We're committed to helping support and develop the talent and abilities of soon to graduate veterinarians and registered veterinary technicians.  We have three programs designed to help achieve these goals.

Veterinary Externship Program with UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

For years now, we've worked closely with third year veterinary students by participating in the UC Davis SVM two week externship program.  This is the time where the students begin to apply all they've learned in veterinary school in a real world, general practice setting.  They work closely with our veterinarians as they perform exams, create treatment plans, educate clients about what's happening with their pet, and even perform medical procedures.  It's a time for them to see first hand how a veterinary hospital operates and what they need to do to manage their patient caseload for the day.  We absolutely enjoy these interactions and love seeing the students learn, grow, and develop their exam room and communication skills.

 If you'd like to participate in this program, talk to your school externship coordinator and call Grant, our hospital co-owner.

Work Experience Program for 1st & 2nd Year Veterinary Students

We started this program in 2024 as a way to connect with 1st and 2nd year veterinary students and give them a chance to develop their hands-on technical skills and start orienting them to what's it's like to work in a general practice.  Some of them have previous veterinary experience, so it's a perfect time to continue developing their skill set.  They work on taking patient histories and talking with clients in the exam room.  They also work with our surgery team to prepare patients for anesthesia and surgery and spend time with our dental team learning how to monitor anesthesia, clean teeth, take full month x-rays, and chart the health of the mouth, teeth, and gums.  For others, this may be their first time in a veterinary practice.  In these instances, we start at the beginning and teach them how to safely restrain patients for medical procedures, take medical histories and patient vitals in the exam room, draw blood, take x-rays, fill prescriptions, and run lab work.  

If you'd like to learn more about this program or apply, please give Shelly, our hospital manager, a call.

Registered Veterinary Technician Externship Program

We work closely with the two veterinary technician schools in Sacramento:  Consumnes River College Veterinary Technology School and Carrington College Vet Tech School.  These externships are typically 160 hours long and are completed in 2-3 months depending on the student's class schedule.  We have one student at a time and they work closely with our registered veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants to learn and practice their fundamentals.  They'll start by learning safe restraint techniques and fear free handling techniques to help patients have a stress free, relaxing visit.  They'll learn how to take histories, measure patient vitals, draw blood, place catheters, administer injections and vaccinations, apply bandages, take x-rays, enter medical notes in the patient history, prepare patients for anesthesia, monitor anesthesia, and assist with surgeries and dental procedures.  Whew.  They stay busy for sure.

If you'd like to apply to this externship program with us, make sure you talk to your school externship program coordinator and call Mimi, our technician supervisor and program coordinator.