VMC Externship Program
An externship experience at the Veterinary Medical Center of Central New York is an opportunity for veterinary students to spend time within our hospital for the purpose of observing a busy, progressive and comprehensive emergency and specialty hospital in its daily practice. Through direct interactions between the student and the veterinarians, the student will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, technical and interpersonal skills and will be provided with verbal and written feedback designed to help them improve their skills.
Program Outline
- Students are assigned to a supervising veterinarian who will oversee their externship experience and provide the student and the school with feedback as appropriate.
- Students should spend a minimum of 40-50 scheduled hours per week for at least a two week period in the practice but are welcome to spend more time if they wish.
- Students will be given a weekly schedule which places them with specific doctors and services. The schedule is designed to provide the student with a comprehensive overview of all services within the first week. The second week’s schedule is designed to provide the student with more time in services of their choice while still remaining comprehensive. Mid-way through the externship experience, the student will meet with their supervisor for initial feedback from the first week’s experience and ensure that expectations of both the student and the practice are being met to ensure the best possible experience.
Successful Program Completion
Successful students will demonstrate a strong desire to learn as much as they can through this experience. Throughout the experience, the student will be assessed on their ability to appropriately interact with doctors, support staff, patients and clients as well as being assessed on their technical skills and knowledge. The general expectation from the first week is that the student will spend time observing and absorbing. The general expectation from the second week is that the student will demonstrate their knowledge and technical skills through opportunities provided them as available and appropriate under the direct supervision of the clinician.
VMC of CNY is a comprehensive and progressive specialty and emergency hospital. The emergency department is staffed by internship-trained emergency doctors 24 hours a day, and is supervised by two ACVECC diplomates. Specialty services include Internal Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging, Oncology, Surgery, Rehabilitation Services, Acupuncture, and Cardiology as well as Emergency/Critical Care.
Technical services are unsurpassed, with the hospital staffed with 100% licensed LVT's, including 4 LVT/VTS-ECC (Veterinary Technician Specialists in Emergency/Critical Care).
The hospital is well equipped, with on-site IDEXX laboratory as well as in-house IDEXX machines for use after hours, coagulation measurement, i-stat, blood typing/cross-match, digital radiography, CT scan, ultrasound (one machine for diagnostic imaging/echo use and one for emergency service use), and laparoscopy equipment.
Students are expected to spend 40-50 hours per week within the clinic.
Days of the week are dependent on the specialty service that the student wishes to focus on, but may include all days of the week, including Sundays.
Dependent on the supervising veterinarian's level of comfort and the student's progression through veterinary school (ie second year versus fourth year), students may shadow staff veterinarians or may be permitted to have some degree of primary case resposibility - including procedures - with direct supervision only.