Expectations and achievements of UK Interns in University Based Programmes

Veterinary internships are a common path to career specialisation but there is a lack of standardisation of these programmes. A cohort of 23 interns at 2 academic institutions in the U.K were surveyed anonymously using an on-line survey system for their expectations and opinions at the start and end of the programme. A combination of Likert scale responses and rankings were used. Interns identified that the reputation of the programme, being university based, rotating internships and intern specific teaching as being very important when selecting their internship. Interns thought that the internship would help them to develop non-technical skills rather than practical skills when asked at the start of the programme and this was confirmed in the post-internship questionnaire. In common with recent graduates, interns identified non-technical skills as important attributes that would define a good intern. Most of the interns in university based programmes intended on entering further post-graduate training at the end of their internship. The majority of interns in these programmes would recommend internships to their peers and would repeat the experience. This is the first study to explore the expectations of interns in university based programmes.