Mission Statement

  • Offering the first internship accessible to EVERYONE – EVERYWHERE
  • Ensuring compatibility with simultaneously having a regular job as a veterinarian
  • Enabling a soft landing into our profession after finishing vet school
  • Ensuring a confident return to practice after a career break
  • Help develop skills and explore career interests
  • Provide high-quality and kind mentorship

  • Anyone is welcome to join this internship. the only conditions are:
    • You have received your veterinary degree and hold a job with primary case responsibility by the start of the internship
    • You are able to converse in English
    • You are a VIN member (student or academic accounts are not eligible) 
      • If you are not a VIN member yet, you will need to become one to submit the internship application. Write "VVI applicant" in the comments on the membership application and an extended complimentary 60-day trial membership is available to you.
      • If you are not selected or choose not to be part of the internship, you will have the option to cancel your VIN membership prior to payment.
  • We do not discriminate on background, location, wealth, or previous academic achievements.
  • Currently, a companion animal program is available (including an elective rotation in small mammals/exotics).
  • Based on future demand, programs for other species may be developed as well.
  • You will join your own intern class.
  • You will get your own mentor.
  • Together you will follow a structured one-year curriculum.
  • Every four weeks you will attend a new clinical rotation, as well as seminars.
  • Monthly seminars, provided by knowledgeable experts, will discuss mostly non-clinical aspects of being a veterinarian.
  • Core rotations include anesthesia, cardiology-respiratory, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, emergency & critical care, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, and surgery (soft tissue and orthopedic).
  • Elective rotations include behavior, clinical pathology, dentistry, exotics, ophthalmology, and reproduction & obstetrics
  • You can choose your favorite rotations (8 core and 1 elective).
  • Rotations are supervised by VIN Consultants, including boarded specialists.
  • The internship library offers valuable and relevant content.
  • As a VIN member, you will have access to all VIN resources.
  • This internship is completed alongside your current job.
  • Having your employer's collaboration is important for a successful outcome.
  • This takes away the financial restrictions of a traditional internship.
  • It takes 1 year to complete.
  • A drive to become the best version of your professional self.
  • The internship offers flexibility regarding when you work on it and how much time you spend on it -- from experience, candidates should count on being able to commit approximately 30 minutes a day or 2.5 hours per week to their self-growth.
  • Many internship activities include activities that are part of daily life in a regular clinical job (e.g., researching cases, asking case questions to a VIN expert). 
  • We provide support for you to maximize your own development.
  • Like other internships, you participate in clinical rotations every month.
  • We want you to interact, share your real-life cases, and ask questions.
  • We also offer non-clinical curriculum elements for you to reflect on. 
  • Every month you will view an intern seminar featuring experts in the field.
  • Every month you are expected to attend one of the LIVE Cage-side round sessions where interns present cases to peers and specialists in a safe and supportive learning environment.
  • A serious emphasis on mentorship.
  • High-quality mentorship is ensured through:
    • support from your own intern class.
    • your own clinical mentor.
    • professionally trained counselors and mental health experts.
  • Integrated non-clinical skill training in topics like self-care, self-knowledge, career choices, and finance.
  • Automatic fulfillment of specific learning objectives according to:
    • AAVMC (US-based Entrusted professional activities).
    • RCVS (UK-based new VetGDP and older Professional Development Phase).
    • VIN's team of people dedicated to ensuring your development.
  • You will have access to a procedures log where you can track your progress.
  • You don't get paid -- in return for the support you receive, you are asked to be a VIN member (or become one prior to applying).
  • Newly or soon to be graduated? VIN has heavily discounted membership rates.

  1. What is the deadline for applications?
    Applications for the next intern class will be open from May 2, 2023, until June 1, 2023. 
    Acceptance emails will be sent June 30, 2023.
    Your reply with intent to participate in the internship must be received by July 31, 2023.
    The internship will begin September 6, 2023. 

  2. What are some of the reasons why someone would not get accepted into the program?
    The Virtual Veterinary Internship aims to be inclusive, and it is available to everyone, everywhere. However, the following criteria are important for selection:

    • It is required that you have sufficient competence in English to be able to communicate with your peers and mentors.

    • It is required that you have completed your veterinary degree before the internship start date.

    • It is required that you will (soon) be in a clinical environment with firsthand cases so that you can get the most out of the internship.

    • It is required that you have a current paid VIN membership at the time of the application and the start of the internship. Academic or student memberships are not compatible with being a VVI intern.

  3. How do clinical rotations work?
    Clinical rotations mainly consist of interacting with specialists and other VIN members on the VIN message boards, with your group of fellow interns, and mentor. Each rotation lasts 4 weeks. There are reading lists and self-assessment sections in each rotation, as well as a monthly seminar with clinical and non-clinical skills that should be useful for the rest of your career. More detailed instructions will follow once the intern class has been selected.

  4. How much time will this take? Will I be able to combine it with a busy job in clinical practice?
    For this to be beneficial to you, you should be planning a minimum of 30 minutes a day. This is considered an average, so some days you might not be active at all, other days you will be more active. The program is built to be compatible with a busy clinical job and you may choose when you participate in the virtual internship activities. The only “live” sessions you are expected to attend are the sessions with your mentor every 3 months and at least one of the weekly interactive Cage-side round sessions each month. You agree on a date and time with your mentor for the mentor sessions.

  5. Are there scheduled events when everyone meets virtually in person or is most of it through message boards/recordings?
    Most of the interactions happen on the VIN message boards. You can access the monthly webinar recordings and reading lists on your own time. Slack, a chat and messaging program, will help you keep in touch with your intern classmates and mentor.
      
    There will be a few live scheduled and un-scheduled sessions with mentors and classmates (approximately once every 3 months). The Zoom conferencing platform is likely what will be used for these meetings, though some might prefer to use the video function of Slack. You will be taught how to use these tools, should you not (yet) be comfortable using them.
       

  6. Does the program count towards annual CE requirements I might have?
    Parts of the internship program are RACE approved, and interns are provided with certificates when successfully completed. In addition, you should check with your regulating body because some allow credits for following structured online programs such as the VVI.

  • Wander the 'halls' of a past VVI hospital to get a feel for the internship program.


    VVI Enter Button-Summer

  • Applications will open for the 2023-2024 intern class from May 2, 2023, until June 1, 2023.
  • You will need to provide a resumé and a motivational letter, explaining why you want to become a virtual intern and how you are planning to fit the internship around your daily schedule.
  • Acceptance emails will be sent June 30, 2023, and the internship will begin on September 6, 2023.
  • What a smart choice you have made!
  • Enter the Virtual Veterinary Internship Hospital via the green button.

  

2022-2023 VVI INTERNS

FALL 2021 INTERNS
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