EMS Placements
Rated 5/5 by our 2023 placement students
Our placements are a minimum of two weeks and during that time, you’ll get to experience many aspects of the commercial poultry sector, as well as the game bird industry (this is time of year dependent). Our aim is to give you the opportunity to see and get involved with the clinical and non-clinical work that a poultry vet is typically responsible for – fully supported by our team.
We’d expect this to include:
- Client visits
- Microscope work
- Flock health planning
- Post-mortems
Specific areas that you may get involved with include gut health, health monitoring and disease investigation, epidemiology, water hygiene, biosecurity, vaccines, parasite control, general husbandry and nutrition amongst others. However, before you arrive you will be sent an itinerary.
We offer financial assistance of up to £300 towards your accommodation and The British Poultry Veterinary Association can provide financial assistance too.
We hope that our placements encourage you to consider a longer-term career in poultry veterinary medicine – with our internship designed as a next step.
If you would like to register your interest in a placement with our team, please complete and return the form below. You can also call us or email ems@stdavids-poultryteam.co.uk if you would like any other information on our placements, or careers in poultry medicine generally. Our number is 01392 872932.
| What do St David’s Poultry Team do? |
- 25 dedicated poultry vets
- Over 350 years of combined poultry veterinary experience across our team
- 11 field services technicians
- 15 practice bases
- In-house laboratory and microbiologists
- Dispensary and office support teams
- Complementary associated businesses
A vet-owned independent practice, St David’s Poultry Team is the largest commercial poultry veterinary practice in the UK and Ireland. We work with a large proportion of the UK and Ireland’s broiler industry – including large integrators – and have responsibility for the majority of layers across the UK. As well as a large proportion of game bird sector.
| Where will the placement be based? |
We offer placements at the following practice bases:
- Exeter (currently limited to two placements a year)
- Leominster
- Newark
- Northleach
- Northern Ireland
- Yorkshire
As part of the application process, you’ll be able to specify any preference(s). We’ll do our best to accommodate these however this isn’t guaranteed.
| Who will I be working with? |
Wherever you are based, you’ll be working alongside one or more of our veterinary team, throughout your time with us. You’ll also be fully supported by the wider team based at the practice you’re at, and elsewhere.
Learn more about the veterinary team.
| How long are your placements? |
Our placements are a minimum of two weeks.
| What financial support is there? |
We offer a contribution of up to £500 towards your accommodation, reimbursed once you’ve completed the placement. The British Poultry Veterinary Association can also provide financial assistance.
| Do I need transport? |
You will start and finish each day at the office, and travel with the vet during the day as needed. You’ll need transport to and from the office, however, even if this is potentially a problem – please do still apply.
What some of our recent placement students have said:
The vet Charlotte was instrumental in providing a positive experience during my time at the vets, and really helped develop my enthusiasm for the poultry sector.
The vets that I spent time with were all great and it was nice getting to know them. I found them very easy to talk to, good at answering any of my questions and I felt as if they were wanting to teach me.
I found the farm visits really interesting as it was great to see first-hand a number of different types of farms all at different standards. It was also interesting meeting and speaking to the farmers.
The placement was a great way to further my knowledge of the industry, especially when it came to the commercial layer side as I had very limited knowledge in this area.
I have a much more rounded and developed knowledge now of the entire poultry sector, and the placement has shown me how prudent farmers and processing plants are on maintaining high welfare and husbandry standards.
This placement has definitely made me consider a career in poultry. The staff were lovely and happy to teach me in the field and in the labs. I learnt a lot about the industry and am keen to learn more.
Document Downloads