The internal medicine residency at the RVC is a three-year programme that satisfies the requirements for certification in both the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Small Animal Internal Medicine (ACVIM-SAIM) and the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Companion Animal (ECVIM-ca).

The primary goal of the programme is to ensure that you become a diplomate of at least one of these colleges on completion of your residency.

The objectives of the medicine residency are as follows:

• To provide advanced clinical training in the diagnosis and management of medical problems in dogs and cats.
• To prepare the resident for a career in academia or referral practice by additionally providing training in both teaching and research
• To foster wisdom, compassion and integrity.

There is an emphasis on clinical duties, with the majority of the residency being spent participating in the clinical services of the QMHA. While on the internal medicine service you will see referred cases, take responsibility for patients transferred from the emergency and critical care (ECC) service and also undertake evening and weekend duties on a shared rota. The service is supported by ten faculty members; typically three or four of these will be on clinical service at any time and responsible for the day-to-day supervision of residents. The degree of supervision is modulated as you progress through the programme. The internal medicine service additionally benefits from the multi-disciplinary strength of the QMHA with close collaboration with other services for the optimal management of patients. The faculty of the internal medicine service at the RVC have particular strengths in the areas of gastroenterology, endocrinology, haematology and nephrology/urology and these are our current areas of active clinical research although it is possible for residents to develop research projects in other areas.

See here for further information about the faculty of the QMHA Internal Medicine Service. You will also undertake rotations in the following areas: anaesthesia, emergency & critical care, diagnostic imaging, oncology, cardiology, clinical pathology and neurology. Additionally you will have a four week ‘elective’ block in the second year of your residency during which you are encouraged to visit external institutions, often abroad. Examples of recent elective rotations include radiation therapy, haemodialysis, interventional radiology and feline medicine within the veterinary field, as well as visits to human hospitals.

All internal medicine residents are required to complete the MVetMed programme. We encourage any prospective medicine residents to visit us, speak with our current residents and see first-hand how the service operates. Ideally this visit would be timed before we meet to decide who to select for interview, typically this is 2 weeks after the closing date for applications. Visits to the QMHA can be arranged by emailing QMHvisitors@rvc.ac.uk

Selection criteria for the Residency in Internal Medicine

 Along with the attributes and qualifications required it is also desirable if you have:

• Completion of a one year small animal rotating internship programme in a multi-disciplinary specialist referral centre
• Evidence of high motivation for development of clinical skills in the field of small animal internal medicine (e.g. clinical exposure, CPD, certificate qualifications)
• Time spent working in clinical practice (either first opinion or internship) in an English-speaking country

Further information  

• QMHA Internal Medicine Service
• Internal Medicine Alumni 
• ACVIM 
• ECVIM

If you have any queries about the internal medicine Residency please contact Professor Harriet (Hattie) Syme (hsyme@rvc.ac.uk).

For general information about the programme see: Residencies.

How to apply

For details see How To Apply.