To intern or not to intern…

Specialising is not something I had thought a lot about, or indeed at all, prior to university. In all honesty I was quite pre-occupied with actually getting a coveted place in vet school.

After spending three years working on my work experience portfolio, GCSEs and A levels in anticipation of a five or six-year degree, I’m not sure I had the bandwidth to fathom an additional four to five years on top of that at some distant point in the future.

That being said, after intern programmes were discussed regularly during my degree, and once I’d worked alongside vets at varying degrees of their specialist training during my final-year rotations, it became more of a plausible option for me.

So, why do an internship?

Whether discipline specific or rotating (a more common starting point in today’s climate), an internship is an opportunity to work with specialists at the height of their disciplines; to set aside some of your autonomy and independence as a vet in return for the knowledge and experience gained by working in a referral centre.

For most vets, it is also a stepping stone towards becoming a specialist yourself, from rotating internship you may progress to a discipline-specific internship in the hopes of gaining a foothold in a residency programme.

In a second opinion referral hospital, the turnover of intense and complicated is far higher than in general practice, which means more opportunities for learning.

Although perhaps a generalisation, the level of care is also deemed to be closer to “gold standard” than first opinion practice, in part due to more staffing, more time and resources available to be dedicated per patient and more literature-based decision making. This means even if you complete an internship only to return to first opinion practice, you’re arguably in a strong position.

Why doesn’t everyone specialise?

I have friends who knew from the off that they wanted to specialise. Maybe they had an affinity for anaesthesia, a dalliance with derm or eyes for ophthalmology… and, in turn, I know a lot of vets who are married to first opinion and had no aspirations to specialise. In truth, there wouldn’t be the demand or job positions even if everyone did want to.

Additionally, it’s a step down in terms of responsibility and independence. A lot of vets thrive off of running under their own steam, enjoy taking charge of cases as they grow in confidence in their first years out of practice. An internship is very much a supporting role for the hospital with very little decision making ultimately resting on your shoulders, and that’s not for everyone.

Perhaps a less touched upon consideration is the financial implications of embarking on the specialist track. Internships and residencies generally pay less than first opinion roles for the same level of post-grad experience.

This, alongside the long hours and limited locations where the placements are available can make it a difficult journey to start if you lack the reserve funds or a local support system. For this reason, specialism may not be the most accessible branch of an already competitive and resource expensive vocation.

For me, the main alure of a rotating internship was the rotating itself. The breadth of learning opportunities, the chance to study gold standard and ask questions to the people writing the papers I’d studied from several years ago. Regardless of a chosen speciality, I’m committed to continuing my education and becoming as well rounded a vet as I can be.