When it came time for Zach Lembersky, a fourth-year veterinary student at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, to schedule his externship rotations, he reached out to pursue a few different opportunities but had trouble receiving a response. Following a lunch and learn Thrive Pet Healthcare hosted at his university, Zach promptly arranged externships with two Thrive Pet Healthcare Partners – Baton Rouge Veterinary Specialists (LA) and Pet Specialists of Austin (TX).

“When this opportunity came up and I saw how great the communication was, I knew it was a good way to go. I feel like once I started talking with Thrive, it hasn’t really stopped,” Zach remarks.

Externships are as much an opportunity for hospitals to make an impression on students as they are a chance for students to explore different practice areas and specialties they may pursue in the future. Typically spanning two to four weeks, these immersive, experiential learning opportunities help veterinary students translate academic knowledge into real-world application within a veterinary hospital setting.

“I’m trying to absorb as much as I can, trying to learn how to be the doctor, be the leader, so it’s nice to get the opportunity to be up close and learn. I was learning a ton when I was with Dr. Bordelon [with Baton Rouge Veterinary Specialists], but he also gave me the opportunity to really show what I knew. And I’m super excited to learn from Dr. Jha [with Pet Specialists of Austin] – that will be one of my last rotations, and I’m excited to try to work as if I’m already graduated and move on to that private practice feel,” says Lembersky.

Externships are an excellent way for hospitals to attract and retain talented veterinary professionals long-term. Thrive’s Veterinary Student Externship Program takes a “Thrive for Life” approach, expanding the traditional externship focus beyond fourth-year veterinary students to include shadowing and externship opportunities for first-, second-, and third-year students. No matter where they are in their journey, there’s a place for every veterinary student to learn, grow, and feel supported at Thrive Pet Healthcare.

Since Thrive Pet Healthcare's Veterinary Student Externship Program kicked off in October of 2021, nearly 500 students have been placed in externships across more than 200 hospitals in its nationwide network. These opportunities span Thrive’s continuum of care, with rotations available in GP, urgent care, emergency, and specialty within small, large, and mixed animal hospitals.

By providing proactive, attentive, “white glove” support to externs, no matter which hospital they might be rotating through, Thrive hopes to set future veterinarians up for success early in their career while making a lasting impact on their development through hands-on learning opportunities, mentorship, and individual support.

For Memi Pearsall, a veterinary student at Virginia Tech, externship rotations are helping her gain clarity around her future goals. She has a deep interest in ophthalmology – and more specifically, equine ophthalmology – so Thrive connected her with Dr. Rustin Sturgeon, National Specialty Director of Ophthalmology and board-certified ophthalmologist at Eye Care for Animals (ECFA), a Thrive Pet Healthcare Partner. He ultimately secured her a spot with ECFA Tucson’s Dr. Sara Erlichman, who frequently sees horses, as well as two other rotations at ECFA Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Memi also expressed interest in learning what general practice would look like in an urban environment, having only experienced GP in a relatively rural community in her home state of Virginia. After mentioning that she’d love to live in New York City, she jumped at the opportunity to extern at Astoria Veterinary Group (AVG), a Thrive Pet Healthcare Partner.

“My two weeks with Astoria Veterinary Group definitely changed my opinion on what can be done in general practice – seeing that they took on difficult cases and emergencies, the veterinarians are super knowledgeable about what they do, and the culture was positive. They were also really good about making sure that I was taking care of myself, which is not something many places do for externs or interns. It showed me that the culture and the people I’m around are honestly the most important factors in what I enjoy in a job.”