4 Feb 2025
Fergal McDermott MVB, talks over the pros and cons of these options when making important career choices.
Image: © Olena Zn / Adobe Stock
There is both excitement and rigmarole associated with the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Process (VIRMP) – the “match” is the means by which you obtain an internship or a residency in North America.
While I did not always want to become a vet, during most of my time as a vet student in Dublin, I was secretly obsessed with the idea of doing a residency. I had it all planned out. I was to get my foot in the door through the match and then basically match my way upwards towards a residency.
Within two years of beginning an internship in Canada, I found myself moving back to Europe with my tail between my legs feeling like a failure. Finally, five years later, I am in my first year of residency at Utrecht University (pictured), and I am grateful for the stepping stone the match provided me.
Time spent in both the US and European residency application systems has given me insights into both, and here is how I think they compare to one another. I have never worked in the UK, but I am assuming the system works in a similar way to the rest of Europe.
In general, the differences are mostly culture related, and I think there are more options available in mainland Europe than people realise if they are willing to learn a new language.
In a nutshell, for the match, you are required to provide your university information/transcripts, a CV, a cover letter of intent and three letters of recommendation. You choose what or where you apply for out of a list of 10 (unless you pay for more), and you rank your choices in descending order; eventually, the places you apply for rank their applicants in the same way and you end up getting offered what the “match” of rankings on both sides is – that is if you are offered anything.
As a student, the match seemed like the logical step for me for several reasons. University College Dublin is American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited, there had been several Dublin graduates who became specialised in North America and, not unimportantly, I knew my grades were not good enough for European/UK options.
Advantages of the VIRMP are the sheer number of options available and the relative impartiality of it. There were about 1,000 small animal rotating internship positions available in the match in 2024, although not all are truly obtainable for people from UK and Europe through visa rules and such like.
With the VIRMP, people commonly apply across North America, and it is the norm to relocate frequently, so although preference is probably given to good, local workers from within a clinic, for the most part applications are judged based on the quality of the applicant and their CV. This is not always the case in Europe.
The match is exciting and a wonderful means to explore North America. Match day is very exciting, and matching with the University of Saskatchewan and the process of getting a Canadian visa are some of my most cherished memories.
It is very exciting to explore other parts of the world, and it can be a good ego boost to represent the clinic that you match to, but the hierarchical culture can be a bit smothering. The shifts can be hard, but you make lots of friends from around the world and are exposed to inspiring specialists and faculties.
Because internships and residencies have fixed lengths, if you play the game successfully, the path to specialisation can be relatively quick, which is another advantage over the European system, depending on how you view it.
This game and the culture is not for everyone, and you should ask yourself firstly: do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?
The idea of working in big hospitals on a different continent is cool, but it is quite intense, you are miles and time zones away from support systems, life sacrifice needed to obtain and maintain these jobs, and the culture changes are not negligible. Don’t underestimate how sad it can be to leave your family; I have wept in very many airports around the world. Admittedly, this still happens now that I live in Europe, but to a lesser extent and I see them more frequently.
A disadvantage of the match is the work required throughout vet school. If you want to do the match, you should ideally identify interest a few years in advance because in the application, they ask for your grades, your GPA and your class rank from the previous year.
If you are somebody who comfortably gets good grades, congratulations to you, but veterinary exams can be hard enough to pass, let alone excel in.
If your grades are not your strongest asset, my advice is to be strategic. Think about maximising your CV. The people reading your application are busy and will want to cut corners in choosing applicants. Most people’s cover letters are going to say more or less the same thing, so the CV is a chance to stand out a bit. Publications and involvement in extracurricular activities are viewed positively.
Consider emailing lecturers and ask them if there is anything you can get involved in. Keep an open mind, get involved with societies and consider informing lecturers/seniors of your goals; maybe they know how to help. As a student, I emailed a lecturer randomly and it ended up with me being sent to Switzerland doing summer research that resulted in a publication.
For writing a cover letter in general, be true to yourself. Brainstorm a few key things you want to say about you and your aspirations, and build the letter around this. Don’t overthink it and don’t try to say what you think they want you to say. If they don’t like you for being yourself then it is their loss and not yours. I had a bit of imposter syndrome and felt intimidated by confident Americans, so I put on a falsely confident tone in my letters and this I do not recommend.
Although there is likely no better system possible, a definite disadvantage of the VIRMP is the references part of the application. It can be quite stressful, has deadline pressures, can be easy to overthink and it is hard not to feel that your value as a person is linked to the value of your reference letter or the referee.
If you start an internship in the summer and apply for the next year, before you know it, you may have to scramble for references from people you’ve barely worked with. This means you may have to adjust to another continent and lifestyle during your first months as a vet, all the while trying to shine as a worker. Not everyone can work this way and, in retrospect, I am not surprised I did not hit the ground running in Saskatoon.
I still don’t know what the best approach to the reference is, and the reality is that you will likely ask people who don’t know you very well to write a letter because they are a specialist in the area you are interested in, and it will probably be written lazily. It is generally believed that your references should be working in the field that you would like to pursue, although I personally don’t agree. If you want to become a surgeon, do you use a mediocre reference from a “well-known” surgeon or a strong reference from an unknown internist?
A strange and frustrating fact is that references from the people you work closest with and know you the best – nurses, interns, residents –would likely not be valued highly. On reflection, my advice is to aim to ask for a reference from somebody you respect and that hopefully you have gelled with and saw the real you in a positive way.
One of my regrets from my time in the match was not using a reference of a surgeon I really bonded with because I thought it was not relevant and instead used a reference from an internist I didn’t like as a person. If possible, use references with connections to places you have applied to.
Try to ask people for references in person. It can be scary, but it is a good growth experience. Realistically, if you are truly terrified asking them, then you probably don’t know each other that well at all and that should maybe be a red flag. Try not to lose too much sleep though; most people have a standard letter already written and will just paste your name throughout it. As I said already, it is important to remind yourself that these references are not a reflection of your worth as a person.
There is a bit of a strategy in where you apply for, too. Saskatchewan had a recent history of taking Irish and international people, so I knew I would apply there, but for the rest I knew nothing about these colleges. Auburn University also has the same reputation. You have a limited number of choices, so do a bit of research.
Before you get too carried away, not all institutions take foreign applicants and/or those not attending American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited schools, and it is not always clear on the VIRMP, so you may have to contact places directly. Although most schools don’t require you to sit the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination, some private practices do, so this is also important to know. Some places also require you to have a visa that they will not be helpful in obtaining, so that is also useful to know in advance.
Choosing where to apply to is an absurd and exciting process. You are signing up to work in places you know nothing about. Would you rather live in Missouri, Calgary, Mississippi or Iowa? How do you rank applications? The QS world rankings lend a general idea, but this is mostly about research output and says nothing about the atmosphere in a clinic or the quality of life in the region.
You’ll probably want to put down all the top schools, but so will everyone else and with limited choices you run the risk of not getting selected anywhere. It may be useful to ask people you know from the US/Canada for their advice but, ultimately, it remains random enough. It is amusing to think that this rather life-altering decision is chosen quite randomly. With the match, you must accept your offer or face participating in the match for years, so be careful where you apply; you could spend a miserable year in the middle of nowhere.
After my successful first attempt, I never matched again. I stayed on at the same university working as an emergency vet while I re-applied. Once a path forward in the match seemed closed, I looked at European options. Eventually I moved to work in the University of Liège in Belgium for an ECC internship. In general, I recommend that if the match does not work out while you are over in North America, you should look for a job you can start relatively quickly once you come back. Wallowing at home while some of your internmates progress in their careers is not a good experience.
It was on my bucket list to learn French, and moving to Belgium was totally random. I had an okay level of French, but the language barrier and culture shock, of course, cannot be overlooked. It can be tiring and it is hard work, requiring patience. It can also be exhilarating to find yourself in a foreign country, conversing in another language you never thought you would learn.
My advice would be to keep an open mind and choose a place with an employer tolerant to your lack of fluency (such as Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, parts of Germany and probably Sweden). In that way, you are essentially being paid to learn a language. After my year in Liège, I worked in Dublin during the throes of Covid, trying to get an ECC residency and when this again failed, I moved to Utrecht University for more experience and eventually started a residency three years later. I never expected to learn Dutch and did not know one word, but experiences taught me to be patient.
In general, the advantages of the European system are more lifestyle-related and depend on which culture you find attractive. Being Irish, living in Europe makes it much easier to communicate and visit my family compared to how it was in Canada. Also, in spite of language barriers, the pace and lifestyle of these countries is more compatible with what I am accustomed to from Ireland, and EU citizenship allows relatively seamless roaming.
As I’ve said, there’s more to life than the VIRMP and veterinary, and the slower pace of career advancement and access to nearby important cultural centres promotes a healthy work-life balance.
It has taken me time and patience to get this residency, and in the meantime I began to refocus on previous hobbies, which were somewhat neglected since vet school, such as reading and painting – and for this I am indescribably thankful.
In the hospitals, there can be a less fixed or blatant hierarchy. The slower pace means that people know you better and there is less of the reference letter anxiety when residencies do become available.
Although I can optimistically say the slow pace of career advancement of the European system promotes life growth and character depth, it can be frustrating. This is especially the case if you compare yourself to people you know who stayed in the match and are long since specialised. In Europe, there are also fewer positions in general and there is not always an internship or residency every year, so there are fewer opportunities in general.
This slow pace makes the hospital teams more intimate, but there may be a lack of impartiality which is an advantage in the VIRMP when it comes to choosing residents. In some situations, it is all-but known months in advance who the next resident will or will not be.
It is also less common than in the match for residents to be hired who are unknown or working in another location, and this sometimes means that the longest staff member, and not the best applicant, is selected. Sponsored residencies are becoming more common in Europe, meaning the applicant with private practice funding behind them may be selected over the applicant with the better CV.
Often with sponsored residencies, you must stay working for the private practice for several years afterwards or face paying back hundreds of thousands of euros.
Between the match and Europe, there is no superior system, and both can realistically be used to play into the other.
Consider working for a period before applying for the match in order to have a more solid foundation of your veterinary and personal confidence, but be wary of getting too cosy.
The match is intense, fast paced and exciting, but does not lend much room for extra-veterinary growth. The European system promotes personal and relational development, but the slow pace can be a challenge.
With either approach, I am confident that persistent determination will result in success; if this is the path you choose, I wish you the very best of luck.
