Humphrey, Giacopuzzi
& Associates
Equine Hospital

(805) 386-4291

Internship & Externship

Internship:

General Duties

The intern is in charge of overseeing all hospital patients.  This includes organizing the morning treatments, evaluating the patient's daily problems, and helping the technicians as needed.  The intern is responsible for writing the treatment orders and SOAPing each case daily.  The intern will provide client and referring doctor updates when the primary doctor is unavailable.

The intern will work with the doctor on each case in making decisions regarding treatment orders.  All changes in treatment and/or medication will be discussed with the doctor assigned to the case before implementing any change.  All hospital referral cases will be managed by a primary doctor, with the intern's assistance.

Anesthesia
The intern will provide anesthesia and recover patients for elective and emergency surgery, if an anesthetic technician is not available.  This usually includes 4 nights per week emergency anesthesia duty and occasional elective procedures.

Surgery
The intern will be called upon to act as an assistant surgeon, as needed.  The intern may act as primary surgeon on procedures he/she feels comfortable doing, such as castrations, wound repair, etc.

Ambulatory
After approximately two weeks of orientation, learning the philosophy of our practice, geographic locations of clients, and our price structure, the intern will be scheduled to do ambulatory calls.  The intern will also be incorporated into the on-call schedule for night emergencies.

If the on-call doctor is overburdened with emergency calls and is unable to respond in a timely manner, the intern may be required to assist with these emergency calls, when they are back-up on call.  Approximately 50% of the intern's time is spent in the hospital and 50% in the field.

Please contact Marsha Spencer, Business Manager, for questions and interviews. 
Marsha can be reached at (805) 386-4291, or you can email your CV and request to her at mspencer@hgae.com.

To provide experience for an individual veterinary medical student relative to a veterinarian's commitment and involvement with the profession;

To provide experience whereby the students and veterinarian may share medical knowledge and its application;

To familiarize students with the daily realities of veterinary medicine, which include clinical, financial, and management decisions.

To increase the variety of clinical cases and client interaction that students encounter during their education;

To acquaint the student with the professional activity and the role of the veterinarian in a community;

To provide the student with an opportunity to apply knowledge gained through formal education to practical situations;

To explore the possibilities of future employment as an intern;
 

Duties of Externs:

Our Student Program Director Dr. Michael W. Giacopuzzi will supervise the student activities.

The extern may be called on to do rounds on assigned hospital cases, or to present a particular topic of interest.  Daily routine starts at approximately 7:30 A.M. when students will assist the technicians with the patient treatments. Students will be incorporated into the assistance of technical duties based on their experience. The time to report to the barn may vary depending on caseload and late night emergencies. The students are required to assist the technicians with the 6pm treatments. Evening and night student assistance will be decided by the Student Program Director and will vary depending upon the caseload.
Students will accompany the veterinarians in the field assisting with and learning about procedures and diagnostic approaches to a variety of equine ambulatory cases.
Students will be involved in hospital diagnostics, therapeutics and surgeries. Students should review and prepare for the next days activities
Students will be given one day off a week. This day will be decided by the Student Program Director. Students are to dress professionally - cotton pants, button up shirts, scrub tops or blouses, no T-shirts.
Students are expected to participate in surgeries, if the procedure requires one. They may also be asked to assist with surgical preparation, or assist with anesthesia.

Responsibilities of the Extern:

Conduct him or herself in a professional and ethical manner.

Follow instructions and carry out assignments as directed by the veterinarian and/or hospital technical staff. 

Honor confidentiality of the doctor-client relationship.

Provide a letter of intent.

There will be no smoking or consumption of alcohol on the premises at any time.
 

Period of Externship:
A minimum of one week is recommended (two to eight weeks are preferred) to completely immerse yourself in the activities of the hospital.
 

Student Qualifications:
Large animal/equine tracks are preferred. Experience in handling and restraint of horses.
 

Housing:
Housing is provided with a kitchenette and laundry facilities, within the hospital. Routine meals will be eaten upstairs in your dorm / lunchroom. The housing area is also used as a meeting room and surgery viewing area for the clients. It is to be presentable and clean at all times.

Transportation to Hospital:
If arriving by personal vehicle, please call for directions. If arriving by air travel, schedule your flight to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) during the day and arrange ground transportation with Roadrunner, call them at (800) 247-7919 to arrange a time to be brought out to the hospital.

A company vehicle is available for students without personal transportation, provided they have a valid drivers license within the U.S. or a valid international drivers license.

The vehicle is for limited routine use to go to the market, etc.

Confirmation/Cancellation:
Please send a letter of confirmation as soon as your travel plans are confirmed.  If for any reason, you are unable to attend as planned, please contact our office immediately so your time slot can be made available to another student.

California State Board Examination:
Some students may wish to take the California state board exams, while here on externship at the appropriate times. Contact: Board of Examiners at 916/263-2610.

For further information contact me by telephone or fax.

Marsha Spencer
Business Manager
(805) 386-4296
(805) 386-4298

mspencer@hgae.com