Small Animal Internship

Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego

Intern Survey Results

Positions: 9
Survey Responses: 6
Category: Small Animal Rotating
Program Dates: 6/21/2016 to 7/5/2017

Responses except for Question 11

  1. Strongly Disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Neither agree or disagree
  4. Agree
  5. Strongly Agree

Questions

  1. The internship met the program description as provided in the VIRMP

    Mean: 2.7

  2. The time spent on emergency duty matched the program description

    Mean: 2.7

  3. I received an orientation to the work environment and job requirements at the start of the internship

    Mean: 4.3

  4. I was provided with supervision and opportunity to consult with other doctors at the institution/practice regarding patient care

    Mean: 4.2

  5. Rounds, journal clubs, or other educational opportunities were regularly available during the internship

    Mean: 3.7

  6. Adequate opportunity to study and prepare for clinical cases was provided

    Mean: 2.7

  7. I was satisfied with the clinical training opportunities provided during the internship

    Mean: 3.0

  8. The internship met my learning objectives

    Mean: 3.2

  9. I was treated in a professional manner by staff and other doctors

    Mean: 2.5

  10. I would recommend this internship program to a friend or colleague

    Mean: 2.5

  11. The average number of hours I worked per week

    Mean: 5.5

    1. Less than 40 hours
    2. 40-49 hours
    3. 50-59 hours
    4. 60-69 hours
    5. 70-79 hours
    6. Greater than 80 hours

Program Being Evaluated Follows

Employment Information

Salary: $41600.00

Benefits: Medical and dental and participation in the voluntary 401(k) plan. VSH pays for the Liability insurance after they become members of AVMA. Pet Insurance for two pets

Vacation: Interns receive 5 days of vacation and 5 days of time off for professional development such as CE, out-rotations or interviews with approval for a total of 10 days during the full year internship

Is a contract required? No

Is a non-compete clause required? No

Is a State license required? Yes    If yes, what is the licensure fee? 400.00-500.00

Is a DEA license required? No

Is USDA accreditation required? No

Caseload

The following information represents the average of cases in direct support of this program

Total No. Annual Cases: 35000
Average Daily No. Cases Presented to Hospital: 80
Average No. Cases Treated Daily as Outpatients: 70
Average No. of Inpatients Each Day: 40
Average No. Daily Surgeries Performed: 10
Average No. of Emergency Cases Seen Daily: 20

Number of Faculty/Clinicians in Direct Support of Program: 26
Number of Residents in Direct Support of Program: 6

Diplomates in Direct Support of Internship

Full Time Part Time/Consultant Full Time Part Time/Consultant
ABVP ACT
ACVAA 1 ACVD 1 1
ACVCP ACVN
ACVO 1 ACVR 2
ACVS 6 ACZM
AVDC 1 ACVECC 1
ACVIM/CARD 2 ACVIM/INTMED 7 3
ACVIM/NEUR 4 ACVIM/ONC 2 1
ACVB ABVT
ACLAM ACPV
ACVM ACVP
ACVPM ACVIM/LA
ACVR/ONC 1 ACVSMR

Registered/Licensed/Certified Veterinary Technicians

In Direct Support of Program: 35
Assigned to the Emergency Service per shift: 2
Assigned to the Intensive Care Unit per shift: 2

Other Personnel of Note

Veterinary Pharmacist.

Clinical Experience and Responsibilities

  1. Yes No
    Does the intern have primary case care responsibility for first-opinion and emergency/critical care cases?
  2. Yes No
    Is the intern the primary surgeon on a broad range of elective and entry-level procedures?
  3. Yes No
    Does the intern have primary case care responsibility for complex cases with supervision by a boarded specialist?
  4. Yes No
    Are patient rounds held daily with a boarded specialist in attendance?
  5. 90%
    What is the percentage of time the intern will be directly supervised?

Didactic Training

  1. Yes No
    Are teaching rounds held weekly?
  2. Yes No
    Does the intern deliver a professional presentation or seminar to senior clinicians and peers?
  3. Yes No
    Does the intern have an opportunity to attend a professional meeting?
  4. Yes No
    Is financial support provided to attend a professional meeting?
  5. Yes No
    Is the intern required to complete/submit a publication?

Facilities

  1. Yes No
    Does the intern have access to current medical textbooks?
  2. Yes No
    Is a computer with internet access provided?
  3. Yes No
    Does the intern have access to search engines for scientific literature and online journals?
  4. Yes No
    Does the primary hospital have an intensive care unit?

Equipment

  1. Do interns have access to the following equipment/technology, either on-site or outsourced?
    • Ultrasonography
    • Electrocardiography
    • Blood Pressure Monitoring
    • Echocardiography
    • Endoscopy
    • CT Scan
    • Bone Plating Equipment
    • MRI
    • Digital Radiography
    • Laparoscopy
    • Arthroscopy
    • Basic clinical laboratory equipment
    • Nuclear Medicine
    • Blood Gas Analysis
    • Diagnostic Laboratory
    • Physical Therapy

Scheduling

These percentages may not be cumulative

  1. 15%
    Percentage of program intern is assigned to daytime primary emergency
  2. 15%
    Percentage of program intern is assigned to overnight primary emergency
  3. 15%
    Percentage of program intern is assigned to first opinion (primary care) clinics
  4. 12%
    Percentage of program intern is provided elective time
  5. 0-5%
    Percentage of program intern is required to work at a secondary (satellite) clinic

Orientation/Supervision/Mentoring

  1. Yes No
    Is a formal orientation program required?
  2. Yes No
    Does the intern have a mentor who is a veterinarian in the practice?
  3. Yes No
    Are written performance evaluations provided?
  4. Yes No
    Is an internship orientation manual provided?

Additional Information about Program

The Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego is a specialty referral hospital located in the north coastal area of San Diego. We also have a second satellite location in North County inland (San Marcos). The staff is composed of seven full time board certified internists, six board certified surgeons, four board certified neurologists, two board certified medical oncologists, one board certified ophthalmalogist, two board certified radiologists, one board certified criticalist, a board certified radiation oncologist, one board certified dermatologists, and a second board qualified dermatologist, and a board certified anesthesiologist. Additionally we have a full time staff pharmacist and a double boarded internist/oncologist who reads cytology samples and oversees our laboratory. Our laboratory is a full service lab located in the next building. UCDavis has their Southern California satellite located at our facility, including a nephrology/urology/hemodialysis service and two cardiologists. We work closely with the two board certified internal medicine specialists and the cardiologists who run these programs. A board certified dentist is on site part time. In addition to ten general rotating interns, we currently have a strong house officer program with surgical, neurology, oncology, and dermatology interns, four internal medicine residents, and two emergency and critical care residents. Internship trained emergency clinicians as well as the emergency and critical care residents support the interns in their coverage of the emergency service. The Veterinary Specialty Hospital is located in a state-of-the-art three story, 27,000 square foot facility. Specialty equipment includes several videoendoscopes, bronchoscopes, laparoscopes, two digital radiology units, on-site MRI and CT scanners, radioactive iodine, nuclear imaging, linear accelerator, digital fluoroscopy unit, two ultrasounds with color and power doppler capability, electrodiagnostic unit, cardiac telemetry units, Holter monitor, event monitor, ventilator, operating microscope, diode laser, CO2 laser, phacoemulsification unit, an in-house commercial laboratory, and full service 24 hour emergency and critical care service. Each of the six operating rooms is equipped with a multifunction bed-side monitor with capabilities for arterial blood pressure monitoring, pulse oximetry, capnography, and ECG. Intern rotations will include internal medicine (care of and procedures on hospitalized cases assisting staff internists), surgery (assisting staff surgeons in examinations/procedures, care of inpatient cases), and emergency medicine (day emergency as well as evening, nights and weekends). The majority of the emergency shifts are actually receiving for (and with) the specialists. There are also elective rotations through neurology (assisting our neurologists in examinations/procedures, surgeries, and care of inpatient cases), ophthalmology (assisting ophthalmologist in exams, procedures, care of inpatient cases), medical and radiation oncology (examination and care of cancer patients, assisting staff oncologists with treatment plans), dermatology (examination and care of dermatologic patients and client communication), dentistry (seeing appointments and participating in care of dental patients), and cardiology (seeing appointments and procedures with UCDavis' cardiologist). Interns are on call only during their surgery rotation for emergency surgery/anesthesia coverage (along with the surgeons and surgical interns). A detailed description of rotations can be provided to you upon request by e-mail.Didactic teaching will include a formal twice weekly lecture series, daily service rounds, monthly grand rounds (presented by interns and attended by all staff doctors), and weekly radiology rounds. Cytology rounds are also available. Interns are expected to prepare and give one lecture to technicians at monthly CE meetings. Interns will also be able to attend association-sponsored Continuing Education Lectures in San Diego. Our internship has been in place since 1995-1996. We have had a total of 118 general interns. Approximately half of our former interns have gone on to specialize, while half have elected to go on in general or emergency practice. Seven of our current specialists are former interns themselves! Our match rate for all of our interns (from the start of the program) is roughly 88%.Past interns have done residencies in surgery, neurology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, radiology, emergency and critical care, zoological medicine, clinical pathology, medical oncology, anesthesia, dermatology, radiation oncology, anatomic pathology, cardiology, dentistry, and toxicology.Institutions where they have done residencies include: UCDavis, CSU, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Cornell, Florida, Virginia Tech, Tufts, Mississippi, NC State, Washington State, Oregon State, Eye Care for Animals, and many private practice residencies (The AMC, Redbank, VCA South Shore, among others). Interns have one week (5 days) of vacation, and one week (5 days) of CE during the year. There is a good benefit package including health, vision, dental, and pet insurance.Interns are expected to be highly motivated, committed, energetic individuals who desire to strengthen their education. We are located in the beautiful area of north coast San Diego County, minutes from the beach, other recreational areas, and cultural opportunities.