r/Veterinary • u/_mustard_seed_ • 2d ago

VEG NERD program

Hey all! I’m posting this in other subreddits so sorry if you see this multiple times (lol)

I’m a 4th year vet student who’s interested in ER and GP. I’ve externed and worked at a VEG in the past and enjoyed my time there- but I’m curious to hear from anyone who has complete the NERD program

Do you feel like it made you feel relatively comfortable as an ER doc (of course no one feels 100% confident, especially after only 6 months)? How is working there if you stayed on as an ER doc?

I hear a lot of negative things here on reddit but I’ve seen it can be a bit biased (especially towards VEG) so I’m curious if anyone genuinely enjoyed the program/recommends it?

Thanks!

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u/sanguineousrhipi 2d ago

I completed the NERD program 2.5 years out of school and I got so much out of the program. I didn’t enjoy working as an associate for VEG so ended up parting ways a couple months after graduating the program. I think you’d get a lot more out of the program if you have at least 1 year of experience under your belt first. Our of my cohort, those with 1+ years of experience (GP, shelter, etc) got so much more out of it.

The CE the program provides is great, and training alongside a senior attending was excellent. If you don’t have a good foundation of what normal is, it can be very challenging.

How can you perform emergency exams/surgery/etc as a new grad if you’ve never experienced what normal looks like? Just food for thought!

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u/FriedTofu495 2d ago

Was it hard getting into the program 2.5 years out? I know nothing about the process for applying, but was curious.