Small Animal Internship Program

VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center is a newly remodeled 24-hour specialty, emergency, and critical care facility. Founded in 1972, it has expanded from an after-hours emergency clinic to a full referral center serving the needs of central San Diego County. Located at the junction of the major freeways in San Diego, we are easily accessible from all parts of the county and have a referral base of over 100 veterinary practices. One of the most amazing attributes of our hospital is a low turnover of staff and staff doctors over the years. We are not only a team, we are also a family. We are fully equipped with digital radiography, ultrasound (both portable triage and a standing unit), echocardiography, endoscopy, laparoscopy, fluoroscopy (pacemaker placement, balloon valvuloplasty, etc.), ventilators, in-house laboratory (CBC/Chem/manual differential/Criticare Xpress-Nova/Coag Dx/colloid osmometer), blood pressure monitoring (oscillometric, Doppler and invasive), pulse oximetry and capnography. We also have a critical care bank of cages with piped oxygen, floor heating, continuous temperature and ECG (telemetry) monitoring. The UC Davis Veterinary Medical Center in San Diego is 15 minutes north for hemodialysis referrals. We work very closely with VCA Animal Specialty Group, VCA Eye Clinic for Animals and the Avian and Exotics Animal Hospital (all located 5 minutes away) providing neurology (including CT/MRI), ophthalmology and avian/exotics services. Our facility includes specialists in internal medicine, surgery, radiology, cardiology, emergency/critical care, and acupuncture. We have a very busy, fully-staffed 24 hour emergency and critical care department. Exotics/wildlife makes up approximately 5% of the emergency caseload. We work closely with an exotics referral hospital and are able to contact them 24 hours a day. Elective exotics rotations are available for those who are interested. Our goal with all cases is to provide a multidisciplinary approach to each case, providing the best overall care possible. Continuing education is emphasized via daily hospital rounds and required attendance at hospital seminars, rounds in each discipline, bimonthly radiology conferences, journal club, morbidity/mortality conferences, and a lecture series. Interns also attend VCA-sponsored continuing education seminars.VCA provides its interns with a comprehensive benefits package including: • VIN membership at no charge • Plumb’s Veterinary Drugs online subscription at no charge• Continuing education allowance • Eligibility for Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage • Eligibility for Life and Long-Term Disability Insurance • Eligibility to participate in 401(k) retirement savings plan • Professional Liability Coverage SDCVMA membership is sponsored by the hospital for all interns. We have an active mentor program to directly support the interns throughout the year. Our interns will participate in all these educational opportunities and will be responsible for preparing two presentations during the year. Since the inception of the internship program in 1996, 95% of our interns actively seeking a residency or specialty internship have been successful. Our program includes rotations through each service, including emergency & critical care, internal medicine, surgery, and cardiology, along with a variable rotation that allows the interns time to explore additional experiences in an area of their choice (including outside of our hospital) as well as general practice. It is our aim to provide a well-rounded, practical experience for our interns in a pleasant and supportive working environment, as well as informative didactic lectures provided by our doctors and outside doctors of specialties not available in our hospital. Intern duties include evaluation and formulation of daily treatment plans for hospitalized patients, evaluation and treatment of emergency cases with the backup of experienced staff clinicians, intern-performed surgeries (both minor and major) and assisting the specialists with procedures and surgery.A standard California license is required to enter the internship. Please contact the California Veterinary Medical Board for any license questions at (916) 263-2610 or http://www.vmb.ca.gov. USDA accreditation (for small animal health certificates) is also required once accepted as an intern. For questions regarding accreditation, please contact the USDA at (916) 854-3950. For questions regarding a work visa and/or a work visa assessment, please contact Danielle Nelisse at [email protected]. San Diego is located in Southern California 15 miles north of the Mexican border. We enjoy an ideal climate year round and there are numerous recreational and cultural amenities. The people are friendly and the beaches are great. For more information regarding our hospital, please visit our website at: http://www.vcaspecialtyvets.com/emergency.