To: Dale Sullivan
From: Shantel Julius
Subject: Job search packet report
Date: June 7, 2004
I have investigated internship opportunities at Pipestone System/Pipestone Veterinary Clinic in Pipestone, Minnesota.
Pipestone System/Pipestone Veterinary Clinic is a growing company, and has been very successful throughout the years. An internship with this company allows a student to expand their knowledge in veterinary medicine, as well as gain an insight into the world of large scale swine production. It also gives the student a job option following college graduation.
Pipestone Veterinary Clinic has been in existence since before 1960, and since that time it has grown immensely. Presently, the clinic is staffed
with ten full-time veterinarians, each with their own division of
expertise. The clinic is located in the heart of prosperous agricultural
crop and pasture land. Being located in such an area has allowed the
Veterinary Clinic to become a leader in livestock production nationwide.
Despite offering several traditional veterinary services, the Clinic has
expanded to offer several non-traditional services also.
The Pipestone Veterinary Clinic not only expanded in the number of veterinarians employed and services offered throughout the years, but they also added Pipestone System to their corporation. Pipestone System is a chain of swine confinements throughout the Southwestern Minnesota area and parts of Northern Iowa. Through a philosophy developed by Dr. G.F. Kennedy, the head veterinarian at Pipestone, the System has allowed local family pork producers to maintain ownership of confinements while capturing efficiencies on a larger scale of production.
Throughout a fifteen week time-period the internship allows the intern to see every aspect of swine production on a larger scale. For two days the intern will work at a Boar Stud, where they will learn about semen collection, preservation, and distribution. The next four weeks the intern will work in a Gestation and Breeding Swine Unit. At this unit the intern learns about artificially inseminating sows and the different stages of estrous and reproduction in swine. The following four weeks are spent at a Farrowing Unit. Here the intern learns the care and treatment of sows that are farrowing (birthing), and also the care and treatment of piglets. The next four week period is spent at a Nursery/Finisher Unit. At this unit the intern learns the stages of production from weaning to slaughter and weaning to breeding. The intern will spend the next week working one on one with a veterinarian at the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic. Here the intern gains hands on experience of what the veterinary profession is like. The following week the intern has the choice of returning to a swine unit for further learning or to continue working with the veterinarian. Throughout this experience it is hopeful that the intern gains knowledge of veterinary medicine, treatment of swine and their many stages of production, and that they may also become interested in Pipestone System/Pipestone Veterinary Clinic as a career opportunity.
The purpose of an internship with Pipestone System/Pipestone Veterinary Clinic is to not only gain experience in the world of veterinary medicine, but also to gain experience in swine production. Throughout the internship you learn about veterinary medicine by working at swine facilities for a fifteen week period, and for the last week of the internship you have the opportunity to shadow a veterinarian. By participating in this internship it gives you the opportunity to learn about swine production, but it also allows you to explore career opportunities for both the System and the Veterinary Clinic.
Working in a swine unit for a summer is not extremely appealing to me, but the experience that I can gain from it is. I feel that I would be an excellent candidate for this internship because I have an undying desire to learn more about veterinary medicine. I think that it would be a very good experience for me to work in swine units, because I would gain knowledge of an animal I have never worked with. I have worked extensively with cattle, sheep, horses, and companion animals, and through that I have learned patience with animals and proper treatment of animals. The experience would not only benefit me, but so would the people I will meet. If I were to have an internship in a veterinary clinic where ten veterinarians are employed I could possibly establish a solid working relationship with them. That type of relationship would benefit me greatly when I apply to veterinary school, and am in need of veterinarians for references.