Veterinary Intern

Estimated breakdown of daily load:
Hospital hours are Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm and Saturdays 10am – 2pm. We are available for after-hours emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Externs and technicians are responsible for morning assessments and treatments on hospitalized patients. We see approximately 36 horses per day with 2 daytime emergencies. We see approximately 2.5 horses per night/weekend on emergency.

Philosophy of internship: Our goal at Waller Equine Hospital is to provide a new graduate with a well-rounded exposure to equine practice by introducing a large and varied caseload while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.  The Houston area is home to a wide variety of breeds and disciplines which are well represented in our caseload.  We hope that a well-motivated intern can use this opportunity as a springboard to their next endeavor whether that be a specialty residency or private practice.  The interns will be involved in the cases in every aspect from client relations to surgical decisions as their confidence and abilities progress.

Pre – requisites:
Must be a graduate veterinarian, taken and passed the NAVLE with a working knowledge of horsemanship. The intern must be self-motivated, a team player, detail oriented, and have good people skills.

List of internship duties:
Interns will begin by rotating with a different doctor each week.  The intern’s duties will include assisting with referral and routine appointments, client communication, scrubbing in for surgeries, intake and treatment of daytime emergencies, and attending to overflow appointments.  There are technicians who perform the in-house treatment duties and anesthesia 24-hours per day, but it is recommended that interns round with the technicians in the mornings to oversee the treatments of the in-house patients and to gain exposure to a wide variety of cases.  There will also be a rotation of anesthesia call during the year so that the intern can become familiar with the induction, maintenance and recovery of the surgical patients.

Emergency duty requirements:
Initially, the intern will be on call every other night with a senior veterinarian.  Once the intern becomes proficient and confident, they will take emergency duty every third week Monday-Monday with a backup senior veterinarian. While the intern is on emergency duty, there will be no daytime appointments for him/her. Technicians staff the hospital 24 hours for fluid therapy and monitoring.

Amount of supervision:
The intern will be directly supervised for the first several months then it may decrease as the intern shows ability to fully work up cases, perform diagnostic procedures and initiate treatment plans.  There will always be a senior veterinarian on call for consultation and to assist with complicated procedures and surgery.