Rotating Equine Internship

Internship applications for 2021 are closed and we are now accepting 2022 internship applications.

The Rhinebeck Equine internship is an opportunity for an intense year of clinical experience in an equine private practice setting with both ambulatory and referral hospital services. The practice is committed to providing the interns with a rewarding educational experience and values what the interns teach us and bring to the clinic. Mentoring is provided by boarded specialists in surgery (2), internal medicine (2), theriogenology, and ophthalmology as well as seasoned ambulatory practitioners. Our interns have ample opportunity for hands-on experience in all aspects of the program. We expect our interns to rapidly transition to working independently under the guidance of senior clinicians. While in hospital, the interns will be responsible for assisting with the evaluation of each patient, including all procedures and diagnostic imaging. The interns assume a primary role in daily patient care and in developing appropriate treatment plans under the guidance of the board-certified hospital clinicians. The surgery rotations allow the intern to follow common elective and emergency cases from initial evaluation, through surgery and post-op care, to discharge and follow-up. The interns learn anesthesia alongside an experienced veterinarian and, as skills progress, will be responsible for managing the anesthesia of elective and emergency cases. The internal medicine rotation exposes the interns to a wide variety of cases, both in the hospital and in the field, and is particularly busy in the spring due to the large neonatal foal caseload. The interns have the opportunity to learn breeding management and advanced reproductive techniques from our boarded theriogenologist. The growing ophthalmology caseload is an excellent learning opportunity. During the ambulatory rotation, the interns will become familiar and comfortable with common ambulatory emergencies, routine wellness care, reproduction, dentistry, and lameness evaluation. While the large and varied caseload will expose the interns to a wide range of routine and emergency calls, the interns also have the opportunity to focus on their areas of interest while on the ambulatory rotation. The program affords the opportunity for interns to assume a primary role in client communication and patient care when providing emergency field care. Case rounds and weekly journal club or teaching rounds provide additional learning opportunities. The internship will provide excellent preparation for individuals seeking admission to residency programs or a career in general equine practice. Former interns have gone on to pursue residency training in surgery, internal medicine, reproduction, ophthalmology, and dentistry. Please see our video about our internship program featuring current and past interns. 

The intern schedule consists of bi-weekly rotations through surgery, medicine, ambulatory services, sports medicine (summer & fall), and reproduction (spring). Time off is divided amongst the interns. While we expect our interns to work hard, we also want them to have time to recharge. Interns may be called upon to perform some after-hours treatments and observation of hospitalized patients as needed. However, the hospital is staffed by technicians around the clock and our interns are not treated as technicians. Five vacation days and five sick/personal days are offered for the year, as well as time off for a national continuing educations meeting.