Waller Equine Hospital Externship Program

Our externship positions are available year round for veterinary students 1DVM-4DVM. We allow up to three veterinary externs at a time. Onsite housing for up to three externs is provided. Our goals of the externship are to provide mentorship to veterinary students in a fast paced primary care, referral, and emergency hospital. The responsibilities of the extern are to assist the doctors with in-house patients, emergencies, and appointments. There are 1-8 week slots available (you choose the number of weeks you want to extern). The hours during your externship are Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, on call no less than 2 weeknights and 1 weekend day/night for every week you are externing. "On call" means that you come in for emergencies after hours.

Staffing number and tasks:

We have two boarded surgeons, and three general practitioners. Our treatment area is staffed with 3 highly trained licensed technicians, 20 assistants/barn personnel responsible for patient care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 3 front office staff members. Our licensed technicians are primarily responsible for overseeing the assistants, anesthesia, client communication, managing our clients individual parasite programs, lab work, and inventory. Our assistants are responsible for assisting the doctors with daily appointments, in house patient care, instrument sterilization, patient transport services, and maintaining the bio-security protocols. The front office makes and receives appointments, manages all of our larger barn accounts, accounts receivable, in house patient updates,  patient follow ups, routine reminders, estimates, and Facebook, Twitter and website account management.

Type of practice: 100% equine

Practice facilities:

Waller Equine Hospital sits on 9 acres of beautiful pasture land on FM 2920 Road northwest of Houston in Waller, TX. Our main building consists of a reception area, administrative office, veterinary offices, an employee and client lounge/conference area, pharmacy, digital radiography viewing, laboratory, and a large surgical suite with two recovery/induction stalls, and a reproduction lab. We have internship and externship housing on site.

The patient facility consists of an indoor and outdoor exam area, a breeding shed, 5 intensive care stalls, 15 hospital stalls, an isolation unit, 13 large paddocks, and 2 pastures. Diagnostic equipment such as digital radiography both in house and in the field, repro/tendon/abdominal ultrasound, video endoscopy/gastroscopy, PRP centrifuge, Anderson sling, dental power float, video arthroscopic and laparascopic equipment, internal fixation equipment, regenerative laser, shockwave, blood gas analysis, gas anesthesia, positive pressure ventilation, ECG, direct blood pressure monitoring, in house culturing, complete blood cell counts, and biochemical profiles. We have 4 ambulatory vehicles, and a hauling service. 

Name of vets in practice:

Christopher P. Boutros DVM, DVSc, DACVS

Jennifer Whyard BVetMed, MRCVS, DACVS - LA

Erica Beadle, DVM

Jessica Bush, DVM

Nicolette Michelli, DVM (intern veterinarian)

Estrella Barriga, DVM (intern veterinarian)

Case Load:

General health care: Dentistry, vaccines, coggins, skin disease, exams, and castrations.

Reproduction: Artificial insemination 100 cases/year, stallion collection 55 cases/year, semen freezing 4 stallions/year, problem mares, high risk foaling.

Surgery: 85% Soft tissue, and 15% orthopedic.  Approximately 42 colic surgeries/year

Referral: Emergencies, surgeries, medicine, lameness

Type of cases as percentage:

15% emergency (colic, lacerations, neuro)

20% Lameness, pre purchase

15% referral

20% General health (vaccines, coggins, exams, skin disease, castrations)

10% Reproduction

20% surgery

Estimated breakdown of daily load:

Hospital hours are Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm and Saturdays 10am – 2pm. We are available for after-hours emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Externs and technicians are responsible for morning assessments and treatments on hospitalized patients. We see approximately 36 horses per day with 2 daytime emergencies. We see approximately 2.5 horses per night/weekend on emergency.