Summers in between vet school

[Buckeye1206]

Hello! First year vet student here. What should entering students plan on doing during the first couple of summers. Are externships looked highly upon? Whats the best way of getting ones? Any advice of what to do other than work to try and pay off the huge amount of debt piling up 🙂

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[BlacKAT33]

externships are looked highly upon. from what i understand people either do externships, work in research/lab (and i guess some research could also be considered an externship), and then finally traveling overseas and working on a project there...and i guess this could also be an externship too? lol Or you could also travel with a group like VIDA. well, that's all i know!

 

[No Imagination]

If you are asking what vet students should do during their summers (between classes) I highly recommend a pool and a drink with an umbrella... Picking your your physiology or pathology book every few weeks so you can tell the difference when classes begin.

If you are asking what a pre-vet student should do (to get in) - then work experience, more classes, externships, research...

 

[DVMorBust]

If you are asking what vet students should do during their summers (between classes) I highly recommend a pool and a drink with an umbrella... Picking your your physiology or pathology book every few weeks so you can tell the difference when classes begin.

2nded. This was my plan for the summer, until my horse decided to rack up a bunch of vet bills so I wound up working for the LA hospital at school.

Summer externships, etc. could be a really good idea, but they're not going to make or break your future. I'd take advantage of at least a bit of your summers since they're the last ones you'll ever see...

 

[david594]

Externships are a nice idea but there really aren't tons of opportunities after your first year. Being realistic you have yet to learn much of anything clinically related so a clinically focused externship would be of little value. (which in large part is why most externships are geared toward students after their second or third year. So if some big referral hospital has externships listed on their website for vet students, its probably limited to 3rd or 4th year students.

Research is big here. There are ~45 students in my class with funded research projects for the summer. Its good money, great experience and potentially fun. I'm doing it this summer and would highly recommend it(and will probably do it again next summer).

Next biggest thing is people working jobs they already had. Either during the year, or something they had back home that they can return to. Locally it doesn't seem like there are a ton of summer jobs for vet students(a bit of a saturated market).

Then there are a bunch of people volunteering with different organizations. I have a couple friends working with shelter or low cost spay/neuter programs. Again in tech/assistant roles because we really don't have any clinical training to do any more.

Banfield has a summer program where they will essentially put you to work as a tech and pay you pretty well. Don't know anyone personally who is doing it, but I am sure there are a few.

VCA also has some "externships" you appy for, but they are unpaid and simply based on the number of hospitals they are available at, I would assume relatively unstructured in many cases. These appear to be shorter, more of 1-2 week type of things. I may personally try do one at the end of the summer, but it would be at a VCA referral hospital I worked at in the past, so I at least wouldn't be a complete stranger if I showed up there.

 

[jpeterman13]

Banfield has a summer program where they will essentially put you to work as a tech and pay you pretty well. Don't know anyone personally who is doing it, but I am sure there are a few.

I did it this summer, liked it a lot. I learned a ton and got paid fairly well. Also nice because you can choose how long you want to work; so if you want to give yourself a few weeks to take it easy before school starts, you can. It's just a minimum of 6 weeks requirement. It's a pretty sweet deal.

I've been curious about intern/externships, so I did some research and (like you said) cannot find many opportunities for 1st, or even 2nd, years. Iowa State has a few summer programs for their students (1 swine, 1 beef cattle, and 1 dairy). Don't pay as well, but still seems worthwhile. I'm interested to find out about the research opportunities that are available.

 

[ORvetgirl]

I'm in the middle of my Banfield summer...definitely learning a lot, and for someone with almost no small animal clinical experience, I'm getting a ton. I've heard it can be hit or miss depending on your mentor, but mine's great.

There are also some other shorter term programs, but the pay isn't as great (Banfield is hourly, most of the others are stipends for living expenses as far as I know). For example, Pfizer has a cattle externship program that's a month long.

Several of my classmates are doing research, and our International vet med club sponsors a trip to Nicuragua to do volunteer work (but they pay to go on the trip, versus getting paid)

 

[BlacKAT33]

I'm in the middle of my Banfield summer...definitely learning a lot, and for someone with almost no small animal clinical experience, I'm getting a ton. I've heard it can be hit or miss depending on your mentor, but mine's great.

There are also some other shorter term programs, but the pay isn't as great (Banfield is hourly, most of the others are stipends for living expenses as far as I know). For example, Pfizer has a cattle externship program that's a month long.

Several of my classmates are doing research, and our International vet med club sponsors a trip to Nicuragua to do volunteer work (but they pay to go on the trip, versus getting paid)

do you mind sharing how much you get paid at banfield? i'm curious to know what "good" is since i figured almost any job you take during the summer is just avg pay

 

[dyachei]

Cross posting is against the TOS of SDN. I've merged the 2 threads under veterinary. There is a lot of information on this subject in this forum already, it may be helpful to use the search tool.

 

[cuitlamiztli]

I'm interested to find out about the research opportunities that are available.

The summer scholars program stuff can be found here; quite a few of my classmates are participating, and the ones I've talked with really seem to enjoy it.

I third the relaxation suggestion... even if it's just for a week. Otherwise, study abroad/international programs are another option to fill part of your summer (or all of it). You can probably get credit and financial aid for them if they're offered through the school.

 

[jpeterman13]

The summer scholars program stuff can be found here; quite a few of my classmates are participating, and the ones I've talked with really seem to enjoy it.

I third the relaxation suggestion... even if it's just for a week. Otherwise, study abroad/international programs are another option to fill part of your summer (or all of it). You can probably get credit and financial aid for them if they're offered through the school.

Thank you cuitlamiztli!

 

[ssmith30]

So research might be an idea for 1st yr vet students...but research is such a broad topic...can I get some specifics/suggestions?

 

[david594]

Research ideas? Sure....

Cure cancer. Cure diabetes. Cure arthritis. Cure (insert any uncured disease here).

I choose curing diabetes. Were 2 weeks away, 3 tops. 🙂

 

[NStarz]

So research might be an idea for 1st yr vet students...but research is such a broad topic...can I get some specifics/suggestions?

It really depends on what school you're in and what the veterinary researchers (or other PI's) are doing. Typically, unless you have a PhD, you will not be conducting your own designed research. You need money in the form of grants to do that, as well as going through many hurdles to get your study approved (none of which can be comprehensively carried out in one summer).

So...find a veterinarian at your school who is doing research that sounds interesting to you, and ask if you can be a student researcher for the summer! Alternatively, you can see if there's a lab somewhere near you (some universities may allow outside help during the summers).

 

[ssmith30]

Research ideas? Sure....

Cure cancer. Cure diabetes. Cure arthritis. Cure (insert any uncured disease here).

I choose curing diabetes. Were 2 weeks away, 3 tops. 🙂

Love the optimism and hopefully it becomes more than that. There are so many options I was hoping to narrow my interest...but how can I! Anyone into parasitiology and its epidemiology? I would love to learn about immune response and evasion in relation to parasites. Yes...gross..perhaps, but I believe that these creatures can unlock a lot of unknowns about the immune system...As does diabetes!

 

[aretoo]

Several people in my class have also gone the research route for the summer, myself included. I love the job, and my project is less intense than others so I've also spent a lot of time on clinics with the prof I am working for. Personally I'm not super interested in research so that's been the best part of my job. Overall it's been a good experience, one I would definitely recommend, even if you're not that interested in being involved in research in the future. The basic journal article reading skills are really helpful, and it's good to get to know some of the faculty from your school before clinical years (though it can be a bit annoying as they will be more likely to notice when you are asleep in lecture...oops)

 

[sumstorm]

If you have a really strong interest with specific topics in mind and can design a low cost research project, it is possible to find mentors to support you on independent research. I do NOT have a PhD and I am studying a topic that is not part of any other project at our school. I do have a team of advisors and mentors in a couple of different disciplines who review my progress, discuss challenges with me, and make suggestions.

I was able to get this oppurtunity because I kept sharing my interests with folks 'I really like X and am fascinated by Y process. I've read A and just saw B article in JAVMA. I wonder if C can be done?' It kept the professors aware of what my interests were, showed them that I was staying up to date and thinking about it, and kept me in their minds so that when a suitable request came across their desk, they said 'this would be perfect for her.' Otherwise, the project never would have existed.

There was a study over the summer here on parasite loads in snakes related to ecological niches. It was a low cost study; specimens were collected via requests to other field researchers, road kill, and surrendered specimens. Then basic disection and slide preparation, and a lot of time at school and the microscopes.

 

[drlutz]

I have had only 1 year of vet med and was able to find externships in equine medicine (don't know about SA, seems like it might be a little more strict). I think a lot of places will make exceptions for students with a lot of clinical experience in the past (I was a tech for several years). Learning how to do a good physical exam, experience watching lameness and learning the physiology behind diseases in the ICU barn don't require you to have had courses in them. If you go to bigger hospitals, ones with internships, the interns are great to follow around and the boarded specialists usually love to teach. Email, ask around...it is never to early to get clincal experience. I have enjoyed my externships and learned a ton so far. The surgeons ask me a lot of anatomy questions and the internal med docs let me U/S colics and talk about physio. Also, if you want to do an internship most hospitals require you to do an externship before applying so the more you do the better chnace you have at getting one.

Otherwise, research would be good, especially if you want to do a residency because a lot of them will involve a little research. Try to get on in clinical research at your school and it might apply more.