Overview:

United Veterinary Care is delighted to host veterinary students for externships!  This valuable clinical experience will let you take what you’ve learned in the classroom and put it to the test in an animal hospital of your choice.  Our hands-on externships are designed exclusively for veterinary students at AVMA-accredited veterinary schools in their clinical years, typically meaning their 3^rd or 4^th year of vet school.  Since every student has different interests, we are excited to offer these programs at a wide variety of our amazing partner hospitals.  We know that travel and lodging expenses for externships can often be cost-prohibitive on a student’s budget.  To make our externships as accessible as possible, we offer stipends to externs to help offset these costs (unless prohibited by the veterinary school you are attending). 

Eligibility requirements:

• Must be a current veterinary student at an AVMA-accredited veterinary school
• Priority scheduling is given to students in their clinical years on official externship blocks for school credit
• Must provide proof of professional liability insurance. SAVMA members qualify for no cost insurance by applying at the following link: SAVMA Member Benefit and Resources | AVMA PLIT

Hospital information:

Dedham Veterinary Associates and Boston Veterinary Specialists are proud to offer comprehensive general practice services and specialty surgery services to our clients and patients, under one roof!  The doctors at Dedham Veterinary Associates have varied interests, including soft tissue surgery, advanced dentistry, feline medicine, geriatric care, and emergency case management.  Our team at Boston Veterinary Specialists includes highly skilled support staff and two board-certified veterinary surgeons.  They provide a wide array of soft tissue surgery, orthopedic surgery, and minimally invasive procedures, such as arthroscopy.  If you are looking to expand your skills and confidence with medical cases, dentistry, and surgery in both a specialty and general practice setting, spending your externship at Dedham Veterinary Associates and Boston Veterinary Specialists would be the best plan!

Species treated:

Dogs; Cats

Services offered:

Ultrasound; Soft tissue surgery; Orthopedic surgery; Dentistry; Wellness/Preventative care; Medical appointments

Full-time doctors:

3 (Dedham Veterinary Associates), 2 (Boston Veterinary Specialists)

Part-time doctors:

3 (Dedham Veterinary Associates)

What to expect from your externship:

Dr. Mason will provide a schedule to the extern after acceptance to the program which may be tailored to the interests of the extern and the opportunities available during the time-frame.  Since our hospital building also houses Boston Veterinary Specialists, students may have an opportunity to gain learning experiences with specialty surgery. Goals for learning opportunities at Dedham Veterinary Associates will be compiled from the following list of possible opportunities:

• Shadowing of veterinary appointment and assisting doctors
• Physical exam of surgical patients
• Development of anesthetic drug plans for patients with doctor oversight
• Monitoring and adjustment of anesthesia
• Performing of dental prophylaxis and charting
• Performing of dental nerve blocks
• Performing of dental radiography
• Observation of surgical dental extractions
• Digital radiography
• Phlebotomy
• Ultrasound guided cystocentesis
• IV Catheter placement
• Anesthetic induction and intubation
• Introduction to a surgical CO2 laser
• Observation of CO2 laser surgery
• Use of CO2 laser to learn techniques for various surgical applications on chicken skin
• Interpretation of orthopedic radiographs
• Scrubbing in to assist in specialty surgery
  
  We truly enjoy hosting externs and having new graduates join our teams since with new team members always comes new shared knowledge!