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. Discounted new grad memberships and group memberships are 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.
    • Upon acceptance and before the start of the internship, you will need to pay the non-refundable $300 Internship Commitment Fee. VVI graduates who successfully fulfill their internship commitment and receive a certificate will receive a $150 credit toward future VIN membership or future VIN CE to be used in the 12 months immediately following the internship.
  • 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.
  • Clinical rotations include anesthesia, behavior, cardiology-respiratory, clinical pathology, dentistry, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, emergency & critical care, exotics, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, reproduction & obstetrics, and surgery (soft tissue and orthopedic).
  • You can choose your favorite rotations.
  • 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 removes the financial restrictions of a traditional internship.
  • The internship takes one 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.
  • Non-clinical curriculum elements for you to reflect on are also included. 
  • 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.
  • You are expected to arrange a meeting time and meet with your mentor at least once per quarter. If you don't fulfill the commitment to meet within the first quarter you will be disenrolled from the internship.
    • In addition to the quarterly meetings, you are expected to check-in with your mentor at least monthly.
  • 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) and pay an Internship Commitment Fee ($300) prior to the start of the internship.
  • 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 beginning Fall 2024 were open from April 22, 2024, until May 29, 2024.  
    Check back for details in early Spring of 2025 for information about the Fall 2025 intern class.

  2. What type of VIN membership do I need to be part of the internship?
    Student or academic accounts are not eligible. You must be working in a practice with primary case responsibility and a clinical caseload to participate. If you have a free membership (student or academic), it will need to be converted to a paying VIN membership at the time of acceptance. Discounted new grad memberships and group memberships are eligible for participation.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 quarterly (every 3 months) meetings with your mentor 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 meetings.

  6. 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.
       

  7. 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.

  8. Is this a recognized internship?
    This internship is primarily designed to facilitate your growth and to provide mentorship. Some past virtual interns have noticed it helped them become subsequently accepted for a traditional internship or even residencies.  Nevertheless, the VVI it is not primarily meant to help qualify for a residency. There are no universally accepted rules outlining what an internship should entail, nor a universally accepted recognizing body to govern internships. The vast majority of internships do not give a specific internship qualification; mostly, they are seen as valuable experiences to enhance your growth and CV. Virtual interns successfully completing the one-year program earn a Certificate of Successful Completion, and prospective employers can contact the VIN Veterinary Mentorship Academy (vma@vin.com) to verify successful completion. The certificate includes a specific explanation of the internship program to aid understanding from employers and other interested parties.

  9. Is there a cost associated with the internship?
    The Internship Commitment Fee is $300 which is due by the start of the internship. This non-refundable fee is meant to confirm your commitment to fulfill the internship. Upon fulfilling your commitment and successfully receiving a certificate of completion, you will receive a $150 credit toward future VIN membership or VIN Continuing Education to be used within the 12 months following the internship.
  • The Virtual Internship can and should mean a win-win situation for employer, employee, and the entire clinic.
  • Through the internship, employees get additional mentorship in clinical and non-clinical areas, resulting in happier and more efficient employees, who understand the clinic environment better, and can enrich the work environment with the energy, skills and up to date knowledge they acquire.
  • To have the entire clinic team benefit from the internship, why not ask your employee to tell the clinic team what they have learned in a team meeting once a week or month?
  • Employees who feel supported in their growth by their employer are more likely to stay at a practice and keep contributing to the practice’s future. The internship aims to help you keep your employee growing.
  • The possibility of participating in the Virtual Veterinary Internship at your practice could be a factor that helps recruit new veterinarians to the clinic.
  • The time spent on internship activities could be seen as part of an employee’s usual time away to fulfil local CE requirements; part of the program is RACE-approved.
  • Most interns report needing an average of at least 30 minutes a day or 2.5 hrs/week to take full advantage of the internship. How an intern plans the time is up to them.
  • Although not mandatory and not necessary for all employees, employers could consider helping the employee in their internship-related activities. An example would be to plan some internship time into the employee's scheduled workday. Another example would be to book certain cases, procedures or tasks preferentially with your intern employee to aid their development (e.g., while on the virtual dermatology rotation, dermatology cases could be preferentially booked for your employee).
  • Wander the 'halls' of a past VVI hospital to get a feel for the internship program.


    VVI Enter Button-Summer

  • Applications for the next intern class beginning Fall 2024 class were open from April 22, 2024, until May 29, 2024.
  • Applications for the Fall 2025 class will open in early Spring 2025.
  • 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.
  • What a smart choice you have made!
  • Enter the Virtual Veterinary Internship Hospital via the green button.

  

 Fall 2024 Interns Beginning September 6, 2024
 Fall 2023 & FALL 2022 INTERNS

FALL 2021 INTERNS
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