Unlock Your Potential: A Guide to Summer Veterinary Internships for Students

For aspiring veterinarians, summer internships offer invaluable opportunities to gain hands-on experience, explore different areas of veterinary medicine, and strengthen their applications for further education and career advancement. These internships provide a bridge between classroom learning and the realities of veterinary practice, allowing students to apply their knowledge, develop essential skills, and build professional networks.

The Value of Hands-On Experience

The majority of students entering the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program do so because of interests related to private practice. Summer veterinary internships provide a crucial supplement to classroom learning, allowing students to immerse themselves in real-life experiences alongside practicing veterinarians. This practical exposure is essential for developing a comprehensive understanding of the field and making informed decisions about future career paths.

Clinical Training Programs and Advanced Studies

Colleges often offer a variety of internship and residency programs for specialized clinical training, and some of these programs can be combined with Master’s of Specialized Veterinary Medicine or Doctor of Philosophy degrees, offering a pathway for students interested in research or advanced clinical practice.

Exploring Diverse Internship Opportunities

The veterinary field is vast and diverse, encompassing various animal species, practice settings, and specializations. Summer internships allow students to explore these different facets and discover their specific interests.

Veterinary Internship Program (VIP) Initiatives

Since summer 2006, the Veterinary Internship Program (VIP) has enabled over 400 students to supplement their classroom learning with hands-on, real-life experiences alongside practicing food animal veterinarians. Initially focused on swine, the program has now expanded to include the beef, dairy, and poultry industries, thanks to the collaborative spirit of sponsors and hosts. Modeled after the College of Veterinary Medicine’s successful VIP programs in bovine, swine, and poultry medicine, the RVIP offers a unique hands-on experience. Students gain practical experience while helping us achieve our mission.

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Swine Veterinary Internship Program (SVIP): Participants in the SVIP collaborate with a mentoring veterinarian or a team of veterinarians at a production system or practice. Students are immersed daily in modern swine production and health, taking the lead on designing and executing field trials with mentor guidance.
Bovine Veterinary Internship Program (BVIP): The BVIP offers veterinary students the chance to collaborate with leading veterinarians in the bovine veterinary medicine industry.
Poultry Veterinary Internship Program (PVIP): The PVIP provides unique opportunities for students to learn more about different sectors of poultry production and spend time with a poultry veterinarian overseeing flock health & well-being.
Rural Veterinary Internship Program (RVIP): The RVIP is designed to immerse students in the realities of working in a rural veterinary clinic, including interacting with clients and the community.

Specialized Internships

Penn Vet Working Dog Center: The Penn Vet Working Dog Center offers unpaid internships to current college students or to those seeking a meaningful experience during a gap year before continuing their education. Minimum 20 hours per week, typically three days per week. There is flexibility in the Gap Year Experience. This summer research Fellowship at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is funded by the Frank W. Lloyd Fellowship Fund. This is a paid summer internship for a first- or second-year veterinary student who is interested in learning more about Working Dog research, medicine and fitness. The selected intern will be immersed in Penn Vet Working Dog Center research and sports medicine, while gaining hands-on experience with scent detection canines.
Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Internship: This internship, provides college students an opportunity to work hands on in the care of sick and orphaned wildlife. The center sees everything from newly hatched birds to reptiles to hawks/owls to small foxes. Interns are involved in everything from the routine feeding and cleaning of cages to the administration of medication and assistance during surgical procedures. Internships are available year-round. They also offer volunteer positions.
Zoo Animal Care Internship: Interns deal directly with the public bringing in animals and also assist with direct animal care and our environmental enrichment program. The Animal Care Internship is a commitment of 40 hours per week for a period of 10 to 12 weeks (unpaid), or 400 hours. Interns attend weekly classes on different aspects of zookeeping and complete a project of their own design. At the end of the internship, interns are evaluated by their supervisors and receive certificates for completing the program. Interns assist zookeepers in routine animal care including animal observations, diet preparation, enclosure cleaning and servicing, behavioral enrichment, and record keeping.
Equine Internship: Knoll Farm allows you to work (clean tack and stalls, feed and groom horses, etc.) and in return you get lessons in dressage or hunt seat equitation and lectures on horse related topics. They also run a summer camp.
Aquarium Internship: The New England Aquarium offers internships in a variety of fields, from different exhibits to animal rescue and rehabilitation to their education department. Internships are available year-round. Most spring, summer and fall internships range between 9-12 weeks long, while January term internships require 125 total hours. Interns also receive various benefits for their services to the aquarium.

BluePearl Summer Student Patient Care Associate Program

BluePearl's summer student worker position is a great opportunity for students exploring specialty and/or emergency medicine! As a summer student patient care associate, you’ll be employed as a temporary BluePearl Associate for <90 days between the months of May and September. During that time, you will be immersed in specialty and emergency medicine to augment the medical knowledge and technical skill you’ve acquired thus far in school. You will assist doctors, technicians and advanced patient care associates with all aspects of patient care and client communication. Summer student patient care associates are temporary employees, and full BluePearl Associate benefits may not apply.

Key Requirements

Must be a full-time student enrolled in an AVMA-accredited DVM/VMD or veterinary technician/technologist/nursing program.
Must be available for a minimum of 8 weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks during the months of May to September.
No prior emergency or specialty medicine experience is required.

Benefits of the BluePearl Program

BluePearl maintains an environment that fosters learning and promotes new experiences. The staff encouraged me to practice new skills, and they were patient with me as I learned. Doctors involved me in their cases and helped me fill my knowledge gaps about disease processes. Working on BluePearl’s emergency service as well as with the critical care team helped guide decisions for which electives and area of emphasis are chosen during vet school. A 2 week externship at a large BluePearl specialty hospital allows experiencing how an emergency department works having multiple specialties to coordinate patient care with was very eye-opening. It is possible to rotate through the specialties during time there and learn about each department’s role in patient care.

Externship Rotations

The Externship rotation for veterinary students is Monday thru Friday. Students in their clinical year are welcome to apply for a three-week rotation at the center. We accept summer interns as well. Housing is not provided. To apply, submit a cover letter outlining your reasons for requesting acceptance, dates you wish to do your externship, resumé, and a minimum of one letter of recommendation. During your externship experience, you will be able to work with veterinary specialists, highly skilled emergency doctors, interns, residents and nursing staff. Externships are not the same as paid employment.

Securing an Internship: The VIRMP (Match) Program

For many programs, candidates will be selected through the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC) VIRMP (MATCH) Program. They must be graduates of a college of veterinary medicine and have a history of documented academic excellence. Committee decisions will be based on academic performance while enrolled in a college of veterinary medicine, letters of recommendation, professional experience, and the perceived ability of the individual to complement the needs of our training program. Selected applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview.

Essential Resources

University of Vermont Department of Animal Sciences: The University of Vermont Department of Animal Sciences webpage has numerous links to internships and summer jobs as well as career info. The internship link provides opportunities broken up according to specific interests.
Veterinary-Related Internship Listings: A listing of veterinary related internships throughout the country. A collection of various internships around the United States for pre-veterinary students.
American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC) VIRMP (MATCH) Program

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