Internship Program

Each summer SeaDoc brings one or more rising third-year veterinary students to Orcas Island to assist with research projects, often in conjunction with the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor.

This internship is a unique opportunity for vet students to get involved in wildlife health issues.

During eight weeks of residency the interns help with SeaDoc research projects and help respond to marine mammal strandings. They find and assess the physical condition of stranded animals, tag harbor seal pups that are left on the beach, transport other pups to a rehabilitation center and participate in gross necropsies and the writing of gross necropsy reports. Interns also participate in weekly medical rounds for harbor seals at the Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. They work closely with volunteers and spend a good deal of time educating and speaking with the public.

From time to time we also have short term research internships.

Our Interns and where they are now:

2012:

Karisa Tang and Christine Parker

Karisa & Christine are both rising 3rd year vet students at UC Davis.

2011:

Greg Bishop and Ashley Briese

Greg is starting his 4th year rotations as a Vet Med student at UC Davis. Ashley is starting her 4th year rotations as a Vet Med student at OSU.

2010:

Sara Heidelberger and Sarah Smolley

Sarah Smolley, DVM, and Sara Heidelberger, DVM, graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2012. They are both working at the VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center in San Diego for a 1 year rotating internship working in emergency, surgery, internal medicine, cardiology and exotics. (6/12)

2009:

Michelle Barbieri, DVM and Nadia Rifat, DVM

Michelle Barbieri, DVM, MS graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2011.  She is the Hawaiian Monk Seal Health Program Coordinator for TMMC/NOAA Fisheries. (1/13)

Nadia Rifat graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2011. She is working at East Bay Veterinary Specialists in Walnut Creek, CA. (6/11)

Nick Donald was a short-term intern in the summer of 2009. He assisted with the marine mammal stranding network and also took on a special project to assist us with compiling and mapping current coastal river otter habitat to help us determine critical habitat for this species. Nick now lives in New York City.

2008:

Abby Stanger, DVM

Abby is currently in her final months as a rotating small animal intern at San Francisco Veterinary Specialists. In the fall she is moving to Omaha, NE and hopes to take her interests in wildlife and one health medicine further. (6/11)

2007:

Jessica Kurek, DVM

Jessica  graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. She works in emergency veterinary medicine at Pacific Veterinary Specialists in Capitola, CA. (6/11)

2006:

Katie Marrie, DVM

Katie has been working as a small animal veterinarian in private practice in Long Beach, CA. She has worked as a surgeon for a non-profit organization called Clinico, whose mission is to reduce animal shelter intake by providing high-quality, low-cost spay and neuter services to underserved communities in Los Angeles. In August of 2011 Katie became the Medical Director of a non-profit called Spay Neuter Project Los Angeles (see video). (5/12)

2005

Brynie Kaplan-Dau, DVM

Brynie specialized in small animal and aquatic/exotic medicine and graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. Currently  she is associate veterinarian with Aguajito Veterinary hospital in Monterey California.

2004

Nick Brown and Abigail Sine

Nick Brown, shown here with Apollo 8 Astronaut Bill Anders and SeaDoc Chief Scientist Joe Gaydos after a dive in 2010, is starting veterinary school in St. Kitts in the fall of 2011. Janna Nichols photo. (6/11)

Abby Sine is a veterinary student at Massey University in New Zealand. (6/11)

2003

Morgan Sternberg