The four French National Veterinary Schools (ENVF) each offer a training program for interns in companion animal medicine and surgery.

Recruitment for these internships takes place through a national competitive examination common to all four ENVs.

Objectives

The internship in the small animal medicine and surgery is a training to and through the clinic aiming at :

  • an in-depth command of the knowledge and skills necessary for the medicine and surgery of dogs and cats, and for their management in critical situations.
  • a familiarization with the use of the means of documentation and communication in the dog and cat clinic.

Internship positions available in the schools in 2022-2023 :

  • ENVT : 20
  • EnvA : 24
  • Oniris : 20
  • VetAgro Sup : 20

Organisation

Interns are considered as student for the duration of their training lasting 12 months, i.e. an average of 48 weeks of clinical activity.

The training of each intern is organized on the basis of the following criteria :

  • The training of each intern is supervised and guided individually by a tutor;
  • weekly rotations in the different sectors of the pet clinics (emergencies, internal and general medicine, surgery, anesthesia-intensive care, dermatology, ophthalmology, imaging and theriogenology) under the responsibility of lecturers, hospital practitioners, residents;
  • weekly theoretical training conferences;
  • the preparation and presentation of a seminar and a clinical case report.

The interns participate in :

  • consultations, surgeries, complementary examinations and the follow-up of dogs and cats in the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vétérinaire des Animaux de Compagnie (CHUVAC)
  • the supervision of students and trainees at the CHUVAC.

The validation of the internship is based on the evaluation of :

  • performance during clinical placements,
  • the presentation of the seminar,
  • the oral and written report of the clinical case.

They are then awarded the national diploma of Internship in companion animal medicine and surgery.

Admission

Admission is common to the four French National Veterinary Schools (ENVF) through a national competitive exam.

Application procedure 2022

Closing date for applications : Monday 20 December 2021 – midnight

Closing date for choice of training institution :  Friday 25 March 2022 – 14:00

  • Publication of admission : Monday 24 January 2021
  • Written admission test : Friday 4 February 2022
  • Closing date for choice of training institution : Friday 25 March 2022 – 2 p.m.
  • Oral admission test : Monday 28 March to Friday 1 April 2022 (at Oniris-Nantes)
  • Publication of admission results (web): Monday 4 April 2022
  • Validation of the choice of institution proposed based on ranking: from Monday 4 April 10am to Friday 8 April 2022
  • Publication of registrations by institution: Wednesday 13 April 2022
  • Start of training : September 2022

More information on the competition and the procedures

Testimonials from former interns

It is a tiring year, both physically and psychologically, but it is also and above all a very rewarding year.

 

Mathieu, intern, companion animal clinic

 

Sarah Faucher, 2019-2020

I did my internship year in companion animal medicine at ENVT in 2019-2020. This training year was a key year in my training. It allowed me to develop many skills in terms of knowledge, independence, technical acts, pedagogy but also management of animal owners. But above all, it allowed me to gain maturity in terms of learning, scientific approach and to gain confidence, which seemed to me to be essential as a transition to working life. Finally, I was able to confirm my desire to pursue a career in the university environment in order to develop an essential element of my training, which is the transmission of knowledge, either with my supervisors, my co-interns or the students.

Laurence M. Saint-Pierre, 2014-2015

I did my rotational internship at ENVT just after I got my veterinary degree. At that time, I was already thinking about specializing but I wasn’t sure which field I preferred between internal medicine or emergency care. Despite the workload, and the low income, I was able to do internships abroad and acquire the necessary skills to be an accomplished clinician (both theoretical and practical) during this extra year! The major advantage of this internship is the excellent supervision it provides in each specialty. Moreover, as a resident in intensive care in an American university, I can say that the internship at ENVT has nothing to envy to the universities on the other side of the Atlantic! I made unforgettable contacts and even if it wasn’t easy every day, I would do it again without hesitation!