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 $10 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 2009 Student Extern
The 2009 VPI Student Externship was awarded to Michelle Larsen, a student from Virgina-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. The following are a few things Michelle had to say about her externship experience:
"My week at VPI showed me that pet insurance can bridge that gap between medical advancement, higher costs, and an owner's love for a family member if we understand how an insurance company operates. As veterinarians we must understand and educate clients on pet insurance if we want to continue to offer the best medical treatment options possible.
"My externship at VPI provided a valuable and unique experience in a field that is becoming essential to small animal medicine and is lacking from traditional veterinary education. I hope that VPI continues their support of the profession and vet students and that in the future VPI can expand their externship to reach more students."
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 to February of the following year. The final deadline for submissions is February 15th, at which time all cover letter and resume submissions will be reviewed.
The chosen candidate will be notified by March 15th 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.