Applying to internships outside the match

[vetsquared]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone is familiar with or has experience with applying to internships early and outside the match. I've been extended an opportunity to apply early (current third year) to a non-academic small animal rotating internship, rather than applying through the match in a year from now (to be clear, this is an internship that is posted in VIRMP, not one that does their applications outside the match regardless). If anyone has done this, I would love to hear from you. I worry about not having strong enough references from someone at my school because, as a third year, I haven't had the opportunity to work with specialists on clinics yet. I have specialists I can ask from outside my school, but I know for the match you really need to have people at your institution... is this different enough of a situation that this isn't such a big deal? Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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[MOOSEygoosey]

My hospital is doing this at this point because there's such an intern shortage and externships are being treated as essentially working interviews at this point. You can DM me if you have any questions I did my internship (through the match) and stuck around for an ECC residency

 

[fdvet]

Just curious what the pros and cons are of doing residencies at an academic institution vs. in a private practice/ corporate setting. It seems like the pay is significantly better at non-academic institutions?

 

[JaynaAli]

One of the main differences is the amount of teaching you have to/get to do. I did an internship in private practice and my residency was in academia. For both internships and residencies, if you’re in academia you’ll usually have some supervisory/teaching responsibilities for the students. Sometimes a lot of teaching on top of your cases and rounds and boards prep and the zillion other things you do. Residents are usually at the top of the list for procedures and stuff, but you do have to share some cases and procedures among interns and students as well. As a private practice intern (or resident) it’s typically just you in line for learning so you may get to do even more stuff on your own. But at the same time, that means things like all the paperwork and daily soaps and discharges falls to you, where as students do a lot of the paperwork in academia. Residents are gonna have to edit after students in academia too, so it’s not like students do all the work, but it’s definitely different. Private practice in my experience also seems to typically have higher caseloads since there isn’t quite as much teaching and assorted rounding required. Some private practices may have fewer “toys” (meaning surgery tools, in-house diagnostic options, critical care capabilities, etc.), though there are definitely places with capabilities the same as or better than some vet schools. Pay is often better in private practice but not always. A benefit of academia is you may qualify for PSLF which you’re not gonna get in a traditional private practice. I don’t personally think one is better than the other, they’re just different.

 

[allygator13]

Agree with everything JaynaAli said. This will also depend on your end goal for doing the internship (if you want to specialize, which specialty you are aiming for), but I think it's beneficial for people to get both experiences if possible. Academia is the ivory tower, where they will have all the bells and whistles and a lot of times have the capability to practice top-tier medicine and clients will often be willing to do it. It is also a much slower pace because teaching is happening and multiple departments are often involved in the cases. A single private practice likely won't have all the bells and whistles of an academic institution, you'll probably get a wider range of client financial capabilities, it is a much faster pace, and I think in private practice you get a bit more "reality". I got to experience both having done my rotating internship in academia and my specialty internship in private practice, and as JaynaAli said, they are just different.

 

[fdvet]

Are private practice residencies less competitive than academic ones? is it more about networking to get a private practice residency?

 

[JaynaAli]

Not necessarily. Many are just as competitive or maybe even more so than some academic positions. They’re gonna want the same things in an applicant that an academic program will want and the process is the same. I do think there’s a little bit more “buyer beware” for some private practice internships. Any busy clinic could advertise for an intern because they want cheap labor. I mean hopefully if they’re going through the trouble to develop a training program they really want to teach you, but the fact is, there’s not a lot of regulation of programs. So if you’re considering less well known private practice options, you need to do research and ask questions and make sure your goals for the internship along with what they are providing. But you should be doing that for any program, not just private practice ones. There are great private practice training options out there.

 

[vetsquared]

Me: Omg I got an interview next month, yay!

Also me: Omg I got an interview next month, panic!