Description of Program:
Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, world renowned for medical excellence, is seeking above average candidates for 15 internship positions. The internship begins on June 15, 2009 and ends on June 30 2010. Applicants will be considered on the basis of their academic record, letter of intent and letters of recommendation. A personal or telephone interview is very strongly recommended. Interview dates are available for December 2008 and January 2009; please call Arlyne Koopmann at 617-541-5192 for an appointment. The Angell internship is a challenging and exciting opportunity with an emphasis on mentoring and teaching. The evolution of the program is ongoing.
The goal of this internship is to provide the new graduate with a foundation in general and specialty referral medical practice on which to build a future of strong clinical skills, critical thinking, ethics, continued learning and teaching. The interns are expected to learn all aspects of hospital procedures, including management of a wide variety of cases, generating appropriate estimates and communicating with owners and referring veterinarians. Angell's program has an excellent record of graduates continuing on to residencies in all veterinary specialties. Not listed on the program support page is the fact that we have a double boarded clinical and anatomical pathologist, and a full in house pathology laboratory, a certified veterinary acupuncturist and a dentistry service with a board eligible dentist.
The internship begins with two weeks of orientation; an overlap period with the graduating class of interns aids in adjustment. The program includes 10 - 12 weeks in surgery and one week each on the avian/exotic medicine service, neurology, radiology, as well as time for electives and vacation. Approximately 60% of the year is spent with the internal medicine and emergency/critical care services, with clinical responsibility comprised primarily of emergency receiving. Overnight receiving is scheduled in blocks; the critical care service manages admitted cases during the daytime, providing excellent continuity in patient care and client communication. A resident or staff clinician supervises most emergency shifts, and staff and residents are readily available on an emergency basis during the overnight. Daily patient rounds occur on all services, during which all hospitalized patients and some outpatients are discussed. Each intern is supported by an advisor, and is evaluated regularly by the staff on his or her professional performance, communication skills and progress in the pursuit of knowledge and clinical aptitude. The clinical services at Angell work as teams, therefore good group interaction and communications skills are essential for the intern's success. Interns must be able to work efficiently and effectively with a heavy caseload.
The demanding caseload at Angell requires the intern to perform many minor medical and surgical procedures by themselves under staff supervision. Interns can expect to be directly involved with more major procedures as assistants.
Opportunities for continuing education include, but are not limited to, daily patient rounds, daily radiology rounds, and a mandatory weekly lecture series designed specifically for the interns. Most of the clinical services have regular didactic sessions during which they may review the current literature, discuss particular topics, and/or review cases in depth. Time permitting, interns are welcome at these sessions. There is also a weekly continuing education program for the veterinary staff and area veterinarians; these lectures are presented by the staff, residents, and guest lecturers, and the topics cover a wide range of interests related to veterinary medicine. Each intern is required to prepare one lecture, with the assistance of a staff member, which will be presented during this weekly series. A library containing 30 or more periodicals as well as current texts is in house and available 24 hours a day.
Interns are required to be fully licensed in the state of Massachusetts. Interns participate in the benefits package outlined in the MSPCA/Angell employment materials. The above description reflects the program as of the date of writing. This is a dynamic program; changes may be made at any time, leading to deviations from this description.
