Exotic Companion Animal Internships?

[beans2020]

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Hello friends! Apologies if this has been asked somewhere before - I didn't see any threads that looked like they addressed this.
I am interested in some combination of small animal and exotics (rabbits, birds, pocket pets, maybe reptiles, maybe wildlife on the side) after vet school. My school doesn't have an exotics service so I was planning on using externship time during clinicals to get some exotics experience anyways. I recently heard a wildlife vet talking about how she completed some type of exotic animal internship after graduation - I know zoo internships exist but are there internships for exotic companion animal medicine? Are they through the match? How do you find them? Do people think it would be more beneficial to complete an exotics internship or to find a good mentor in private practice (especially considering that I will not be getting exotics experience through my school)?
At this point I am not interested in becoming board certified/going through the whole internship and residency process, but I would consider completing an exotics internship to get more experience before entering the workforce.
Thanks guys!

 

[_rae_]

The hospital I worked at had an exotic medicine/surgery internship. VIRMP does say it is suitable for new grads and they do specifically say they consider all experiences levels and have taken new grads before, but I think most of the interns I remember had a rotating prior. It might be worth externing there if you're interested and can take a quick jaunt to Massachusetts.

 

[WildZoo]

Hello friends! Apologies if this has been asked somewhere before - I didn't see any threads that looked like they addressed this.
I am interested in some combination of small animal and exotics (rabbits, birds, pocket pets, maybe reptiles, maybe wildlife on the side) after vet school. My school doesn't have an exotics service so I was planning on using externship time during clinicals to get some exotics experience anyways. I recently heard a wildlife vet talking about how she completed some type of exotic animal internship after graduation - I know zoo internships exist but are there internships for exotic companion animal medicine? Are they through the match? How do you find them? Do people think it would be more beneficial to complete an exotics internship or to find a good mentor in private practice (especially considering that I will not be getting exotics experience through my school)?
At this point I am not interested in becoming board certified/going through the whole internship and residency process, but I would consider completing an exotics internship to get more experience before entering the workforce.
Thanks guys!

Yes, there are exotics companion animal internships, several through the match, some outside of it. However, if you're not interested in becoming boarded, I would lean towards finding a clinic with good mentorship and an existing exotics caseload over doing an internship. Most (not all) of the exotics specialty internships prefer or require you to have some other post-grad experience first, which is usually a rotating internship. If you're not looking to become boarded it is less worth the hit to your earning potential and general wellbeing to go through the internship pipeline. If you could find a program that takes new grads, that option might be worth considering. But there are many, many GPs out there who see exotics without having done additional post-grad training.

 

[beans2020]

Thanks guys!! Appreciate it 🙂

 

[katiemcat]

A girl two classes above mine did a private companion exotics internship and loved it. She ended up accepting an associate position there after she finished.