ECC Residency/Internship Question

[dogtortootsie]

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Hello all,

I had a couple of questions out of pure naivety for the community. I have seen a few ECC residencies still have open positions on VIRMP, however most specialty internships for ECC have been filled. I was just trying to understand why this would happen (e.g. people just not interested in the still available programs?).

Additionally, my other, semi-unrelated question is what current ECC residents/criticalist's experience were with having to do a specialty internship prior to securing a residency. I've been told by mentors not to be too stressed about matching into a program as ECC is historically a less competitive specialty, but essentially I am wanting to hear people's stories/experiences and if this remains true as of today.

Sincerely,
A stressed first-generation vet student flying a little blind

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Programs are stuck with you for 3 years during residency, so they are going to be picky about who they take. It's not that they couldn't fill the position with a body, but that they did not have someone apply that they truly wanted as a resident.

Specialty internships are only a year so programs are much more willing to take a bit of risk for those positions.

Generally you don't need to do a specialty internship for ECC as it is very common to match out of internship. That being said, some individuals benefit from an additional year before stepping into residency and may have that route suggested to them (or forced upon them if they do not match a residency).