Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery

Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, world renowned for medical excellence, is seeking above average candidates for 16 internship positions. The internship begins on June 12, 2017 and ends on June 29, 2018. Applicants will be considered on the basis of their academic record, letter of intent and letters of recommendation. A PERSONAL, SKYPE, OR TELEPHONE INTERVIEW IS VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. Interview dates are available for 16 days during December 2016/January 2017; please call Arlyne Koopmann at 617-541-5192 for an appointment. The Angell internship is a challenging and exciting opportunity with an emphasis on mentoring and teaching. The evolution of the program is ongoing. The goal of this internship is to provide the new graduate with a foundation in general and specialty referral medical practice on which to build a future of strong clinical skills, critical thinking, ethics, continued learning and teaching. The interns are expected to learn all aspects of hospital procedures, including management of a wide variety of cases, generating appropriate estimates and communicating with owners and primary care veterinarians. Angell's program has an excellent record of graduates continuing on to residencies in all veterinary specialties. Not listed on the program support page is the fact that we have a double boarded clinical and anatomical pathologist, a full in-house pathology laboratory, two certified veterinary acupuncturists, two pharmacists, a 16 slice CT scanner, a 1.5 Tesla MRI, a dentistry service with a boarded dentist and a board eligible dentist, a board eligible dermatologist and two experienced ER doctors to help with emergencies. The internship begins with 2.5 weeks of orientation; an overlap period with the graduating class of interns aids in adjustment. The program includes 8 weeks in surgery and one week on the diagnostic imaging service, as well as time for electives and vacation. Approximately 60% of the year is spent with the internal medicine and emergency/critical care services, with clinical responsibility comprised primarily of emergency receiving. Overnights are included in that 60% and there are routinely two doctors in the building, and receiving is scheduled in blocks; the critical care service manages admitted cases during the daytime, providing excellent continuity in patient care and client communication. A resident or staff clinician supervises most emergency shifts, and staff and residents are readily available on an emergency basis during the overnight. There is an ECC resident in the building every night until at least 1 am (in the summer months until 7 am) and there is a boarded criticalist in the building often 7 days a week at least 7am-5pm. Daily patient rounds occur on all services, during which all hospitalized patients and some outpatients are discussed. Each intern is supported by an advisor, and is evaluated regularly by the staff on his or her professional performance, communication skills and progress in the pursuit of knowledge and clinical aptitude. The clinical services at Angell work as teams, therefore good group interaction and communications skills are essential for the intern’s success. Interns must be able to work efficiently and effectively with a heavy caseload. The demanding caseload at Angell requires the intern to perform many minor medical and surgical procedures by themselves under staff supervision. Interns can expect to be directly involved with more major procedures as assistants. Opportunities for continuing education include, but are not limited to, daily patient rounds, daily diagnostic imaging rounds, and a mandatory weekly lecture series designed specifically for the interns. Most of the clinical services have regular didactic sessions during which they may review the current literature, discuss particular topics, and/or review cases in depth. Time permitting, interns are welcome at these sessions. There is also a weekly continuing education program for the veterinary staff and area veterinarians; these lectures are presented by the staff, residents, and guest lecturers, and the topics cover a wide range of interests related to veterinary medicine. Each intern is required to prepare one lecture, with the assistance of a staff member, which will be presented during this weekly series. A library with access to over 43 periodicals (combination of hard copy and online versions), and current texts in house which are available 24 hours a day. Interns are required to be fully licensed in the state of Massachusetts at the start date. Interns participate in the benefits package outlined in the MSPCA/Angell employment materials. The above description reflects the program as of the date of writing. This is a dynamic program; changes may be made at any time, leading to deviations from this description.