EXTERNSHIPS
Veterinary Externships Opportunities in Dallas, TX
At Metro Paws Animal Hospital, we are committed to supporting the next generation of veterinary professionals. Our externship program offers hands-on experience in a dynamic, high-quality veterinary setting. Whether you're looking to gain clinical skills or explore the fast-paced environment of emergency medicine, we provide two externship options to help you grow.
Explore our externship opportunities below, or visit our careers page for more ways to join our team!
Option 1: EXTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR VETERINARY STUDENTS
We thoroughly enjoy hosting veterinary students for externships and pride ourselves in getting each student hands-on experience, appropriate to their education and skill level. We welcome students for externships at all stages in their veterinary journey.
You will:
- Circulate through each of our 3 locations during your time with us to better expand your exposure to cases and mentorship
- Shadow the doctors throughout the day and discuss cases
- Help perform and interpret diagnostics
- Interact with clients
- Scrub-in on procedures
- ....and much more!
Housing for externships is possible, depending on availability.
Want to learn more about joining the Metro Paws Animal Hospital team or an externship?
Contact us at [email protected] for more information!
Option 2: THE ACCESS TO CARE VETERINARY EXTERNSHIP
The "Access to Care" veterinary externship is a collaborative program between five organizations in the Dallas and Fort Worth area emphasizing the importance of ensuring veterinary care for all pet owners. We believe veterinary students graduate with a strong desire to help pet owners who may struggle to afford care. This externship broadens students’ understanding of community needs and explores various ways they can make a difference through private practices, nonprofit organizations, and municipal entities.
Students will generally spend 1 day per week with each organization and participation will be in a variety of areas within each group. This program can be customized depending on the length of the student’s externship with flexible dates and lengths to fit your 4th year rotation schedule.
We may have a stipend in the future so be sure to ask!
Contact Dr. Lavender at [email protected] for more details on signing up, weekly schedule, and any potential financial or lodging assistance.
Check program availability here.
Day-by-Day Externship Overview
Time at our Metro Paws Animal Hospital will expose externs to a busy environment in an underserved area of Dallas. We are a general practice with a heavy ER/walk-in caseload. Many clients are cost conscious, and this practice excels at finding treatment plans that are possible for owners. They offer significantly discounted feral cat packages to help control feral cat colon and reduce the number of stray cats. Two DVMs are heavily involved with the Spay & Neuter Network (SNN) and low cost spay/neuter is presented to owners as a viable alternative to in-house spay or neuter.
Metro Paws Animal Hospital was the first hospital in Dallas to partner with the Texas A&M based TVMF Pals (Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation). This practice also works with the City of Dallas and multiple rescue organizations. The goal of this rotation is to demonstrate how even a profit-based practice can help ensure veterinary care is accessible.
Students will spend a day at each shelter, Operation Kindness and the City of Dallas Shelter; gaining firsthand insight into the differences between private and municipal shelter operations. Both facilities offer in-house veterinary care and sterilization services. During their time at these shelters, students will experience various aspects of shelter operations—from intake and assessment to adoption and everything in between.
Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation serves as a direct link between pet owners and access to veterinary care through their Lending Economic Assistance for Pets (LEAP) program. As many Meals on Wheels clients are housebound, getting their pet to a clinic for care can be a challenge. LEAP helps coordinate transportation of pets in need of medical care. Meals on Wheels also provides pet food to their clients, ensuring the meals delivered to people are consumed by them rather than shared with their pets. Externs may help sort food for delivery or make MOW pet food deliveries, allowing direct contact with the pets and people in need. Time may also be spent transporting pets to/from veterinary appointments and helping pet owners understand the medical needs of their pet (likely only 1 day per externship, does not repeat subsequent weeks).
The Spay & Neuter Network (SNN) is a private non-profit low cost spay and neuter organization. Jennifer Lavender, DVM, runs an HQHV spay neuter mentorship program at one of their locations. Externs will spend the day in the trenches of a busy spay neuter clinic. They will be expected to participate in all areas of spay neuter, such as – check in, pre-op exams, prep, induction, surgery, recovery, and discharge. Get ready to be busy!
