Externship Spotlight

Even though international travel is currently limited, we can still reflect on and learn from our past endeavors.  Thank you to Leanne Jankelunas for sharing her externship experiences from her time in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

Oh the Place’s You’ll Go: Externship Opportunities in One Health

By Leanne Jankelunas

“Oh the places you’ll go.” This Dr. Seuss statement could not better describe the possibilities that you can partake of in the field of veterinary medicine. In 2019, I applied for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemiology Elective Program. This is a highly competitive program dedicated to recruiting 3^rd and 4^th year medical and veterinary students for 6- or 8-week externships at a variety of places including the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, CDC regional locations, and state, local and territorial health departments. The program’s goal is to provide medical and veterinary students both hand-on experience and training in applied epidemiology, public health, and global health. When I applied in March 2019 to this opportunity, I stated I was open to be placed anywhere in the country.

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Externships for Clinical Year

Hi there, Vet Gazetters! Are you looking to find some last-minute summer plans? Are you starting to plan for your clinical year? Well, the AVMA has the resource for you! The Student Externship Locator was designed to help students sift through the many incredible externships at our disposal! Whether you are looking for a specific kind of practice, or maybe you want to spend a month in a cool location, this is the site for you!

Professional Development Funds Winner

Brooke Van Remortel, Ross University

When I choose to become a leader in the veterinary profession, I knew I wanted to become a companion animal practitioner. After four years as a veterinary technician, not only was my passion for the small animal hospital environment strengthened, but a new passion for dentistry developed. Upon completing an equivalent of two years of veterinary practicum, I set out to find an externship where I could explore this new passion deeper and determine if it was a path for me. I had two goals for completing an externship at Companion Animal Hospital. The first was to investigate my passion for dentistry in a clinic setting. Secondly, to learn important tools that I could use in my future practice to be a confident leader.

At the Companion Animal Hospital, I was fortunate enough to achieve these goals while following three successful veterinarians in both the exam rooms and in surgery procedures. I spent most of my time however, with Dr. Nick Juleen because he shared my passion for dentistry. I was able to be involved in anesthetic protocols, accessing dental radiographs, and observing dental extractions. Dr. Juleen went over the objectives for performing an oral exam and what considerations need to be made when extracting a tooth. When we weren’t in surgery, I watched continued education courses on dentistry techniques.  The courses were conducted by Dr. Brett Beckman, who is heavily involved in the dental community as a diplomate of both the American Veterinary Dental College and the American Academy of Pain Management. In the videos, I learned how to perform local blocks and tips on how to efficiently remove difficult teeth.  I found the information very valuable and know I will use it when I am learning the material in our class settings.  Dr. Beckman’s professional recommendations will be a great asset for me.

Not only was Dr. Juleen’s love for dentistry infectious, his teaching qualities were excellent. We discussed in length the reality of the veterinary industry and what he thought was the most important attribute of being a veterinarian. In his opinion, communication is the most important skill a veterinarian can have. He feels being an effective communicator is the bread and butter of the veterinary profession because while it is important to know the medicine, it is as equally important that the client understands. Good communication is important for gaining trust with not only the client but also with your coworkers. It was beneficial to follow two other veterinarians at the practice. I picked up that the clients appreciated that all three of the veterinarians were candid and helped them understand the health of their pet.  It pointed out to me that it is important to be in practice with other veterinarians that have the same core values and beliefs as I do.

Overall, this externship was an amazing experience and I’m so happy I chose to do it.  I will carry with me all that I learned at Companion Animal Hospital into both the rest of my schooling and into my career.  I would highly recommend to any veterinarian student to do an externship either at Companion Animal Hospital or another center that suits their needs.  The experience is invaluable because it’s important to remember the end objective which is being the veterinarian. From personal experience, it is easy to get lost in the constant studying and running around however this externship reminded me of my end goal and is going to keep motivated as I finish at Ross University.

Externships During Clinical Year

Kaitie Ban, Ross University

Externships during your clinical year are like the little prizes that come with a kid’s meal. Your clinical year in general is the time you finally get to touch things, do things, and put all the hours of memorizing into practice. Realistically, at your university, you will often be writing SOAPs, surgery reports, and treatment sheets for post-operative orders. You’ll be reading literature relevant to your current cases and learning how to use a professional medical library. All of this is important to your education in fourth year, even if it means more paperwork than hands on experience. That’s where externships come in. More often than not, you’ll be even more hands- on with your patients and your cases than at your clinical affiliate. While on an externship you may find yourself as the only other assistant scrubbed into surgery or even performing your first solo spay! 

I have been lucky enough to do the majority of my externships at different veterinary universities on either their anesthesia services or their emergency services. As I am planning to become a veterinary anesthesiologist, it is important to me to see how other universities perform the same tasks/procedures that my clinical affiliate has taught me. I have appreciated the varied exposure to familiar disease processes and procedural work-flow. Each new clinician and house officer I have worked with has taught me something new and that is my favorite part of externships - the never-ending learning. 

I have also used these externship weeks as working interviews or meet-and-greets. I have chosen my externship sites based on where I think I would like to pursue an anesthesia residency. Many classmates have similarly scheduled externships in places they may want to apply to work as a new grad. This has been beneficial in many ways, as I have been able to rule in or rule out programs as well as adjust how each program falls on my rank list. I have heard good and bad reports from students externing with possible future employers. Truthfully, the only way to really get to know the vets, support staff, and workflow of a hospital is to spend time there. That is what makes externships so fruitful! 

Choose your externships wisely, my friends! Make sure that you know what the two to three weeks will entail. Will you be able to touch patients, write treatment plans, take histories? Will you be able to work one on one with a clinician or will you work with a technician? It’s always best to go in with eyes wide open and with a good understanding of what will be expected of you. Consider, also, what you will want to pay attention to and what questions you would like to ask of them. Most externship locations are expecting an inquisitive student and will offer time to answer any questions you have. Take advantage of these opportunities to get to know the kind of clinic or hospital you are considering! These externship weeks are what you make of them, so do your research beforehand and most importantly - have fun! 

Nave Group Externship

My name is Junior Saint Preux, the current SAVMA President at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. I am just beginning my 5^th semester (3^rd year student) here and I have attended my share of externships up to this point, but this most recent experience has had the greatest impact by far. I say this because my eyes were opened to a new culture and side of Veterinary Medicine that I have never before witnessed. From December 16^th, 2019 to January 3^rd, 2020 I had the honor and privilege of receiving mentorship at its finest, gain more hands-on experience than expected, and explored a city many individuals from my hometown dream of. This externship was called the “Nave Group Externship.”

The individual responsible for bringing this program to life is known as Dr. James E. Nave. Dr. Nave is a graduate of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. After completing Vet School, Dr. Nave joined the military and served as a Captain in Vietnam where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his military Service. He was discharged in 1971, and shortly after settled in Las Vegas, NV. A fact about Dr. Nave that I found very interesting was that in the 1990’s Dr. Nave was a member and chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission and the only commissioner to vote against Mike Tysons reinstatement into the world of boxing.

During his time in Nevada he became the President of the American Veterinary Association as well as the President of the Nevada Veterinary Association. Throughout his growth in Las Vegas he not only dedicated his life to the betterment of veterinary medicine but also mastering the art of mentorship, assisting veterinarians from all over the world.

When I was presented the opportunity to take part in this externship, I felt that it was too good to be true. A colleague mentioned to me that the Nave Group owns 16 Veterinary hospitals in Las Vegas, pays $400.00 a week, takes the externs to dinner twice a week, transports their externs to and from the hospital each day, provides room and board, and that I would be allowed time between shifts and on weekends to explore Las Vegas. I immediately accepted the offer without hesitation and was pleased to find that each hospital was welcoming and unique in its own way. I worked with numerous doctors who were very knowledgeable and eager to teach. I was pleased and pleasantly surprised to learn that many of them were also fellow Ross Alumni. As each doctor completed their tasks, they would explain what they were doing and why. They made sure I had a full understanding before leaving their hospital. I used this opportunity to refresh my knowledge from previous classroom lecture and was also able to gain new knowledge to supplement my education in upcoming courses such as anesthesia and diagnostic imaging.

I thought going into this externship I would just be a fly on the wall, observing doctors’ daily lives and interpreting the goings-on to the best of my ability. As soon as I began my first day, I was stunned and pleasantly surprised to find this was not going to be my experience for the next three weeks. I was immediately given the opportunity to stand-in and record a doctor perform a C-section, while he explained the process to me. The following day I also recorded a doctor perform a neuter. They both allowed me to keep the videos as a new resource for my studies and I reviewed them each night before bed. I began my third day at a new hospital and was immediately ushered into a gown and gloves, then into the surgery room with a phenomenal doctor named Dr. Jones from Tuskegee University. I was under the impression I would only be observing, but Dr. Jones had other intentions. He looked at me, handed me the blade, and asked “do you feel comfortable performing this neuter?” I looked down at the patient laying on the table and my mind screamed “NO!”, yet found myself grabbing the scalpel from his hand. With Dr. Jones’ guidance and despite my nerves, I successfully performed my first surgery without any prior training or courses beyond fourth semester curriculum. With this newfound confidence and skill, I became comfortable enough to perform many more surgeries throughout the externship.

At the end of each day I would return to my room and practice my suture patterns, read the notes I had taken that day, and watch videos of each surgery I either observed or performed. Once my review was completed, the rest of the day was mine. I would get together with the other externs and we would go out and see what Las Vegas truly had to offer. We saw all of the casinos and lights, dined at some of the fanciest restaurants like The Bellagio, attended Cirque Du Soleil, and was still able to get back to our hotel rooms at a decent hour to rest for our next early morning and day full of adventure.

The overall experience and knowledge I gained from this externship was beyond anything I could have hoped for. I created friendships that will last a lifetime and gained knowledge that can only be taught outside of the classroom. I appreciated being given the opportunity to not only piece together what I have learned in school up to this point, but the preparation for what is yet to come.