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Internship - Rotating in small animal studies

Aim

The Internship programme provides an opportunity for qualified veterinarians to obtain high-quality, post-graduate training in a large range of small animal disciplines. The objectives of the Programme are to enhance participants’ clinical, diagnostic, problem-solving, communication, and technical skills, and to prepare the interns to advance to a Senior Clinical Training Programme and subsequent specialism should you wish or to head back into general practice with increased confidence to practice to a high standard of care.

Programme duration

12.5 months, subject to satisfactory completion of the initial 3-month monitoring period

Summary of programme

The programme will start with a short induction period to explain details of the clinical working practices in the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital. Standard operating procedures, clinical responsibilities, and policy regarding when to seek assistance and from whom during each rotation will be covered during this period.
 
During the period of the Scholarship, the Interns will receive training in each of the specialist areas they rotate through; soft tissue surgery, orthopaedics, cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, diagnostic imaging, anaesthesia and clinical pathology. Interns will also be an integral part of the out-of-hours care of animals within the hospital especially within the intensive care unit and provide support for the Senior Clinical Training Scholars (SCTSs) and senior clinical members of staff. The Interns will have primary case responsibility for first opinion cases presented to the hospital from the RSCPA clinic and as emergencies. Responsibility for referral cases will be shared with SCTSs or senior clinical members of staff. As far as possible intern case responsibility (under supervision of the appropriate clinician) will extend from first consultation at the Hospital through all diagnostic procedures and treatments until the patient is discharged.
  
The Interns will be expected to actively participate in twice daily ward rounds, to take part in journal clubs and seminars associated with the rotation they are on, and to attend seminars, presentations and lectures that occur regularly in the hospital and wider department.
 
Each Intern is encouraged to take up a small research project during their scholarship, with the aim of preparing a manuscript for publication in a refereed journal. The manuscript will not be a requirement for completion of the programme, but it is considered to be of value and is thus encouraged.  At the end of the scholarship, each intern will give a presentation to the staff of the Department on their research or on a case, case series that has attracted their special interest. Please see below a list of intern-produced publications from the last 5 years.
 
A certificate is awarded upon successful completion of the programme.

LIST OF RECENT INTERN PUBLICATIONS (intern in bold). Please note that this list is not exhaustive.

1. Cronin AM, Pustelnik SB, Owen L, Hall JL. Evaluation of a pre-tied ligature loop for canine total lung lobectomy. Vet Surg. 2019 May;48(4):570-577. doi: 10.1111/vsu.13194. Epub 2019 Mar 19. PMID: 30888076.

2. Henry P, Schiavo L, Owen L, McCallum KE. Urinary incontinence secondary to a suspected congenital urethral deformity in a kitten. JFMS Open Rep. 2021 Sep 29;7(2):20551169211045642. doi: 10.1177/20551169211045642. PMID: 34616561; PMCID: PMC8488525.

3. Loane SC, Thomson JM, Williams TL, McCallum KE. Evaluation of symmetric dimethylarginine in cats with acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. J Vet Intern Med. 2022 Sep;36(5):1669-1676. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16497. Epub 2022 Jul 29. PMID: 35903963; PMCID: PMC9511064.

4. Franklin PH, Liu NC, Ladlow JF. Nebulization of epinephrine to reduce the severity of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome in dogs. Vet Surg. 2021 Jan;50(1):62-70. doi: 10.1111/vsu.13523. Epub 2020 Oct 12. PMID: 33044024.

5. Pena-Ramos J, Barker L, Saiz R, Walker DJ, Tappin S, Hare CHZ, Roberts ML, Williams TL, Bexfield N. Resting and postprandial serum bile acid concentrations in dogs with liver disease. J Vet Intern Med. 2021 May;35(3):1333-1341. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16134. Epub 2021 May 6. PMID: 33955592; PMCID: PMC8163115.

6. Butler T, Bexfield N, Dor C, Fantaconi N, Heinsoo I, Kelly D, Kent A, Pack M, Spence SJ, Ward PM, Watson P, McCallum KE. A multicenter retrospective study assessing progression of biliary sludge in dogs using ultrasonography. J Vet Intern Med. 2022 May;36(3):976-985. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16423. Epub 2022 Apr 15. PMID: 35426163; PMCID: PMC9151485.

7. Allan F, Watson PJ, McCallum KE. Clinical features and outcomes in 38 dogs with cholelithiasis receiving conservative or surgical management. J Vet Intern Med. 2021 Nov;35(6):2730-2742. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16284. Epub 2021 Oct 29. PMID: 34714561; PMCID: PMC8692201.

8. Taylor O, Knight R, Genain MA, Owen L. Ultrasonography as a sensitive and specific diagnostic modality for the detection of ectopic ureters in urinary incontinent dogs. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2022 May;63(3):328-336. doi: 10.1111/vru.13055. Epub 2022 Jan 22. PMID: 35064712; PMCID: PMC9306744.

9. Gardner L, Silva J, Novo Matos J. Spontaneous closure of a traumatic acquired Gerbode defect in a dog. J Vet Cardiol. 2022 Jun;41:194-198. doi: 10.1016/j.jvc.2022.03.001. Epub 2022 Mar 16. PMID: 35413633.

10. Gardner L, Bayton W, Hughes J, Owen L, Regada S, Bochynska D, Silva J, Novo Matos J. Unilateral external jugular vein aneurysm in a dog. J Vet Cardiol. 2022 Jun;41:39-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jvc.2022.01.006. Epub 2022 Feb 4. PMID: 35235883.

11. Craciun, I., Gagea, A.L. and O Cathasaigh, M. (2020), Description of a novel distribution and subsequent resolution of severe, bilateral thoracic limb and cervical vertebral abnormalities in a dog with craniomandibular osteopathy. Vet Rec Case Rep, 8: e001201. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2020-001201

12. Henry, PLoane, S, Peschard, A-L, Greville-Heygate, O, Skelly, B, et al. Idiopathic pancreatic haematoma in a lurcher dogVet Rec Case Rep. 2022;e551. https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.551

13. Butler, THall, H, McCallum, K. Polysystemic autoimmune disease in a Cocker Spaniel with neurological and cardiac manifestationsVet Rec Case Rep. 2021; 9:e26. https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.26

14. Allan, F., McCallum, K.E., Genain, M.-A., Harris, B.J. and Watson, P.J. (2020), Dissolution of cholelithiasis in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel receiving conservative management with ursodeoxycholic acid. Vet Rec Case Rep, 8: e001206. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2020-001206

15. Cattaneo, GSchiavo, L, Bochyńska, D, Hughes, K, Dobson, JM, McCallum, KE. Caecal gastrointestinal stromal tumour with secondary immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia in a cocker spanielVet Rec Case Rep. 2022; 10:e465. https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.465

16. Oginska, O., Hughes, J., Liu, N.-C. and Ladlow, J. (2020), An incompletely erupted canine tooth compromising the nasal cavity in a pug presenting with severe brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). Vet Rec Case Rep, 8: e000972. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2019-000972

17. Doyle, E, Hall, H, Hughes, J, Owen, L, Giuliano, A. Hypertrophic osteopathy and suspected subsequent disseminated intravascular coagulation in a dog with an abdominal gossypibomaVet Rec Case Rep. 2022; 10:e394. https://doi.org/10.1002/vrc2.394

18. Broadbridge C, Hall H, McCallum KE. Spontaneous remission of idiopathic minimal change disease in a cat. JFMS Open Rep. 2022 Nov 6;8(2):20551169221131261. doi: 10.1177/20551169221131261. PMID: 36389213; PMCID: PMC9643767.