Questions about internship/residency

[Mia]

I bet these seem like really dumb questions - but I really don't know anything about how all this works.

Do all DVMs go on to do internships and residencies? And is it the same as human medicine, where you specialize during your residency? And would you be specializing in small animal/large animal/etcetc?

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[AuburnPreVet]

My understanding is that the vast majority of graduates go into practice without doing an internship or residency. Most academic internships are 1 year (within either small or large animal) and you rotate through the associated departments throughout the year (ex, radiology, internal med, etc). If you choose to do a residency (usually ~3 years) it will be within a more specific field (ex. small animal internal medicine), and you'll do most of your time within (or relating to) that particular field. After your residency you can sit for board exams, to be boarded in your particular specialty.

I'm not terribly sure how non-academic internship/residencies work, but I assume they'd be fairly similar...(?)

 

[HorseyVet]

Do all DVMs go on to do internships and residencies? And is it the same as human medicine, where you specialize during your residency? And would you be specializing in small animal/large animal/etcetc?

The break down is about 20-25% that specialize and the rest go into regular practice. Remember though that there are also a lot of non-clinical/non-traditional pathways that also require boarding...so some of that number is composed of those individuals (pathology, etc.).

You compete for a one year internship out of vet school, and then compete for a (usually) 3 year residency. After that you should be ready to take the boards in said speciality and be "boarded." Depending on what you want to do and where you want to go will determine how competitive you are/need be.

Some people go into regular practice for a while and then go back to be boarded. I've heard from several people that this makes getting the residencies/intership more difficult, but often the same people haven't regretted their time in private practice.

 

[Mia]

So how does finding work out of vet school work?

Thanks so much for the replies, by the way, very helpful

 

[HorseyVet]

So how does finding work out of vet school work?

Thanks so much for the replies, by the way, very helpful

Uhh...It really depends on what you want to do, where you are etc. Kinda like every other job.

P.S. You might want to try to do some searches in the forum. Some of these questions have been answered several times before. If you have new questions, similar to older ones, bump an old thread.

 

[Bill59]

Many of the veterinary journals have a classified section with job listings. Most schools keep a file of local practices that are looking for associates, as well as positions open in academics, government and industry. A lot of schools also have some sort of "career day" usually in association with a CE meeting, where people looking to hire a veterinarian can arrange to meet soon-to-graduate students for an interview. Then there's word of mouth, personal contacts, etc.

Regarding recognized specialties, here's a partial list:
Internal medicine (SA, LA)
Surgery (SA, LA)
Ophthalmology
Neurology
Cardiology
Oncology
Dermatology
Anesthesiology
Diagnostic Radiology
Radiation therapy
Emergency/critical care
Pathology and Clinical pathology
Theriogenology
Nutrition
Behavior
Dentistry
Poultry
Zoo
ABVP (Practice) canine, feline, equine, food animal, avian, swine

and some others I'm forgetting