Postgraduate Internships (12 or 18 months)
The rotating internship programme at Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital has been running for many years and has provided numerous graduates with significant exposure, training and experience in all areas of equine internal medicine, surgery and reproduction.
The hospital is dynamic and busy, with the caseload split equally between first opinion and referral cases. During the season, the clinic admits 75-100 foals for intensive care. The reproduction centre performs assisted breeding (embryo transfer, fresh and frozen artificial insemination), stallion breeding management and undertakes routine stud work. GVEH is a University of Melbourne training centre, with all final year veterinary students rotating through the hospital from January to October each year. Interns primarily assist specialists, senior clinicians and residents perform consultations, triage emergencies, manage hospital or reproduction in-patients and undertake various duties in the breeding barn.
Interns employed for yearlong rotating internships start in January/February or July/August, concluding 12 or 18 months later. Interns rotate fortnightly through anaesthesia, medicine, surgery, reproduction and, during the peak breeding season, night duty. In the final 3-6 months of the internship, additional opportunities are provided to undertake first opinion ambulatory consultations under supervision. Interns are encouraged to either participate in ongoing research projects or produce a case report during their tenure. Regular opportunities are also provided to participate in journal club or tutorials with the students during the quieter months.
Overall, the rotating internship provides the recent graduate with detailed post graduate training in most aspects of modern equine practice. We aim to produce veterinarians with the skill and competency to be immediately useful to first opinion equine ambulatory practices. Many interns have gone onto successfully complete specialist residency training in Australia and overseas, in both private and academic institutions in the fields of medicine, emergency and critical care, surgery and reproduction. When on call, interns are expected to remain within 10 minutes of the hospital and have access to the intern on call phone at all times. Interns are expected to work hard during their internship. The afterhours on call rota is 1 in 2 nights and 1 in 2 weekends. Typically, during the season, 2-4 interns are ‘on call’ each night or weekend to help distribute the workload.
Eligibility to work in Australia
Interns must possess a veterinary degree registrable with the Veterinary Practitioners Board of Victoria, Australia. International interns accepting a 6-month position will need to obtain a working holiday visa prior to starting at GVEH. Yearlong interns will receive assistance from the hospital for their visa application.
Closing dates for internship applications Six-month internships commence in July/August annually.
Twelve or eighteen month internships – can be either a Jan/Feb or a July/Aug start: Applications are accepted 6months prior to desired start time of the internship. Interviews are conducted as applications are received. We welcome potential applicants to get in touch well before the application time to ensure you are considered for the above positions. Visits, where able, are also very welcome.
For more information or to forward an application please email the practice manager, Robert Ralston on
robert.ralston@gvequine.com.au
