Internship, anyone?

Internships: are you planning on pursuing one or have you already been accepted?  Internships have been viewed as a way to gain more clinical experience as well as hone in on a specialty area.  But with the low salary figures and rising student debt, is it worth it? It might be the only path for those wishing to become board certified, but what about those who aren’t? Some say students may pursue an internship because they are still exploring career options, while others state that some grads lack the confidence to jump directly into practicing high quality medicine without the guidance of an internship program.  Are we getting all of the knowledge we need in veterinary school to dive in after graduation? Weigh in on the pros and cons of the internship experience and tell us how you decided whether or not to participate in one.

Winner, Life as a Vet Student category
Oneal Peters, Colorado State University

Mid-way through my second year of vet school, I began to ponder the internship dilemma. Perhaps it is not a dilemma to those of us who are absolutely set on a certain path after graduation, but for me, I am not one hundred percent sure what I want to be when I grow up, other than a general practice veterinarian with an equine focus.  For me, and many others I suspect, there are an astonishing variety of opinions about internships, and you feel as if you are talking to Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde when you hear the myriad of contrasting thoughts on the matter. To further complicate the matter, small animal practices seem fine with hiring new grads, and internship tends to be reserved mainly for those wanting to specialize. On the opposite end of the scale, equine veterinarians generally prefer to hire veterinarians that have completed at least one year of an internship. All this information was like a school of indecisive fish swimming through my head. After a while, I became so confused that my own opinion and life plan changed week by week. Week one: Internship for sure. Week two: why shouldn’t I just go get a job? Week three: Maybe I won’t be ready? Back to internship. And it went on and on, but after a while I stopped fretting and listening to all the buzzing around me. Instead, I closely evaluated my goals and began to reflect back on advice I received before the internship question became so confusing.
A wise man once told me that no matter what you do in life, you never stop learning. At first, I wasn’t sure how much I agreed with this. Surely, I thought to myself, there must be such a thing as mastering a skill. I had seen people who were experts in their field. I had watched with awe as those individuals waltzed around the obstacles in their profession with such astounding grace that I felt they were the authentic proof that some individuals do stop learning and can be crowned grand masters of their profession. So how could so many people continue to echo the words of the wise man and continue to tell me that no matter how good you are at something, there was always more to learn? It took maturity to teach me the answer and I realized that I wasn’t paying enough attention to those people that I had previously called masters. As I began to observe these individuals more closely, I realized that the people who I envied due to their explicit knowledge were those who were humble, open minded and took it upon themselves to learn something new about their chosen career on a daily basis.  Whether it be conferences, journal articles, what have you, these experts were just that because they continued to educate themselves constantly.
When I think about all this, the idea of doing an internship seems almost too easy of a decision. We have spent a mere four years learning about veterinary medicine. That is a miniscule dose of what is to come, and regardless of how well you did in school and clinics, vet school does not prepare anyone for the diversity of our daily patients and what we may encounter. What it really comes down to is your own comfort level. For me, spending a year at an internship where I can feel comfortable in the middle land between doctor and solo-doctor seems like a great place to be. I fancy the idea of being able to bounce ideas off something other than the inside of my own mind, and be able to spend another year learning veterinary skills the correct way, instead of making up my own way. Sure, the pay isn’t top dollar, but the experience has potential to be priceless if you do your homework and find an internship that will offer what you want.  Think about your own goals and comfort level, and assess if internship is what you want.
The wise man was correct. We never stop learning. Vet school is a very small step towards our careers, and we have so much more to learn, and we always will. Entering into an internship is an avenue we can choose to learn in a more structured format than entering straight into private practice. For me, this is an exciting concept, and I cannot wait to be challenged on a daily basis, but I think for that first year after graduation, I’d like to be the sidekick rather than the superhero.