ER Academy is a 1-Year, emergency medicine-focused internship designed for new graduates. Our goal is to provide training encompassing high-quality emergency care and client communication, in addition providing the tools needed for a long career in emergency medicine.

Interns are scheduled with a senior veterinarian committed to your mentorship. This allows for the presentation of cases and feedback as you are seeing patients. You will also have primary case responsibility within the 1st month and will be cutting surgical cases as your experience develops.

The interns across all locations will join for orientation, a symposium retreat, surgical training, and weekly didactic rounds. This collaboration allows for improved continuing education through journal clubs, grand rounds, case rounds as well as a larger community of interns.

By the end of the internship year, you will be well-versed in most emergency medicine presentations and be proficient in typical ER skills, procedures, and surgeries. At completion of the internship, you will be highly marketable and capable of comfortably going into any emergency veterinary facility with the tools needed to succeed

The Fort Collins Veterinary Emergency and Rehab Hospital (FCVERH) and PETS Emergency Hospital are sister clinics located in the beautiful Front Range of Colorado. Both facilities are open 24/7/365 to provide emergency and critical care to the small animal companions of the local communities.

Our internship program was established over 17 years ago and was one of the founding members of the Thrive ER Academy. We have collaborated with other Thrive hospitals offering a similar program in emergency medicine to provide the framework for what ER Academy is today. With very high rates of completion paired with high-quality medicine, this internship will set you up for success in your career in veterinary medicine.

Interns split their time evenly between the Fort Collins and Evans/Greeley locations to work with various cases, clientele, and mentors. Both hospitals are AAHA and VECCS certified, fully equipped, including digital radiography, ultrasound, surgical suites with electrocautery and Ligasures, CCU oxygen cages, and endoscopy, and provide a spectrum of care for their patients and clients. We are in the process of building a brand-new hospital for PETS, which will triple our functional space for this growing practice. Our staff doctors collectively have years of ER experience and enjoy mentoring interns who are motivated to learn.
The ER Academy provides a structured program with diminishing oversight to develop competent emergency veterinary clinicians learning clinical and interpersonal skills.

Starting your first day on the clinic floor, ER Academy immerses you in emergency medicine as the primary clinician seeing a wide range of cases. Interns are integral to the hospital team and can expect to work most weekends and holidays to maximize their internship experience. You are scheduled on shift with a senior clinician dedicated to mentoring and ensuring your success while allowing you to be an independent doctor. The program features phased oversight, with no shifts working alone for at least the first six months.
You will be supervised in surgery with the goal of being competent in emergency soft tissue surgeries such as C-sections, pyometra, gastrotomies, enterotomies, R&As, GDV/gastropexies, splenectomies, cystotomies, and sometimes amputations.
Thrive Pet Healthcare supports our interns with a comprehensive package including:

• $75,000 annual salary
• Scheduled on shift no more than 50 hours/ week
• Orientation & symposium retreat in Austin, TX
• Medical, Dental and Vision Coverage
• VIN, AVMA and IVECCS Membership
• State and DEA Licenses reimbursement
• Continuing Education Opportunities
• 40 hrs PTO
• Professional Liability Coverage
• Thrive U for unlimited, no-cost CE
• FASTVet Emergency Ultrasound Training
• Resilience and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training (MBSR)
• Basic and Advanced Life Support online CPR training through VECCS Recover CPR Initiative.
• Surgical and Endoscopy Training
• Eligibility for Life and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Eligibility to Participate in 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid Parental Leave & Purr-ental Leave
• Pet Care Discounts and More

At Thrive Pet Healthcare, we celebrate and embrace the uniqueness and diversity of all our team members, pet parents, and pets. We strive to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture where all team members belong and feel empowered.

For other questions, please contact - houseofficerprograms@thrivepet.com.