Internship Program

Post-DVM education and training for teaching, research, and preparation for a residency or entering private practice.

Our year-long internship programs:

• Provide in-depth training and hands-on experience under the supervision of board-certified faculty
• Prepare participants for residencies in selected board specialties
• Provide clinical experience as a practitioner before entering private practice

Veterinarians completing the internship program at WSU are well-qualified to compete for jobs in academia, private practice, industry, or medical fields. Visit our Veterinary Teaching Hospital to learn more about our services and get to know our faculty.

Our interns have opportunities to:

• Participate in and lead clinical rounds
• Present didactic lectures
• Participate in clinical research leading to preparation of a manuscript for publication in a clinical or scientific journal
• Assist in teaching laboratories for courses offered in the DVM training program and in continuing education courses
• Supervise 4^th-year veterinary students for admission, diagnosis, and treatment of patients presented to the assigned service

What equipment or technology will I have access to?

Internship programs

Internships are filled through the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program sponsored by the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC). We also offer other internships advertised outside of this service. 

Applicants must have a DVM or equivalent foreign degree.

Washington State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Protected group members are encouraged to apply.

Agricultural animal medicine and surgery

The agricultural animal medicine and surgery internship is designed to provide a broad-based clinical experience in medicine, surgery, and theriogenology and includes training in both referral level clinical case management and ambulatory field practice to university herds. Fieldwork incorporates two university dairies, two university beef cattle centers, and a university sheep center.

Clinical oncology

The oncology internship program provides extensive clinical experience in the day-to-day receiving, but time will also be devoted to a clinical research project and to helping with ongoing clinical trials. Radiation oncology is included in the oncology caseload and interns will have the opportunity to be involved in the care of these patients as well. In addition to supporting the oncology service, duties of the intern include provision of care for patients in the intensive care unit and emergency patients outside of normal hospital hours.

Equine medicine and surgery

Equine medicine and surgery interns rotate through equine medicine, surgery and after-hours services with optional time on ancillary services when time is available. The goal of the internship is to provide hands-on and broad exposure in the diagnosis and treatment of horses with a variety of surgical and medical problems and to prepare the individual to advance the care and treatment of horses with surgical and medical problems. Cases span the spectrum from wounds to colic to intensive care for neonatal foal problems.

Neurology and neurosurgery

The neurology internship is a combined medical and surgical neurology program. Primary case responsibility will center around small animals; large animal neurological cases are evaluated primarily through consultation. The WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital is equipped with advanced neurodiagnostic capability, including multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT), 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and electrodiagnostic equipment (including EMG, NCV, BAER, ERG, and ambulatory EEG). Surgical facilities include an operating microscope with microsurgical capabilities, Nico myriad, and stereotactic brain biopsy system. Our facility also features an extensive rehabilitation suite equipped with hydrotherapy treadmill, electrical stimulation unit, and therapeutic ultrasound operating under the supervision of certified canine rehabilitation therapists and practitioners.

Small animal emergency and critical care

The small animal emergency and critical care internship includes rotating assignments primarily in emergency and critical care medicine. In addition, elective rotations are available in medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, cardiology, neurology, oncology, and radiology. The intern will be under the supervision of three ACVECC Diplomates. There are currently more than two dozen board-certified specialists in multiple disciplines hospital-wide available to work with the intern in clinical areas.

Small animal surgery

The small animal surgery internship provides in-depth training in problem-solving, diagnostic techniques, surgical instrumentation, surgical procedures, and patient management as applied to small animal patients. 

WSU facilities offer soft tissue; neurologic and orthopedic surgery services including minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, interventional procedures, and arthroscopy); advanced imaging (MRI, CT); laser surgery; linear accelerator-based radiation therapy; and advanced clinical and basic research laboratories.

Wildlife rehabilitation, medicine, and surgery

Interns in the Partners for Wildlife program will rotate between the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine Wildlife Unit in Pullman and PAWS Wildlife Center, a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center in Lynnwood, Washington. This arrangement allows the intern to experience clinical wildlife medicine in both a referral/academic setting and a busy private setting. The local wildlife presented for treatment also varies based on location in eastern and western Washington. The Partners for Wildlife program was established in 2018 and is affiliated with The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. The program aims to improve, strengthen, and expand the capacity of wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians to treat and rehabilitate injured wildlife and achieve the best and most humane outcomes.

Interns receive hands-on training in clinical wildlife medicine, surgery, and rehabilitation. The intern will work with a variety of avian, mammalian, and reptile species while receiving training in a broad variety of clinical skills, including hematology, parasitology, radiology, anesthesia, analgesia, orthopedic surgery, soft tissue surgery, wound and fracture management, necropsy, safe handling techniques for wildlife, management of wildlife in a rehabilitation setting, flight conditioning, and determining if an animal is suitable for release or placement in an education program.