Zoo medicine

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dan0353

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Does anyone know what are the odds of getting a zoo, wildlife, or exotic residency after graduating?

Do you typically have to do a 1-yr intership prior as well?

I've looked online but have not encountered anything to helpful so far.

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I know Missouri has a list of their preceptorships and there are a couple of exotics offices on there, but not many. When I did my interview with A&M, they said that it was possible, but that that is the most competitive field, so it took a LOT of work.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, I have a lot of the same questions myself. :confused:
 
I recently talked with a zoo veterinarian and he said he went into a residency at UTK. I've also heard from many people on the boards that UTK has a great exotics/zoo program, so this fits with what they've been saying. He did mention that it was a competitive field but still encouraged me and said that it's definitely not an impossible feat :)
 
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I think a 1-year rotating internship might be required by many residency programs. Probably differs a bit among programs. It's also worth noting that zoo, wildlife, and exotics are three separate fields, each with their own residencies and their own policies.

I've heard that the AAZV website has good info for externships and residencies, so you could check there for a list of which universities have zoo residencies and maybe find out what their requirements are. You could also take a look at the match website, http://www.virmp.org, my memory is that they have descriptions of residency programs and their requirements.

And finally, as far as difficulty of getting in... I've heard of one person who took three years to get into a zoo med residency. She basically did three intern years while re-applying. My understanding was that it's not an uncommon problem, she was a very good candidate. I don't know how wildlife-only or companion exotics residencies stack up that way.

Your question makes it sound like you're interested in non-domestic species in a pretty general way, and that's actually pretty much right where I am, too. In applying to vet schools I asked a lot of zoo/wildlife/exotics faculty members about the breadth of experiences I could get at their schools, and how early I could get hands-on with actual non-domestic cases. I'll pass on a piece of advice that I've gotten over and over again, but I warn you that you're not going to like it: Don't worry so much about trying to get broad experience in your preclinical years; the people the faculty are consistently most impressed with on clinical rotations are the ones with a really strong foundation in small animal internal medicine. There's enough similarity between species that a really sharp diagnostician is a better asset than somebody with a broad cross-species base but little in-depth practical knowledge. And in these fields, letters from well-known people who are impressed with your clinical abilities are apparently very key to getting a residency spot.
 
Thanks kate, that definitely cleared up a number of questions i had.
 
Usually to get into a zoo med residency you need to do a small animal rotating internship, followed by a zoo med internship, then residency. It is quite competitive
 
I am so glad I read this thread, you all have been incredible helpful at clearing up questions I hadn't even thought to ask yet.
Thanks. :)
 
Zoo residency posititions and then veterinary positions are very hard to come by. During an interview I had, one the veterinarians mentioned that a lot of it is the people you know. Even during veterinary school you should try to attend zoo conferences and such so that you can get your foot in the door. I also worked at a small animal emergency hospital located near a large exotic cat refuge, the veterinarian there was able to do most of the treatments for the animals there. So, without actually being at a zoo he was still able to work with very very cool animals (i mean wouldn't it be cool to say, 'hey honey im home, i neutered a tiger today, how about you?")
 
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