Interns are important members of the SouthPaws family.   We are fortunate this year to have three very bright and extremely motivated interns, Drs. Larissa Katz, Valarie Pallatto, and Elissa Thorndike.  The entire internship process (the interviews, applications, the waiting, match day, and then the actual internship year) is quite lengthy and begins long before the interns arrive at SouthPaws for their year of clinical training and practice.

The annual internship and residency match program is administered through the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians (AAVC).  Most intern candidates are senior veterinary students, but some candidates are practicing veterinarians looking for an extra year of training with specialists or hope the internship may serve as a springboard towards a residency program.  At this time of year, intern candidates have sent in their applications and ranked list of preferred programs, while the institutions are looking through these application to rank their applicants.  Candidates rank intern programs based on criteria such as university vs. private practice, specialties offered, location and intensity of the program (some internships are more grueling than others).  Intern programs rank their candidates based on statistical information such as grades and class rank, but more emphasis is placed on letters of recommendations as well as the candidate's interview and personal statement.  In March of every year, the AAVC puts all of the rank lists from the candidates and the institutions into a computer program and out pops "The Match".  "The  Match" is a best-fit match between the candidates' ranking of institutions and the institutions' ranking of candidates.  SouthPaws has five internship positions in the match for the upcoming internship year (July 1, 2001- June 30, 2002).

The SouthPaws internship is divided up into two- week rotations on the various specialty services at SouthPaws as well as time for rotations outside of our practice.  SouthPaws CritiCare is extremely