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Large Animal Medicine Residency – Farm Animal Emphasis
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Tennessee
The overall goal of this three-year residency program is to provide training and experience to qualify the candidate for certification by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
(ACVIM). This program is approved by ACVIM, follows the General Information Guideline (GIG) from ACVIM (www.ACVIM.org) for training residents, and is supported by 6 ACVIM Diplomates (3 equine, 3 farm animal). The Department
has additional faculty including 6 ACVS, 2 ACVAA, 2 ACT, and 2 ACVSMR Diplomates. The annual total “in house” large animal caseload ranges from 3000-4000 animals/year, and is comprised of approximately 50% horses, 50% Farm animal species (cattle, sheep, goats,
pigs, llamas and alpacas). Of the total “in house” hospital caseload, approximately 50% of the cases are assigned to the equine or farm animal medicine service and include primary and referral cases.
Didactic training is available to residents in various forms, including residents/intern seminars, college conferences and rounds,
internal CE conferneces, and research seminars. Seminars in various specialties are also offered regularly, such as ophthalmology, cardiology, radiology, oncology and critical care and emergency medicine. Additional exposure to journal clubs, morbidity
and mortality rounds, pathology rounds, and ethics rounds are also available. When appropriate, residents will participate in teaching through lectures and laboratory exercises to veterinary students in pre-clinical and clinical settings.
The resident will participate in clinical service during all three years of the program with increasing responsibility that includes primary case management and assisting faculty in the instruction
and supervision of veterinary students. Time will be divided between the equine medicine (30-40%) and the farm animal medicine and surgery services (60-70%) with approximately 46 weeks on clinics during the first year and 40 weeks on clinic duty during the
second and third years. Medicine residents perform in-house emergency duties on a rotating basis with other residents (6) and interns (3) under the guidance of an emergency clinician. Each resident conducts a research project during the residency, but graduate
course studies are not required in this program. Residents are encouraged to enter a graduate program (PhD, MS, MPH) either concurrent with or following the 3-year residency.
Continuation to the second and third years of the program is contingent upon successful completion of each preceding year. Residents are expected to complete requirements for ACVIM board certification
as the residency progresses, including submission of case reports, completion of resident research project, and examinations. Residents are given 2 weeks (10 week days) of vacation per year and share holiday schedules with other interns and residents. Financial
support is provided for residents to attend regional or national meetings during the residency. Residents are encouraged to present papers at state, regional, and specialty meetings. Residents are provided $2,500 during
the 3-year program to support expenses associated with travel and registration for these experiences; an additional $500 per year is provided when presenting a poster or oral presentation.
The starting salary is $28,000/year with at least a $500 increase each year. A parking fee of $30/month is charged by the University of Tennessee parking services and health insurance
is available for $90/month.
The University of Tennessee Large Animal Teaching Hospital is a new 85,000 square feet, state-of-the-art, fully equipped facility with all the diagnostic and therapeutic equipment required for
referral practice, including video endoscopy, ultrasonography, nuclear medicine, radiology, MRI, CT, and laparoscopy. We have had
90% success rate in completion of the program in the past 10 years and 80% success rate in obtaining diplomat status by those completing over the past 10 years.
The University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture, is committed to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. Due to funding limitations, this program is open only to the following
applicants:
- United States Citizens or United States Permanent Residents (those holding a “green” card)
- Those that do not require a VISA to work in the United States
- Those eligible for a Mexican or Canadian NAFTA Professional Worker(TN)VISA
The College provides neither assistance for nor support for obtaining such Employment Authorization.
Our departmental web site address is
https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/departments/Pages/default.aspx.
The following are supervising diplomates of this residency program.
Carla Sommardahl, DVM, PhD, DACVIM-LA, Program Director
Melissa Hines, DVM, PhD, DACVIM-LA
Karen McCormick, DVM, DACVIM-LA
Ricardo Videla, DVM, MS, DACVIM-LA
For all candidates, it is important to note that the program described herein has been approved by the ACVIM, however the ACVIM only has jurisdiction over the assurance of the institution’s ability
to attain minimal standards as set by the ACVIM for board certification. The sponsoring institution provides funding for the position and therefore residency training programs approved by the ACVIM are
not transferrable to other institutions. Further details on the ACVIM approved programs can be obtained at:
http://www.acvim.org/BoardCertification/ResidencyTraining/LAIM/ResidencyTrainingPrograms-LAIM.aspx.
Additional fees for board certification are required by the ACVIM and for 2015-2016 include: Candidate registration: $275; General Exam: $885 new and $605 retake; Credentials: $505; Specialty
Examination: $1255 new and $925 retake.