Mission Statement
The mission of the Small Animal Clinical Sciences internship program at Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) is to create a confident, experienced, and marketable veterinarian who will have the very best chance to be accepted into a residency program, graduate degree program, or associate veterinarian position of his or her choice.
Program Overview
Most of our interns who pursue a residency or specialized internship do so successfully. Those who enter into the private sector are highly sought after and report feeling confident in their practical veterinary medical skills upon completion of the program. To achieve our mission, we ensure that our interns receive hands-on clinical training, ample primary case responsibility, and a consistent didactic learning program and that they are taught the highest and most up-to-date quality of veterinary medicine from specialists and seasoned veterinarians. As a Texas A&M small animal rotating intern, you will be exposed to numerous specialties and will work side-by-side with experts in their fields. We emphasize that our senior faculty will be present on the clinic floor challenging interns to improve their practice as well as serving as invaluable resources for case management.
All faculty, residents, and specialty interns present on the clinical floor will support the small animal rotating internship to provide a teaching experience on every case. Board-certified faculty members in direct support of the program include internists, cardiologists, oncologists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, criticalists, radiologists, surgeons, general and emergency medicine practitioners, dermatologists, ophthalmologists, radiation oncologists, and a dentist. You can learn about the teaching hospital and clinical faculty by visiting the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) page.
FAQs
If you still have questions after reviewing this FAQ, please contact our program officer, Ms. Amanda Williams (aewilliams@cvm.tamu.edu) who will put you in touch with one of our current interns or a member of the Intern Training Committee.
1. I have plans to pursue a residency. Will I be able to spend all of my elective weeks directly with the service I am interested in specializing in?
Interns would be able to spend 2-4 weeks (1 or 2 elective rotations) with a desired service prior to the deadline for submission of a residency application to the VIRMP.
2. How are interns evaluated?
Interns receive written evaluations at the completion of each 2-week rotation from the senior clinician of that rotation. Additionally, there are 2 formal in-person evaluations with the Intern Training Committee in the fall and spring of the internship year.
3. What is your residency placement rate?
It depends on the discipline, and ranges from 60-100%. We do not release placement rates by discipline.
4. What about interviews and site visits?
In order to be fair to all candidates, only the documentation received through the VIRMP is considered for candidate evaluation.
5. What do you consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the program?
Strengths: Dedication to teaching throughout the hospital; availability of a wide range of specialists from whom to learn; positive working environment; reasonable expectations of interns; strong support for interns from faculty; flexibility in choosing elective rotations in areas of interest.
Weaknesses: Like any internship the days are long, and interns frequently work weekends; the focus of this internship is clinical experience so it may not suit a person who primarily desires a research career.
6. What didactic rounds are available for interns?
Interns have mandatory didactic rounds once per week, mandatory skills rounds twice per month, and are strongly encouraged to attend any of several other hospital-wide didactic sessions, such as ECG rounds with the cardiology service, imaging rounds, MRI rounds with the neurology and radiology services, and weekly intern/resident seminar series. Individual service doctor rounds or journal club rounds may also be attended when the intern is scheduled on that rotation.
For More Information
Learn more about our Small Animal Faculty.
Interested candidates may contact us by email with any questions.