New digital platform connects students with externships

The veterinary relief platform Roo is launching a new service to connect students with animal health care practices providing externships. Roo Uni is the industry’s first and only centralized platform where veterinary students can search and directly apply to externships, according to a news release. The service is free to use for students, universities and hospitals.¹

Roo Uni aims to fill a critical gap in an increasingly competitive field.Veterinary students traditionally have had to track down externships hospital by hospital, often applying to only the few, according to Roo. “The lack of centralized, transparent access has left many [students] just scrambling, stressed and then settling for suboptimal placements that could shape their career trajectory,” Charlotte Weir, vice president of hospital success and industry relations at Ro, said in a dvm360 interview.

Photo courtesy of Roo Uni

The new service connects veterinary students with more than 800 animal hospitals across 47 states using a single, searchable platform.Although veterinarians are typically limited by state licenses when they begin practicing, students can gain hands-on experience across state lines.¹

“As the industry's largest veterinary staffing marketplace connecting hospitals with relief vets, creating a platform that does the same for students seeking externships felt like a natural next step for us,” Weir said in the release.¹ “When you’re a student, it can be really difficult to ask the 'hard' questions, like: Will they pay me? How much? Will they help with housing? We built Roo Uni to answer those questions all in one place and take the confusion and stress out of the externship process.”

Designed by veterinary professionals who have gone through the externship process, Roo Uni was created to provide a smarter way for veterinary students to successfully start their careers across the country, according to Roo. As students head back to school, the company is aiming to help hospitals attract and identify the best emerging talent, and make the process of securing a competitive externship easier for students.¹

“Externships are really just one of the most powerful recruitment tools that a hospital really can have. They allow practitioners to meet students early, showcase their practice and identify potential future associates before graduation. It's essentially the try before you hire experience for both sides. Students gain hands on training and hospitals get to see how students sort of connect with their team, clients and patients,” Weir said in the dvm360 interview. “Externships also give practitioners the chance to give back to the profession by teaching, which many veterinarians find rewarding and reinvigorating for hospitals. Mentoring externs strengthens their team morale. It builds loyalty and helps ensure the next generation is well prepared to deliver quality care gives them a leg up.”

Roo Uni works as follows¹:

• Students can search for externships by location, area of interest, duration and more.
• Each listing provides key details students need to know before applying such as what skills they’ll gain, whether it’s hands-on, whether or not the opportunity pays, how long it lasts, etc.
• The service is free to use, and any pay or stipends are negotiated by the hospital and student directly.
• Featured externships are highlighted, which are opportunities that have earned high praise from past students to give future externs a clear, direct path to sought-after, high-value experiences.

The new platform has already gained strong momentum in its beta form. Thousands of students have registered with hundreds successfully placed in externships. Partnerships have been established with more than half of the veterinary schools in the US.¹

Jilliane De Leon, a 2026 DVM candidate and Roo student ambassador Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, California, found her externship using the platform. “Roo Uni is incredibly easy to use. The sign up process is quick, and you get immediate access to the externships available,” she said in a dvm360 interview.

“Roo Uni has been incredibly helpful throughout my entire externship process because they did all the legwork, all I had to do was apply,” Amber Elalem, an incoming third-year student at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, said in the news release.¹ “Balancing the intense demands of vet school while trying to track down externships can be incredibly stressful. With Roo Uni, I was able to find an externship that allows me to work on really important clinical skills that I’ll need during practice, and I didn’t have to email 20 different hospitals to get there.”

For veterinary students seeking externships, De Leon advised not to be afraid to inquire about doing things. "You are there to learn and create new experiences. You might be surprised at how much someone is willing to teach you," she said.

According to Roo, veterinary practices are also seeing the value as externships are often the first step in recruiting passionate, committed veterinarians, while giving back to the profession through teaching and helping to strengthens job satisfaction.¹

While providing the service at no cost to users, Roo is launching Roo Uni as part of its’ mission to support veterinarians at various stages of their careers. “Roo already supports veterinarians later in their careers. Roo Uni, for us, extends that support at the very beginning of the journey by helping students access quality externships,” Weir said in the interview. “Roo strengthens the pipeline for future veterinarians, and we're building trust with hospitals that fosters relationships with students who may eventually return to Roo for relief work or hiring opportunities. So for us, it's really about building a healthier veterinary ecosystem, one where students, practitioners, hospitals and schools, all benefit.”

Reference

Roo, leading veterinary tech company, launches Roo Uni: the first-ever national externship platform for veterinary students. News release. Roo. August 19, 2025.