Vetstradamus: Should I pursue an internship?
Posted on July 5, 2009
I am a third year veterinary student interested in small animal. Many of my classmates are discussing or are interested in internships and specific specialties. I am not sure that the extra time and work are worth it. Can you give me any advice or explain what the practical and economic differences are?
- Weighing my options
Dear Weighing,
The decision to pursue a specialty is a major one and specialty medicine is certainly not for everybody. One of the most unique things about a veterinary degree is the vast range of employment opportunities that it can lead to. Many if not most veterinarians look forward to the wide range of experiences, relationships, and situations involved in general practice. The trade-off is that no matter how hard you try, it is not possible to be an expert in every facet of veterinary medicine and to stay on top of recent literature and innovations in every field.
Specialty medicine is for individuals who are so interested in a particular aspect of veterinary medicine that they want to become experts and stay at the cutting edge of that field. The cost of specializing is that your skills and knowledge outside of your specialty will decline and the spectrum of cases that you see will narrow. Additionally, the cost and time of specialty training needs to be considered although for many specialties, a higher salary in the future may offset the short term losses.
Most but not all specialties require at least one year of rigorous clinical experience (often an internship or equivalent experience) before entering a residency in the appropriate specialty for 2-4 years (usually 3 years). Successful completion of the residency followed by passage of specialty board examinations leads to board certification as a specialist.
Veterinary salaries are extremely variable based on the location and type of practice but I have compiled some data about the economics of specialty practice versus general practice. Based on the most recent data from AVMA, median annual income for private practitioners was around $91,000. Practice owners made about $40,000 more than non-owners. This varies by specialty but in general, specialists make up to about $50,000 more in companion and food animal exclusive specialties. Based on this data, there was no apparent financial advantage to an internship only; however, there are still many good reasons to consider an internship, even if you are not sure you wish to pursue a residency.
If you are interested in a specific specialty, the AVMA salary calculator will give you an idea of the salary range for various job types and specialties and is a good resource (http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/default.asp). Additionally, the following links provide first year employment figures for veterinarians (http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/1yremploy.asp) and the average income of the highest paying specialties (http://www.valuemd.com/veterinarian_earnings.php).
Of course, the decision to pursue a residency should not be based primarily on financial data (which can change over time) but based on whether there is a specialty area that you find so compelling, interesting and enjoyable that you want to become a leader in that field and devote the rest of your career to it.
