Large animal internship guidelines emphasize mentorship, supervision, outcomes

For the first time, the AVMA is offering guidelines for veterinary internships specifically in large animal hospitals, as well as large animal internships that are primarily ambulatory practice.

The “Veterinary Large Animal Hospital Internship Guidelines” complements AVMA’s newly renamed policies on “Veterinary Small Animal Internship Guidelines” and also “Veterinary Large Animal Ambulatory Internship Guidelines.” The internship guidelines are intended to establish reasonable expectations for internship providers as well as participants.

Additionally, the AVMA has updated its policy on “Guidelines on the Identification of Board-Certified Veterinarians.” The policy states, in part, “To identify one’s diplomate status accurately and responsibly, it is important that board-certified veterinarians use specific wording.”

The large animal internship document is adapted from AVMA’s original Veterinary Internship Guidelines, developed more than a decade ago. During a recent review of AVMA’s internship guidelines by the Veterinary Specialty Organizations Committee, committee members agreed that the policy didn’t adequately account for issues unique to interning at a large animal practice, and particularly those performed in a primarily ambulatory setting.

As a result, VSOC members drafted new guidelines and recommended minor edits to the existing internship policy. The AVMA Board of Directors (BOD) approved the recommendation for revision of that policy to be specific for small animal internships as well as bot the large animal hospital and large animal ambulatory internship during a February conference call. 

All three internship guidelines say that such programs should be a one-year educational experience focused on clinical training across multiple disciplines. Also, it affirms that the primary purpose of internships is educational, not to simply provide labor for the hosting institution.

Mentorship, direct supervision, and didactic training—including teaching rounds, seminars, and journal clubs—are central to the intern’s development, the guidelines state. The policy calls for detailed orientation programs, regular performance evaluations using multiple assessors, and assigning an experienced veterinarian as a mentor.

In addition, the guidelines provide direction for employment arrangements. Interns should be offered clear contracts outlining duties, schedules, and benefits. Programs should emphasize work-life balance aligned with Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education standards for residency programs. Salary and benefits should reflect the intern’s training level and responsibilities, and noncompete clauses are discouraged. Regulatory requirements, including licensure, should be clearly communicated, with clarity on who bears associated costs.

Clinical expectations include opportunities for interns to assume primary care responsibilities for a broad range of cases while under the supervision of a veterinarian. Interns must be allowed to assist with surgeries and gradually granted increasing independence as their proficiency grows, the guidelines continue. Veterinary interns must not be the sole veterinarians at satellite sites.

The guidelines also address the need for sufficient caseload, access to faculty and facilities, and availability of essential diagnostic and surgical tools. Programs are encouraged to monitor intern progression, collect feedback, and document residency placement rates to assess and improve program quality.