Applying for Externships for 4th year

[brodydoodle]

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Hi,

Sorry if this has been posted about before (if yes, please direct me to the post), but I am currently a second year veterinary student. I heard that this is the time that you should be looking applying to those super competitive externships, so I'm trying to generally figure out which places I want to look into.

Would anyone be able to provide honest comment on off campus externships that they did during their clinic years (both postives and negatives)? Open to any types of practices/zoos/etc.

I would also take tips/advices on planning out your clinical year as well!

 

[Cephal0pod]

Hi,

Sorry if this has been posted about before (if yes, please direct me to the post), but I am currently a second year veterinary student. I heard that this is the time that you should be looking applying to those super competitive externships, so I'm trying to generally figure out which places I want to look into.

Would anyone be able to provide honest comment on off campus externships that they did during their clinic years (both postives and negatives)? Open to any types of practices/zoos/etc.

I would also take tips/advices on planning out your clinical year as well!

If you are interested in some of the big name zoo externships, 100% get going with applying to them this year (would start working on that now). They can and often do fill up 1.5-2 years in advance. This by no means is true of all zoos that offer externships, but it is definitely worth noting that there were a few I applied to the summer before my 3rd year that were already booked solid for the entirety of my 4th year.

Also, a good way to get intel about externships is talking to folks in the classes above you about experiences they have had/are currently having, whether they know anyone who has done/is doing the programs you are interested in, etc. Meet with a faculty member in your discipline of interest and pick their brains about all this, too. They might also know about cool opportunities you aren’t aware of.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I'm trying to generally figure out which places I want to look into

Yeah, this. What area of medicine do you want externship experience in? Really, externships should be about improving your understanding and experiences in the area you plan to pursue, not just something to create great photo ops and resume data. If you're looking to go into GP work, you should plan to use your externship time for general practices; if you want to work with birds or horses, look to practices that do a lot of work with birds or horses; if you're looking towards a residency in a specialty, plan for your externships to provide extra experiences towards that specialty.

 

[battie]

I was applying to all my externships, competitive or not, this time my second year. I honestly wanted it out of the way so that I didn't have to worry about it. I did apply to 3 zoos and got 2 of them. One of the zoos was already nearly booked for my entire 58 weeks of 4th year, so I only got 2 weeks instead of the 4 I was aiming for. My other externships are an equine facility and small animal ER/specialty clinic.

My externships are kinda all over the place cause i honestly dont know what I'm going to end up doing at graduation. I have a ton of different interests, but have some limitations if I were to try to go into the match. So I'm trying to get varied experiences so that I know what viable backup career options I would have.

I will say that applying and settling my schedule so early has prevented me from being able to apply to other externships that have a narrow window of application that opened during 3rd year. So keep that in mind.

 

[brodydoodle]

Yeah, this. What area of medicine do you want externship experience in? Really, externships should be about improving your understanding and experiences in the area you plan to pursue, not just something to create great photo ops and resume data. If you're looking to go into GP work, you should plan to use your externship time for general practices; if you want to work with birds or horses, look to practices that do a lot of work with birds or horses; if you're looking towards a residency in a specialty, plan for your externships to provide extra experiences towards that specialty.

I think I'm currently interested in surgery (leaning more towards specialty, but would also look into gp with advanced surgery). This may change before graduation, but it is what I want to pursue at this point in time. But I also came into vet school thinking I want to do exotics or wildlife so I was hoping to apply to zoos and rehab centers (also in hopes that I could perhaps be a surgery consultant for exotics).

I wasn't sure if I should pursue off campus externships to observe other boarded surgeons or practice tissue handling via shelter externships or what. Or if I should avoid being on too narrow of a path just in case I switch.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I think I'm currently interested in surgery (leaning more towards specialty, but would also look into gp with advanced surgery). This may change before graduation, but it is what I want to pursue at this point in time. But I also came into vet school thinking I want to do exotics or wildlife so I was hoping to apply to zoos and rehab centers (also in hopes that I could perhaps be a surgery consultant for exotics).

I wasn't sure if I should pursue off campus externships to observe other boarded surgeons or practice tissue handling via shelter externships or what. Or if I should avoid being on too narrow of a path just in case I switch.

I’m interested in surgery and started reaching out to places the summer after second year, which was sufficient for the places I wanted to go. A couple academic places had to wait to schedule me until their own students were scheduled.