Internship Opportunities
Contact Person- Luke Bass, DVM, MS
Number of Interns currently in practice: 3
Doctors and Staff:
We have nine veterinarians, two of which are board certified surgeons, three with graduate degrees in equine reproduction, and three intern veterinarians. In addition, we have two part-time veterinarians that specialize in orthopedic and soft tissue ultrasound. There are nine equine health technicians, two resident farriers, and four front office staff.
Type of Practice:
100% equine practice - predominantly performance horse with emphasis on the western performance and hunter/jumpers.
Caseload - We see around 3500 horses annually with the following breakdown: Lameness (including prepurchase exams) - 40%, Reproductive -15%, Surgery -15%, Colic - 5%, Miscellaneous (ambulatory, dentistry, preventative medicine) - 20%.
Facilities:
The hospital is a 22,000 square foot full service facility on 20 acres in Oakdale, CA. It has two spacious surgical suites with adjacent viewing rooms. There are four padded induction/recovery rooms which are utilized by surgery and MRI. There are 4 large examination rooms with a radiology and ultrasound specialty rooms. The lameness area is 140X300 ft covered with hard and soft ground for optimal evaluation. We have the only high field MRI in northern California with room for Nuclear Scintigraphy in the future. There are two 20 stalls barns which separate the surgical and lameness patients from medical and emergency cases. The on-site podiatry center offers two resident farriers who see outside appointments as well as work closely with the veterinarians in cases that need therapeutic or corrective shoeing.
The reproductive center is located at our original facility on 2.5 acres, only 1.5 miles from our new hospital. It is a Select Breeders Affiliate and is USDA approved for mare breeding management, stallion phantom training, semen collection and semen cryopreservation, and foaling. Additionally, we offer embryo transfer with an on-site recipient herd as well as embryo vitrification It contains 27 stalls and 8 pens that are situated around a large treatment room and collection shed with a laboratory and reproductive pharmacy.
Estimated Breakdown of Daily or Weekly Work Load:
The intern performs morning treatments and assessments of the patients prior to morning rounds. Interns will rotate through three departments during the internship. Interns will spend two week blocks on anesthesia, surgery, and hospital seeing daytime emergencies and facilitating in-hospital case therapy.
Approximately 30% of their time will be spent performing anesthesia or assisting on surgical cases, 20% performing diagnostics, 30% assisting the primary clinicians with lameness evaluations including performing perineural and intraarticular injections, 10% assessing and treating hospitalized patients, and 10% ambulatory duties. Routine treatments during hospital hours, weekend days, and week nights are performed by the technicians, while after hours treatments and monitoring are performed by the interns and externs. Interns are responsible for all daily treatments and record keeping of hospitalized patient as well as performing call backs on each patient seen at Pioneer Equine Hospital.
Additionally, interns will sharpen their presentation skills by participating in monthly grand rounds as well as giving hospital tours and participating in community equine activities. Emergency Duty Requirements: Rotating emergency duty during the weeknights and weekends. There is an associate and board certified surgeon on back up call at all times.
Philosophy of Practice's Internship:
Pioneer Equine Hospital strives to provide the highest quality care for our patients in a friendly and fun work environment. The interns are considered an integral component of the practice. We rely heavily on the interns to use their knowledge and skills as
veterinarians and not as inexpensive labor to perform duties the primary
clinicians do not want to perform. The interns will gain a great deal of
hands-on experience and should be very competent at the end of the internship
in performing equine surgical, medical and reproductive skills. In the past, we have had outstanding placement to academic residency programs and associate positions around the country.
Internship Information and Requirements:
Prerequisites of Application and Internship: A letter of intent, resume or CV, and three
letters of recommendation must be on file prior to December 1st. Applicants that have visited our hospital and performed an externship will have an advantage in the selection process. A license to practice in the state of California is mandatory.
Notification of Acceptance: All applicants will be notified December 1st
List of Employee Benefits: AVMA Liability Insurance, continuing education stipend, and a monthly housing allowance is provided. Health insurance is not provided.
Employment Contracts: A one year employment contract is required detailing
the duties and responsibilities of the intern. Interns are given 5 full days off through the year with no vacation taken during June, July, or May. Interns are also given 3 half days for residency or associate interviews.
Intern Salary: Available on Request
Term of Employment: June 1 through May 31
