Career Center

The 12 1/2 month internship has an emphasis on emergency medicine and critical care. The intern will spend approximately 60% of their time on emergency or inpatient shifts. During these shifts the intern will have access to specialists and experienced emergency doctors for consultation. Extensive daily case rounds ensure that the intern has the opportunity to learn from each case he/she sees as well as cases being managed by other doctors. The remaining time includes rotations in surgery and internal medicine, and elective rotations which the intern can choose (to include any or all of the other specialties). In addition to case rounds, there are weekly didactic rounds for the interns presented by each of the specialists. The intern is expected to participate in the teaching of technicians and visiting student externs. The internship is designed to expose the participant to the various specialties, allowing them to develop a special interest to pursue in a residency, but also providing a broad education in high quality medicine and surgery which will be valuable in any type of future practice. Previous interns have routinely expressed that they felt very well prepared for the jobs they went into because of their OSVS experience. The acceptance rate into specialty internships and residencies if high.

The Details:

-Schedule: The interns have a rotating schedule, including medicine, surgery, specialty electives, and the remaining weeks on varying emergency rotations. Elective rotations can include Ophthalmology, Radiology, Oncology, Neurology, Avian/Exotics, and Cardiology. On elective weeks, the intern works 4 days with the specialists, and one weekend day of ER. When on emergency weeks, the intern may be on a primary receiving shift and seeing emergency cases, or may be on a mainly inpatient management shift working with patients that presented to the emergency service. This provides the intern with the opportunity to manage complicated patients with cardiac, neurologic, or internal medicine issues. The interns work with experienced emergency doctors on overnight shifts as part of the emergency rotations.

The interns work 5 days a week, with a guaranteed 2 days off a week. On days off, the intern has no clinical responsibility, and need only come in if there is a pre-planned didactic event. The interns get two weeks of vacation, but must work two of the major holidays (i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years) and most of the minor holidays.

The intern must be prepared to be in the hospital from 11 to 15 hours a day when on emergency weeks, although this gets less common as they become more efficient through the year. Pets cannot come to the hospital during normal shifts, so necessary arrangements should be made for them. On medicine, surgery, and elective weeks the interns are typically able to leave at the end of their 10 hour shift.

-Primary Case Management Responsibility: Interns are expected to function as doctors from the first day after orientation. They are the primary doctor on their cases, and handle all of the client communications, medical record keeping, etc. They are able to seek advice and support from numerous sources, but ultimately the decisions on their cases are theirs. Students anticipating applying for this internship should take full advantage of their clinical year of veterinary school to “practice” being a doctor so they are ready.

The Facility:

Ocean State Veterinary Specialists is a 24-hour hospital providing emergency and specialty referral services to the state of Rhode Island as well as parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The hospital is approximately 26,000sf, including three surgery suites with advanced equipment for both soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries including laparoscopy equipment. Diagnostic imaging equipment includes digital radiography and multiple high resolution ultrasound machine, a CT scanner, endoscopy, fluoroscopy, and full time, on-site MRI. The fully-equipped intensive care unit includes oxygen cages, mechanical ventilator, telemetric electrocardiography, defibrillator, pulse oximetry, etc. In house diagnostic equipment includes blood gas and electrolyte monitors, and CBC, chemistry and coagulation analyzers. Advanced therapeutics are available including transfusion products, parenteral nutrition, and radioactive iodine therapy.

The Staff:

The staff includes specialists in internal medicine, surgery, radiology, oncology, neurology, emergency/critical care, cardiology, ophthalmology, and avian/exotic medicine. There are four criticalists, and approximately twenty internship trained and experienced emergency doctors, who are a vital source of support for the interns, especially on nights and weekends. There are well established residency programs in both Emergency/Critical Care and Surgery.

The support staff includes highly trained technicians, many of whom are certified, and several of whom have specialty certification. The ICU technicians are capable of placing central catheters, performing advanced patient monitoring, trouble-shooting ventilator cases, etc.

This is an exceptional team of people who truly care about their patients and each other. It is common for our interns to choose to stay on as emergency doctors because they appreciate the culture and the continuous learning opportunities.

Images of the hospital can be seen at our website www.osvs.net. East Greenwich is in the middle of the state of Rhode Island on the west shore of Narragansett Bay. It is close to scenic Newport and coastal beaches. Providence is only minutes away and boasts outstanding restaurants, theater, and other cultural activities. Boston is an hour away as well. Many of our previous interns have come here for the internship, but then put down roots in Rhode island due to all the state has to offer. We are very proud that a large portion of the ER and specialty doctor staff have been with us for their entire professional careers. If you have questions about the hospital or position, reach out directly to Dr. Justine Johnson: jjohnson@osvs.net. 

**Special note for  Mid-year Graduates** OSVS participates in the VIRMP match program for internships and residencies that start in July. However, internship positions are available for students who would like to start their training in February. This program has the advantage of allowing the new graduate to start during a slower part of the year and work on their clinical skills before the busy summer months arrive. For those students interested in the February start internship, please submit materials by November 1st to amy.morgan@unitedvetcare.com. Decisions will be made by December 1st, so that students can elect to participate in the VIRMP program if they do not secure a position. Materials to submit include:

-Curriculum Vitae

-GPA and class rank (unofficial transcript is acceptable)

-3 letters of recommendation from clinical faculty

-A letter of intent describing your goals and why you are interested in the internship.

All applicants must be eligible for a license to practice in the United States. Graduates of veterinary schools not approved by the AVMA must have completed the ECFVG process or similar, prior to application to the program. We are unable to allow any participants in an internship or residency without a license to practice.

About Ocean State Veterinary Specialists

United Veterinary Care is a fast growing, national group of primary care, emergency, and specialty veterinary practices united by a passion for culture, communication, collaboration, and teamwork. However, we’re not just another practice management company. We are the veterinary industry assimilator. Our goal is to change what is happening within the veterinary profession due to the rapid rate of corporate consolidation by providing our peers and partners with an alternative to the downside of corporate medicine. Our goal is to Empower, Support, and Unite all of our hospitals with support, training, and technology to elevate their businesses, retain their team members, and strengthen their unique brands to consistently deliver a superior client experience

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