Help for every stage of your veterinary career
I’ve spent a lot of time writing about personal statements. There are general rules, which I’ve written about here and here. Also, there are important and simple grammar rules to pay attention to, like these and these. I’ve provided some examples of poor letters of intent, so now it’s time to look at some good
During M&M rounds, we will examine some fictitious cases and evaluate the facts and consider some solutions to these problems. Mark Ashes is a 32-year-old Hispanic male presenting for not matching to an exotics/wildlife medicine specialty for the third time through the VIRMP. He has wanted to be a veterinarian being paid to work with
Selecting a residency program is an important decision. You will be there for at least three years, and suffering through a bad fit for that long is not pleasant. What you could tolerate for a year in an internship becomes intolerable over three years. Moreover, the program has to prepare you to successfully to and
I have some bad news. Life is not a meritocracy. We all wish we lived in a world where, if you are the best candidate for a position, you get the position. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we live in. In our world, who you know has a tremendous impact on your ability to get
The purpose of a residency is to prepare you to pass boards and train you to be a specialist clinician. As long as you achieve that objective, then the residency is a success. However, residencies are 2-4 years long, and you don’t want to suffer for that long if you work somewhere terrible. These are
I think it is surprisingly easy to get yourself flagged as “not rankable” for an internship or residency. Most application evaluators maintain a “veto” system for applicants. Any evaluator can veto any applicant for any reason. Particularly for residents, NO ONE wants a resident whom one of the mentors does not want to work with.
Applying for an internship or residency can be stressful. Ideally, you made decisions throughout vet school to improve your chances, and hopefully you have followed the suggestions I have on how to be successful. You have asked for letters of recommendation, which are probably the most important part of your application packet. But what do
Nope. I can say that with 100% certainty for faculty positions. You don’t submit your transcript for a faculty position in veterinary medicine. By that point, grades you made in vet school are utterly irrelevant. For residencies, it’s generally still true, but people still worry about it, so let’s dive in. I’ve taught veterinary medicine
Choosing a residency program is a fairly important decision. You will be there for at least 3 years, so you want to make sure you find the best fit for you. I’ve talked before about what to look for in a residency, but how do you find that information? I have four simple sources of
The intern year is typically one year immediately following graduation from vet school. Some people may go out into practice and then go back to an internship, but that is rare. Some people do an internship to improve their clinical skills or to avoid going into the Real World for another year. The reason many