Lab Animal Medicine Internship

[Sundome]

Hello,

I have a lab animal medicine internship starting in a week, and I'm feeling a little nervous. I don't really know what I will be doing or what I should expect to be doing, and it's for an entire month! The doctor that I will be working with told me that I'll be put on "rotations" and to be honest, I have no idea what this entails. Can anyone share their experience?

Thanks.

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[Lab Vet]

Hi Sundome,

What's the focus of the internship? Is it clinically focused, or research focused? "Rotations" sounds a lot like you'll be placed in a variety of different labs, observing and participating in many different types of research. Alternatively, you may rotate throughout the many specialties within LAM- pathology, clinical medicine, regulatory compliance. I'm a lab animal nut, and am also participating in a LAM externship this summer. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Sundome]

Hey Lab Vet,

I've been told that there will be an orientation before I start, so I guess I'll find out there. I'm hoping it will be clinically focused for this one since I have research focused one a week after I finish this one. Have you done a lab animal internship during your pre-vet days? Can you tell me about what you did?

 

[Lab Vet]

Sundrome,

I worked as a scientist in biomedical research for well over ten years prior to attending veterinary school (I specifically returned to vet school to specialize in LAM). I didn't have specific pre-vet internships in LAM per se, but did interact with many lab animal veterinarians throughout the course of my career. I met the first lab animal vet with whom I had significant interaction in graduate school. He troubleshot some significant problems that were happening with my project, and has been a true mentor ever since. In every environment that I've worked, both industrial and academic, I have made a point of getting to know the lab animal resources staff- veterinarians, technicians, and administrators. This is the way I gained my LAM experience, alongside conducting the actual science itself.

Are you still in undergrad? Interested in lab animal medicine, and just wanting to see what the field is about? Are you planning on applying to vet school in the next year? During your internship, I recommend that you pay attention to how LAR staff support the science that's being conducted at the institution you're at. Just like in private practice, lab animal vets need good communication skills to effectively interface with principal investigators, academic administrators, regulatory officials, and animal care staff (among others). Ask your supervisors to tell you, in all honesty, what they love and dislike about the career. LAM is broad- there are opportunities for specialization, even within LAM (some folks do strictly regulatory, some are mostly clinical, most are a combo of regulatory/clinical/admin). Ask about the differences in the research (and the role of a lab animal vet) in academia, industry, and government.

When it comes to the clinical work itself, pay attention to how LAM is actually conducted. This is a population based field, and is less focused on individual animals. In many ways, it is very similar to food animal medicine. Ask about how disease outbreaks are controlled, and how these can potentially affect the research (and livelihoods of the scientific staff that conduct the work) occurring at the facility.

Mainly, you want to get an idea of what a lab animal vet does on a day to day basis. It's a good opportunity to get your feet wet, and to interact with some interesting people in a novel environment. Take advantage of that, and good luck!

 

[Sundome]

Yes, I am currently an undergrad, and I'll apply to vet school in probably 2 years time. I live in LA, and I've had difficulty finding vet experiences other than some small animal and lab animal related experiences for some reason. Anyways, this will be my first real vet experience, and I want to do it right. My understanding of LAM is that LAM vets do research work themselves yes? Not necessarily act as only support staff. Also, can you tell me more about what lab animal techs do? I get the feeling that they will be the ones I will working with the closest for the month.

As always, thanks for your help.

 

[that redhead]

Yes, I am currently an undergrad, and I'll apply to vet school in probably 2 years time. I live in LA, and I've had difficulty finding vet experiences other than some small animal and lab animal related experiences for some reason. Anyways, this will be my first real vet experience, and I want to do it right. My understanding of LAM is that LAM vets do research work themselves yes? Not necessarily act as only support staff. Also, can you tell me more about what lab animal techs do? I get the feeling that they will be the ones I will working with the closest for the month.

Lab animal vets can certainly do research on their own, but many of them are indeed the clinical support as well as heavily involved in the administrative side of LAM (which I hope you will at least hear about on your internship) such as IACUC meetings, protocol reviews, etc. What they're involved in depends on the institution, the animals they have there, the studies they have going on and the vet's own interests.

As for techs, they do a lot of different things and again, it's highly dependent on the institution, animals and studies. When I was a LAM tech, I did a lot of daily husbandry tasks (changing cages, feeding, medicating, etc) but I also was crucial in the health monitoring of the animals. The vets really depended on me to be in tune with the animals' well-being since I saw them daily and knew their personalities for the "higher up" species. I did some training of students new to various labs (here's where the animals are, here's how you handle them, etc). Other techs are much more specialized and may be, for example, in charge of non-human primate enrichment or monitoring anesthesia for surgery. They know a lot about the animals and it would be a great experience to follow them around and pick their brains

 

[Lab Vet]

That Redhead pretty much summed it up. Most of the lab animal vets whom I know are not in charge of their own research programs (i.e. responsible for productivity on a grant). Being involved in a project, and being the end-all-be-all responsible party, are two very different balls of wax (with respect to time investment). Many LAM vets participate in collaborative projects, and gain authorship on publications as a result of their contributions. That's not the same as writing (and being awarded) grants to direct your own research program. LAM and research are related, but they're not the same. Veterinary school doesn't teach you to do research- not in the long term sense. Most importantly, vet school doesn't teach you to successfully write grants and spearhead a research team. If you're serious about pursuing a research career (as a principal investigator), you'll need to go after a PhD as well. Many lab animal vets achieve a PhD concurrent with their residency. You've got plenty of time to explore those options. For now, take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you to start learning about the field. I'm glad that you're getting some experience doing actual research as well. Do you know what type of lab you'll be in? A basic science research experience will give you a good idea as to what the life of a scientist is like- its pressures as well as its triumphs.

Technicians (be they animal health or animal care techs) are indispensable to lab animal vets. They are the true eyes and ears of a facility, and have far more hands on interaction with the animals than the vets do. Technicians monitor research animals every day, and are very attuned to their behavior and physical traits. Technicians will be the first to realize that an animal is 'off,' and will promptly alert a veterinarian for a consult. Technicians will be a wealth of information for you. Pick their brains every chance that you get.

The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) is one of the major professional organizations representing the lab animal community. There is a voluntary certification process for technicians which many facilities require prior to a hire. You can learn more about it here: https://www.aalas.org/certification/technicians#.VXzfsvlViko

Best of luck with your experiences. Soak it up, and take advantage of face-to-face opportunities to get your questions answered. If you're present, engaged, and interested...you can't go wrong.

 

[KCgophervet]

It will definitely depend on the institution - I've done a couple of lab animal externships now while in vet school and they've been very different as far as what you do and what the vets do.

Just a quick word of advice - keep a log or a journal of what you do or see each day. Also the hours you're putting into it. It will help you later to be able to look back and draw from for vet school applications.