Academic vs private practice internships/residency
Started by anonp-vet
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Are you a fan of teaching? If yes, academia you get to do that to fourth years (and interns when you’re the resident). If not, please avoid academia 😅
I haven’t done an internship/residency myself so I can’t tell you much else for pros/cons aside from private practice usually is paid better.
I haven’t done an internship/residency myself so I can’t tell you much else for pros/cons aside from private practice usually is paid better.
Ski is right, teaching duties and things that trickle down from that are probably the most major differences. In PP, you’re probably going to see more total numbers of cases and you’ll likely get more hands on experience, solely because there’s fewer people “in line” to share cases and experiences with. Meaning you won’t have to share cases and procedures with as many other interns/residents and students. Some apps might not see as many complex cases if they’re not equipped personnel or equipment wise, but this is definitely highly variable. The PP training programs I’ve seen still have rounds times, but not nearly as extensive as are worked into academic places. In academia, you’ll probably have much easier access to other specialists, though there’s definitely some private practices that have in-house ancillary teams like radiology, pathology, anesthesia, etc. But at my private practice internship we had to plan and run our own anesthesia (or more accurately tell the techs what to do then they monitor) where you wouldn’t have those duties in academia or at a larger PP. Also, in PP, you’ll more than likely have to do all your own paperwork, where in academia the students do a lot of that for you. Of course that has the tradeoff that you have to read and edit someone else’s work. PP usually pays more than academia, but academia has historically been eligible for PSLF, though who knows how that will play out in the future. Historically academia was regarded as superior to PP, but that’s really evolved in the last decade and there are great PP programs too. I do think people should have more of a “buyer beware” attitude and vet PP places harder because any place can start an internship, but in the end, they’re both fine and they both have pros and cons.
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Private practice programs:
1. Tend to be in larger metropolitan areas compared to a lot of veterinary schools (think Starkville, MS Pullman, WA). This can be important if you have a partner who also needs to find a job in the area or you prefer city living.
2. Pay is usually better
3. Usually higher pace/case load with focus on seeing patients as opposed to teaching.
4. More programs to choose from, at least for internships.
5. Usually won't have student teaching responsibilities (pro or con depending on your interests and goals).
6. Some programs are not well established, in particular internships, which don't have any regulations like residences do.
Academic programs:
1. Often have more structured seminars and other didactic programs since their primary function is teaching.
2. Usually have more research opportunities.
3. Some have opportunity for graduate degree in conjunction with residency.
4. Almost all qualify as not-for-profit for the purpose of PSLF (if that doesn't get obliterated).
1. Tend to be in larger metropolitan areas compared to a lot of veterinary schools (think Starkville, MS Pullman, WA). This can be important if you have a partner who also needs to find a job in the area or you prefer city living.
2. Pay is usually better
3. Usually higher pace/case load with focus on seeing patients as opposed to teaching.
4. More programs to choose from, at least for internships.
5. Usually won't have student teaching responsibilities (pro or con depending on your interests and goals).
6. Some programs are not well established, in particular internships, which don't have any regulations like residences do.
Academic programs:
1. Often have more structured seminars and other didactic programs since their primary function is teaching.
2. Usually have more research opportunities.
3. Some have opportunity for graduate degree in conjunction with residency.
4. Almost all qualify as not-for-profit for the purpose of PSLF (if that doesn't get obliterated).
If you choose/rank wisely, there are multiple PP programs that give you access to just as many specialists as academia. Sometimes even more access, imo. In academia (or, at least in my school), half of the time the actual boarded clinicians showed up for 10 minutes once a day and then were up in their offices for the rest. In my PP internship, the clinicians were on the floor with us the entire time. You also don't spend hours per week rounding, sitting through/giving presentations, etc in PP because you're on the floor working 5+ days a week.
Academic environments also very much teach in the 'ivory tower' mindset. Similar to human medicine, where everything is very stepwise and you don't do 'x' without having first done 'a-w.' Some major specialty hospitals do as well (and even sometimes individual clinicians), but I felt like being outside of an academic environment was far more realistic and the medicine was far more practical than what we ever did in the teaching hospital.
I would, like already mentioned, only recommend PP internships that are well established and on the larger side.
Academic environments also very much teach in the 'ivory tower' mindset. Similar to human medicine, where everything is very stepwise and you don't do 'x' without having first done 'a-w.' Some major specialty hospitals do as well (and even sometimes individual clinicians), but I felt like being outside of an academic environment was far more realistic and the medicine was far more practical than what we ever did in the teaching hospital.
I would, like already mentioned, only recommend PP internships that are well established and on the larger side.
As someone who hasn't started their internship yet but went through the match this cycle and was going through the same struggles of comparing PP and academia, I would say a lot of what came down to my decision is what environment and learning style is best fit for me and my career goals! I found out early on in clinics, after talking with many clinicians on my rotations, that I like to know every specific about what is going on and taking the longer methodical approach vs the other. This drew me to more of an academic side so I can absorb everything about the cases being seen since there will be a lower caseload overall compared to some fast paced PP. I have classmates/friends who are very go go go and ready for that fast pace and they thrive learning better in that environment so they wanted to go down the PP path for that very reason as well! I still chose to incorporate other factors initially such as salary and cost of living, experience opportunities in my particular field of interest, opportunities for journal club/grand rounds for more leaning and etc but overall I chose my rank list based solely on the learning environment for me! To each their own as always and you will have plenty of time to reflect on what will be best for you and your career and you will end up happy where you place! Happy future matching!
Hi! Does this change between LA and SA?
Some things change, some are the same. The teaching component will be the same. As someone who just sees the process from the outside and had a friend go through it, I feel like if anything, in equine, most applicants prioritize private practice if possible and academia is not as popular. That’s not to say there aren’t good academic positions too. I’m not as familiar with food animal program private practices since those are less common. But like anything, program quality, pay, hours you’re working, etc. are highly variable. And most of the PP equine programs are outside of the match which means a different timeline too. That makes it a little more reasonable for people to try to find a PP position and then pivot to the match and academia if the “have to” (or just want to).
