Career Center

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:

The Animal Hospital of Smithson Valley is located just outside of San Antonio in beautiful Spring Branch, TX.  Our doctors have a wide range of interests, and as such, we are able to offer quite comprehensive care to a variety of species.  We have a special interest in dermatology and advanced care for geriatric pets.  We have all the bells and whistles, including ultrasound and endoscopy, and are pleased to be able to offer both soft tissue and orthopedic surgery to patients needing these procedures.  But what truly makes our hospital stand out, is the incredible team dynamic that we have developed.  Every employee is treated as a valuable member of our medical team, and they all contribute to our exceptional client and patient care.  If you are looking for a fantastic full-service clinic in central Texas to continue on your path towards becoming an outstanding veterinarian, look no further than the Animal Hospital of Smithson Valley.  We'd love to host you for your externship.  

Species treated:

Dogs; Cats; Pocket pets/small mammals; Reptiles; Birds; Potbellied pigs

Services offered:

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

Full-time doctors:

4

Part-time doctors:

0

What to expect from your externship:

We want to hear from you about your professional goals for your externship experience!  Please indicate your top priorities in your application, so we can tailor the experience to meet your needs.

During your externship, you can expect to actively participate in cases and further your development towards becoming a veterinarian.  Throughout your time with us, you will always be supervised by an experienced veterinarian and skilled support staff.  This team will serve as your mentors for your externship experience.  Expect to be included in surgical cases, dental procedures, emergencies, sick patient workups, and routine medical appointments.  If there are certain technical skills you are looking to improve on, let us know so we can place emphasis on these areas!  We encourage active participation from externs, introduce them to our clients, and truly make them part of our team.  Listening to the patient history, conducting a preliminary exam, and formulating a plan for diagnostics and treatment are a great way to put your education to the test and help prepare you for the real-world of veterinary medicine.  You will discuss these cases with your supervising veterinarian and have them confirm your exam findings to verify whether are on the right track with your plans before moving forward with the case as a team.  This dynamic creates the ideal environment for you to grow in your confidence and skill with managing both routine and complex cases.  We encourage externs to select one case per week to further research and engage the veterinarians in further case discussion with this additional information.  These case discussions help our teams learn and grow together; further emphasizing that mentorship is a two-way street. 

We truly enjoy hosting externs and having new graduates join our teams since with new team members always comes new shared knowledge!