Small Animal Internal Medicine Residency

The Internal Medicine Residency Program (Small Animal) is a 3-year program designed to provide advanced clinical training in internal medicine and related fields leading to ACVIM certification in internal medicine. Residents are required to participate in primary patient care, daily rounds, seminars and clinical conferences. Time is provided for professional development. Residents are required to develop research projects and prepare manuscripts for publication. The residency also provides the opportunity to attend lectures and rounds at Boston and Worcester's many neighboring human medical centers. As part of the training program, the residents will participate in the clinical teaching of second, third and fourth year veterinary students.

Training will occur in the Foster Hospital for Small Animals, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, MA, which is approximately 40 miles west of Boston. A major portion of the residency will be spent with various specialists on clinical rotations. Specialists in internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, oncology, critical care/ emergency medicine, ophthalmology, clinical pathology, radiology, and nutrition will provide advanced training throughout the residency period.

Appointments will be made for 12 months with annual renewal based on satisfactory completion of the previous year. A certificate of residency is awarded to the candidate upon successful completion of the training program. Residents participate in the University benefits programs, including health and life insurance. Annual vacation, a travel allotment and professional liability insurance is provided. Participation in the TIAA-CREF retirement plan (conditional upon completion of the three-year program) is available.

Interviews are available upon request. If travel is a problem, telephone interviews are available as well. For further information contact Dr. Linda Ross, Director of SAM Residency Program, email linda.ross@tufts.edu.

Submit application to Joanne Melesky, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536. Rather than a letter, referees should send us a evaluation form to Joanne Melesky, email joanne.melesky@tufts.edu.

Year One
The primary goal of the first year is to provide training that will lead to clinical proficiency. Each resident will rotate through internal medicine, medicine subspecialties, and emergency/critical care medicine clinical duty in our hospital, working under the direct and indirect supervision of the faculty.

The resident is responsible for the day-to-day organization of the service, including supervision of students, SOAPing of inpatient cases and assessment of immediate patient needs. Final responsibility rests with the faculty. The hospital has a heavy clinical caseload, and it is anticipated that the resident will be involved in activities of the veterinary teaching hospital for approximately 60 to 80 hours per week. Weekend medicine case coverage and weekend and overnight rotations on critical care/emergency medicine are part of the program.

Approximately 6 weeks of personal development time is available to first year residents. This time is used for working on projects, papers, assigned reading, and vacation. During this time, the resident is expected to be in his/her office and attending on-campus conferences and seminars unless approval for off-campus endeavors has been arranged. Special leave forms must be completed prior to off-campus endeavors.

The resident will conduct and/or participate in weekly seminars and medicine/pathology conferences. Attendance is mandatory at these programs. Each resident will give one formal seminar a year on a topic of his or her choice. Presently, the hospital has numerous weekly educational conferences.

Residents are responsible for teaching students during their clinical rotations and will participate in teaching laboratories and lectures.

Advisors are assigned to each resident. The faculty advisor need not be the sponsor of the resident’s research, but is responsible for assisting the resident in meeting his/her professional goals, including formation of projects and preparation of presentations and papers. Ideally, a research project should be underway and work begun on one publication by the end of the first year.

Year Two
The second year resident will continue participation in the teaching hospital/small animal medicine and critical care program, and will be encouraged to develop specific interests.

Generally, up to 10 to 12 weeks of personal development time are available to second year residents, during which time the resident project should be completed. Ideally, a manuscript should be written and submitted for publication. The resident is expected to register for and take the internal medicine general examination at the end of year 2. Continued participation in weekly seminars and conferences is expected.

Year Three
During this year, the resident has approximately 75% of their time allotted to clinical duties, either as a resident on faculty service or as a chief resident with supervision of a teaching or non-teaching service. Teaching responsibilities include student and junior resident teaching and evaluation. Close consultation with faculty is encouraged while residents are operating a chief resident service. The opportunity exists for additional time to pursue advanced research training if the resident has obtained appropriate funding from extramural sources for their salary, fringe, and overhead costs.

It is anticipated that the third year will be used to complete credentials requirements (case reports, publications) for the ACVIM certification examination.

Current Schedule of Conferences and Seminars

Tufts Residents Enhanced Veterinary Education & Academic Learning (REVEAL) Program:
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has a five-year NIH education grant focusing on veterinary residents, with the goal of attracting veterinarians to academic and research careers. The program is designed to first create the desire to pursue research and then to nurture these candidates with strong mentoring and programs, and readily accessible research opportunities. The program includes: 1) Symposia on spontaneous animal models of human disease to provide greater interaction with researchers from other disciplines and to increase opportunities for collaborative research; 2) a multi-function website to facilitate research including web-based courses on laboratory techniques and applied statistical methods; 3) an academic seminar series that includes topics to foster an interest in research and to facilitate research training; 4) short-term introductory research electives; 5) intensive research training electives; and 6) an active mentoring program. For more information contact Dr. Lisa Freeman or visit the website: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/reveal.

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