Small Animal Rotating Internship in Medicine, Surgery, Access to Veterinary Care

The average daily caseload above is for the entire hospital and not all assigned to the intern. For instance, Average Daily Number of Patients Presented to the Emergency Service is 21 and is divided between an intern and staff doctor. Intern doctors typically see 7-9 cases while on the emergency service.The ASPCA Animal Hospital is closed to the public on Sundays. On Sundays the animal populations being cared for are those that have already been hospitalized, and those that are being sheltered by the ASPCA.

We have a number of specialists who work as part of the ASPCA organization who are available as needed for consultations. We have free access to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control who also give lectures to the interns on toxicity. Additionally, the ASPCA Shelter and Veterinary Services employs 3 shelter residents who rotate through the ASPCA Animal Hospital and are available for consultations on infectious disease and population medicine. Other specialists that are a part of the organization and at times work in the same building include: ABVP (4), ACVPM (1).Finally, we employ 4 full time forensic science veterinarians at this primary location. These veterinarians work to gather and process evidence, produce reports for the NYPD, and testify in court to help prosecute animal cruelty and neglect.

Depending on the rotation, some months will not have ANY primary emergency duty, nor time at a satellite clinic, nor on call. The time in the satellite clinics are the opportunity to learn high quality, high volume spay neuter and to bring veterinary care to the communities in need in New York City. There is no overnight intake responsibility however all veterinarians who work at the ASPCA Animal Hospital field calls overnight for their in patients.

The ASPCA Animal Hospital strives to provide a comprehensive learning experience. As such, we provide a wide variety of training opportunities within the ASPCA organization. Emergency Service: The Emergency Service is a day time, appointment based system that provides urgent care to publicly-owned and underserved animals. Cases can run the gamut from skin disease to critically ill urinary obstructions. Though numbers can fluctuate an intern typically sees 7-9 cases in a day and rounds with a staff veterinarian for each case. Types of cases include: urinary obstruction, pyometra, foreign body obstructions, fractures, soft tissue injuries, dental disease, and infectious disease. Orthopedic Surgery: The orthopedic service is run by a board certified surgical specialist who performs specialty surgery for publicly owned patients and patients owned or cared for by the ASPCA. Because of this she performs a broad range of orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. There are no overnight surgeries performed. Typical cases include ruptured cruciate ligaments, luxating patellas, fracture repair, TECA, VBO, BOAS, mastectomies, perineal hernias, and perineal urethrostomy. Internal Medicine: The internal medicine service is run by a board certified internal medicine specialist serving patients being cared for by the ASPCA and consulting with clinicians on cases for publicly owned clients. There are no overnight procedures performed on this service. IM procedures include: ultrasound, endoscopy, and feeding tube placement. Typical cases include: enteropathies, nephropathies, endocrinopathies, and hepatopathies.Treatment Procedures: This distinctive rotation is where an intern learns the dual skill of stabilization and urgent care treatment. The treatment room is the heart of the hospital where the most unstable animals are triaged and stabilized before moving to the ICU. During this hands on rotation, the intern has primary care responsibility in triaging and stabilizing patients while performing interventions and treatments. Treatments include but not limited to: thoracocentesis, abdominocentesis, point of care ultrasound, feeding tube placement, unblocking urinary obstructions, splint and bandage placement, wound repair and management, aural hematoma repair, tarsorrhaphy, and initiating or participating in CPR. This service is run by general practitioners with a experience ranging from 2-30 years.Anti-Cruelty Recovery Center (ARC): This truly unique service is run by 5 general practitioners (with internship and specialty internship training), managing the recovery of animals who have been the victims of cruelty and/or neglect. The intern shares responsibility with the senior clinicians in caring for critically ill patients in the ICU as well as managing a recovering population in the Anti-Cruelty Recovery Center. Typical critically ill patients in the ICU include animals suffering from intentional starvation, blunt force trauma, matting injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. The intern may also have the opportunity to escort these animals to neighboring specialty hospitals for consultations in neurology, ophthalmology, and dermatology. Within ARC, animals are rehabilitated medically and behaviorally under the committed care of veterinary assistants who become surrogate pet parents, the medical team of 2 LVTs and veterinarians, and a behavior team. The behavior team evaluates each patient and outlines a behavioral rehabilitation treatment plan.As demonstrated above, the case management within the ARC rotation is varied and ranges from critical care to herd health management. Forensic Science: The ASPCA has been at the forefront of forensic veterinary sciences founding a partnership with the NYPD to stop animal cruelty. As has been well documented, there is an strong link between animal abuse and human abuse. The veterinary forensic science department works with the NYPD to gather evidence, formulate cases, and testify against perpetrators of animal cruelty. This helps protect not only the animals, but also the humans who care for them. On the Forensics rotation, the veterinary intern has the invaluable opportunity to help with evidence gathering, animal exams, necropsies, and possibly attend trial. This rotation has been a highlight for many interns and externs. Shelter Medicine: During this rotation, the intern veterinarian works alongside shelter veterinarians to care for animals awaiting adoption at the ASPCA Animal Shelter. The intern will have the opportunity to practice shelter medicine and attend rounds where medical and behavioral treatment plans are discussed with the shelter team. Community Medicine and High Quality High Volume Spay-Neuter: The intern veterinarian is able to provide veterinary care and learn high volume spay-neuter techniques directly in the boroughs most in need of access to veterinary care. During these rotations the intern will have primary case responsibility with a senior general practitioner giving guidance. They will learn high volume spay-neuter techniques such as pedicle ties. Previous interns have noted this rotation to be extremely rewarding. Additional electives:Kitten Nursery-from March-October the ASPCA Kitten Nursery is open and caring for the most vulnerable animal population. As an elective, interns can help the kitten nursery veterinarians examine and treat kittens ranging in age from neonates to 16 weeks of age when they are ready to be adopted. Dentistry-2-6 dentals are performed daily by general practitioners with modern technology. The dental department houses 2 dental tables, 2 digital x-ray machines, and a state of the art scaling unit. We always employ and teach the use of multi-modal anesthesia and analgesia, including local blocks. The intern has the opportunity to learn how to perform extractions (open and closed), as well as interpretation of digital radiographs, and gingival closures.General Soft Tissue surgery: on this rotation the intern has the opportunity to scrub in with the highly skilled and experienced general practitioners, in a variety of soft tissue, elective and emergent surgeries. Typical cases on this service include: spays, neuters, enucleations, pyometra spay, abdominal exploratory, cystotomy, amputations, and caesarian sections. Every year evolves based on the interests of the onboarding class and the specialties that are available. Thus, it is possible that this year we could add additional electives outside of the organization depending on needs and interests.