Specialist Training
Internal Medicine

Objective

The aim of residency training is to promote aptitude and clinical proficiency in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of companion animals with internal medicine diseases.
 
The training programmes and broad-based ECVIM-CA examinations ensures that a specialist in internal medicine has sound knowledge of basic sciences (anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology) of the internal organs in health and disease.
 

Internal medicine specialists have broad training in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology/hepatology, haematology (including clinical immunology), nephrology, neurology (including behaviour problems), oncology, and pulmonology.

Examples of cases typically managed by an internal medicine specialist include animals presenting with anorexia, polyphagia, polydipsia/polyuria, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, dyspnoea, decreased endurance, obesity, anaemia, icterus, urinary incontinence, pyrexia, episodic weakness or seizures.

A Specialist in Internal Medicine can:

  • Perform physical and laboratory diagnosis, management and prognosis of internal medicine diseases of small animals.
  • Perform or interpret specialized laboratory studies used in the examination of internal medicine diseases.

    These include:

    • Specialised endocrine, metabolic or genetic disease testing
    • Interpretation of diagnostic imaging findings
    • Tissue sampling
    • Endoscopy of the respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary tracts
    • Make a diagnostic and treatment plan for each patient

  • Perform some interventional procedures
  • Manage emergency medical cases

If you are interested in applying for an ECVIM-CA Internship or Residency Programme, please consult our list of vacancies.