not really.......not in time, money, mental health, or working GP.

If you don't like GP work, better to find something you want to do first, before committing to the huge amount of time, pressure, and money it will take to do an internship and residency. Or find something you like better than GP work that doesn't take an internship and residency.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

. I think a large part of me wants confidence and thinks internship would help me develop it.

No, practice and positive results are what will give you confidence. Some internships will give you neither, and some GP experience will give you both.

 

[medo1]

Thank you! I appreciate all the advice. I don't like GP and largely that's what is driving the consideration of interning - to find a different sector of vetmed.

The things I don't enjoy about GP are largely the types of cases (skin, ears, dentals, eyes). This partly may be related to not having enough instruction or experience in these topics. I also have a hard time with the limitations of GP in general. Getting a definitive diagnosis often doesn't happen without referral. Vetmed is becoming more advanced and people are more willing to go for gold standard at referral.

ER is scary to me and I don't want to feel inept at managing ER cases that find their way to me. I think a large part of me wants confidence and thinks internship would help me develop it. If I decide I don't want to do clinical practice anymore then I would need a rotating internship to pursue radiology or clinical path as well.
Hope that helps clarify a bit. Thank you again.

maybe going somewhere rural/or lower cost of living will help? less ability to send to a specialist so you can do more things. Also, I do feel with the worsening economy people might struggle to be able to go with specialists and rely more on GPs for things (but this may or may not be the case and may take several years and it may swing back the other direction when things are doing better).