Veterinarians: Are you really worth more for being internship trained?

[LeonbergerLover]

Some people say that you're worth more if you've completed 1 (or more) internship(s) post graduation.

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[battie]

I haven't seen/heard someone getting more financially from a contract salary perspective going from internship to GP. However, there is the chance that you'd be more efficient doing sick appointments for common urgent care (or emergencies if your GP sees emergency), and so you'd make more in production compared to non-internship trained doctors.

The math is hard to square though. I started making production my second quarter in GP without internship training. A doctor in the same hospital made 6 figures with her production with just one dental day and then 3 GP days a week. I think it would be hard to evaluate tbh.

Not for nothing, you lose nothing by trying.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

No, and that's been show statistically. Vets with an internship (but no residency) do not earn more than vets without an internship (on average - I'm sure there are individuals that might). I certainly wouldn't pay a fresh-from-internship vet more than a second-year GP (who spent that year in practice), and from my experience of working with both, the fresh-from-internship vet isn't worth more.

 

[VIN-Foundation]

Some people say that you're worth more if you've completed 1 (or more) internship(s) post graduation.

Worth more compared to what?

If you compare someone with a DVM to someone with a DVM and an internship, then yes, the DVM+internship is more marketable. But that doesn't consider the opportunity costs of doing an inernship.

Rather, the valid comparison is someone with a DVM and internship relative to someone with a DVM and 1 year of general practice experience. And in this comparison, completion of an internship alone does not lead to significantly higher or lower salaries. (Fanning and Shepherd, JAVMA, 2011).

There are a few more caveats. First, there are some practice owner/managers who prefer to hire internship trained applicants. My sense is this is most common in large equine practices. But there are plenty of others who don't give the advantage to the applicant with an internship or actually prefer a year of GP compared to an internship.

Second, a rotating internship is required for many residences. And salaries are substantially higher for many specialists compared to GPs with comparable years of experience.

 

[ClinicalAdvisor]

No, not in the current market.

 

[Old-Country-Vet-Tech]

For large animal folks I've been told I must do an equine internship and work 80+hrs a week for little pay to be a good large/mixed vet. I'm frustrated and really don't want to do an internship because I can't afford it.

 

[futuredvm297]

Historically, it was always said that 1 year of internship is equivalent to 3-5 years of general practice. After completing my internship, I can say that it is likely half to three quarters true. I would say that you become faster at seeing cases and know how to manage more things which is entirely dependent on the program you went through. Not all internships are created equal. For example for mine, I had 4 weeks of primary care which was essentially shadowing with doing the clinician notes on patients I did not even touch. That definitely does not make me more experienced in primary care, so I think that statistic (3-5 years) is a tad flawed. The case load I had was one of the highest in the country, so I did see a lot more in ER or specialty services. When people say that you're worth more post-internship, I suppose that could be true as to what field you want to go into, right? Going straight into ER post-grad will be daunting and you may not have the best experience vs. someone coming out of internship who has seen a lot and knows how to manage cases. To me, that makes a post-internship DVM more valuable. It is all in the name of experience in the end but do not feel like you have to do an internship. I learned what working in a toxic environment is like through mine, but the experience I have received makes it all worth it (for the most part).

 

[CalliopeDVM]

vs. someone coming out of internship who has seen a lot and knows how to manage cases. To me, that makes a post-internship DVM more valuable.

Unfortunately, at least half of what a GP needs to know how to manage are clients, not cases. Great medicine or surgery in the world will be wasted if you can't also communicate well with clients and gain their trust. The client half of practice is where I have not seen a benefit to internship-trained vets (compared with spending that same year in practice) -- but, as you said, not all internships are created equal.