Veterinary Pet Insurance's annual student externship presents an exciting chance for future veterinarians to learn fundamental business concepts and specific information about pet insurance. The one-week rotation takes place at the company's southern California headquarters. This rewarding program is an ideal way to add vital business experience to your resume.
One-Week Externship Awarded
Selected from a national applicant pool, one lucky student gains an in-depth understanding of how VPI operates and how pet insurance products are designed. Most importantly, the chosen applicant learns how veterinary clinicians, pet owners and pets all benefit from increased pet insurance utilization.
Externship Candidate Benefits:
- Accommodations: VPI will provide five nights of accommodations at a hotel adjacent to the company's corporate headquarters in Southern California.
- Salary: Extern will receive an hourly rate of $12 for a five-day work week (intended to help cover travel and meal expenses during the externship week).
- Invaluable experience: Extern will gain insight into the inner workings of the company that has defined the U.S. pet insurance industry since 1982.
Please note: The extern will be responsible for all travel, meal and entertainment expenses.
VPI's 2011 Student Extern
The 2011 VPI Student Externship was awarded to Ilyssa Meren, a student from Cornell University. The following are a few things Ilyssa had to say about her externship experience:
"Over the course of my week at VPI, I learned a lot about pet insurance. I feel comfortable explaining pet insurance and its benefits to a client. As a furture veterinarian, it is important to be the advocate for your patients and clients, and understanding how their insurance plans work is incredibly important for knowing how they can and will spend their money in the face of an emergency. This is something that through my experience with VPI and the VPI-VBMA Student Case Study Competition, I feel prepared to do."
"I also feel capable of explaining to my peers the differences between human medical insurance and pet insuranace, and why we should not fear insurance as it grows within our profession, but embrace it as a tool to help our clients choose the best health care options for their pets, all while benefiting our practices financially."
Yorba Regional Animal Hospital
Included in the week-long VPI externship, Yorba Regional Animal Hospital hosts student externs for a day of hands-on experience. Yorba Regional Animal Hospital is one of Orange County's premier veterinary hospitals, offering students a wide array of exposure to full-service veterinary medical services and practice management concepts.
Yorba Regional Animal Hospital is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association and is a teaching hospital for Western University School of Veterinary Medicine's third year student clinical rotations.
Interested in the Externship Program?
To learn more about the Spring/Summer VPI Externship, contact VPI's Veterinary Education Program Coordinator at students@petinsurance.com.
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit, via e-mail, a cover letter and resume. Resume and cover letter submissions will be accepted from April 2012 to February 2013. The final deadline for submissions is February 15th, 2013, at which time all cover letter and resume submissions will be reviewed.
The chosen candidate will be notified by March 15th, 2013 and requested to provide which weeks (Monday through Friday) they are available during the months of April to June. VPI understands how demanding school schedules can be; we will do our best to accommodate the chosen candidate's school commitments.