Surgical Internship in Small Animal Medicine

Veterinary Externship
Veterinary Rotating Internship
Veterinary Surgical Internship
Veterinary Internal Medicine Internship
Veterinary Surgical Residency

1 position available

Interested Candidates should apply through the Veterinary Internship & Residency Matching Program at www.virmp.org.

Description of Program:

Veterinary Specialists of Rochester (VSR) invites applicants for a surgical internship under the guidance of three board-certified surgeons. Training will be assisted by two surgical residents. The program is directed towards individuals who have had at least one year of post-graduate clinical experience in a rotating internship. As such, this program is designed to serve the successful applicant as a sub-residency, and enhance their qualifications and competitiveness for subsequent application to formal residency programs. Of the previous 5 surgical interns, three are now board-certified and one is a resident at this facility and will serve in a supervisory capacity as appropriate. The surgery service places a strong emphasis on didactic training as is evident from the diverse rounds formats and topics, as well as, support for clinical research.

Veterinary Specialists of Rochester is located in Rochester, New York, and serves as a referral center for a large portion of upstate New York, and parts of Pennsylvania and Canada. The practice has been in existence since 1988 and now occupies a 14,000 square foot hospital that includes three OR suites, intensive care unit, an ultrasonography room, an I131-radiation facility, an in-house, full service laboratory, and a chemotherapy center. Diagnostic imaging includes radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. In addition to the board-certified staff surgeons, there are currently board-certified specialists in internal medicine, critical care, ophthalmology, oncology, radiology, cardiology (consultant) and neurology (consultant)on staff, who will participate in the education of the surgical intern. VSR encourages a close, collegial inter-relationship between the specialists, bringing an interdisciplinary approach to many of the patients it sees. The surgical staff routinely performs a wide variety of procedures in general soft tissue surgery, reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, and neurosurgery, including minimally invasive surgery.

VSR participates with an affiliated group of general practices in the training of seven rotating interns on an annual basis. This general internship program has been in existence since 1987 (see description under Animal Hospital of Pittsford elsewhere in this directory). The surgical intern will work alongside of, but not in competition with the general interns. The surgical intern, in deference to his or her greater experience, will have the opportunity to provide guidance and backup to the general interns, thus increasing the surgical intern's confidence and experience. This will include working with the emergency service, performing appropriate emergency surgical procedures as the primary surgeon, providing back up to the general interns and also include conducting rounds in conjunction with the emergency clinicians. One goal of this surgical internship is preparation for a surgical residency and scientific writing is an important criterion for acceptance into most programs. In order to maximize chances of acceptance into a surgical residency, we require that the intern prepares and submits a manuscript to a peer reviewed journal by November.

Intern compensation includes a salary (paid weekly), single policy health care coverage, liability (malpractice) insurance, AVMA dues, and dues to the NYSVMS/ GVVMA. Additional compensation will be paid per emergency case when the surgical intern is required to come in after hours to perform a procedure.

Attendance at Continuing Education meetings is encouraged and will be supported by sending the intern to the annual ACVS symposium with paid registration and a stipend of $600 to help defray travel, lodging, and meal costs. The surgical intern will have 8 days off for paid vacation during the year with scheduling approved by the director. If needed, an additional 3 days will be provided for the intern to travel to interviews for surgical residency programs for the next year.