WHich university should a foreign student opt for?

[garima dabas]

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Hello fellow students and doctors,
I am an Indian veterinary graduate. I want to learn and explore other countries as well.... the techniques and skills I can learn from different parts of the world.
I currently am looking for some post-graduate programmes that can help me in clinical training exposure, which will help me in clearning my license exam also.
I am very much confused as to which university should I go for and what programmes should I enroll in, since I'm a little financial and time bound.
Am I eligible for the residency programmes? and If yes, will they be helpful? And what about Internship programmes, they are for short duration (1year) but will they be helpful? Or should I just plan for masters, and which programme in masters for clinical training?
which university should I go for? Please guide me.
Thank you in advance

 

[SnowJ]

I dont really know much about international grads, but I will try and help with what I do know. I know you have to take the BSCE and NAVLE before you can work in private practice. Internships and residencies may be an exception, but that is most likely program specific.
The AVMA has a nice info page about practicing in the US: Information for Foreign Veterinary Graduates on Working as a Veterinarian in the U.S.

In terms of what would be most helpful for clinical exposure and licensing, I would say internships are what you should be looking at. Residencies are typically for specialization- for things like Surgery, Dermatology, Opthalmology, etc, and many will require an internship anyway. Internships usually have you rotating through multiple departments in a hospital, giving you much broader experience.

The AVMA page says about internships/residencies: "It is up to the applicant to contact the veterinary school of interest to determine the examination and licensure requirements for the internship or residency program."- It might be hard to find info about this by asking around here, so it would probably be best to contact schools yourself. I'm willing to bet that veterinary schools are more likely to accept foreign grads pre-NAVLE than private practices, so I'd start by reaching out to them first. It is possible that you don't be eligible for them at all.

As far as I am aware, there aren't many masters programs that have much to do with clinical practice/training. It's not part of the typical path to veterinary medicine in the US, so if they are out there you might have to do some digging to find them.
On a quick google search I did find a few veterinary science/veterinary medicine masters programs out there, but most of them are either focused on research or herd/shelter management. They may help you with some aspects of the licensing exams, but depending on your long-term goals they may not be worth it. Most of them are to support careers in academia, industry, and research, as opposed to clinical practice.