Smart enough for vet school? Too unsteady for surgery?

[Future OSU Vet]

I would love to be a vet. I need to take a few classes before applying (biochem, A&P, histology, etc) and I'm worried about how hard they will be, even though I will only be taking one or two classes at a time. And those classes are nothing compared to vet school classes. How do you figure out if you can handle vet school? I'm wondering if becoming a vet tech is more realistic for me (not saying vet techs aren't as smart as vets; it would just be less stressful. for me).

I feel like my hands aren't steady enough for surgery. All vets perform surgery, right? What can you do about that? Not go to vet school?


I guess I'm just afraid and freaking out. Anyone else feel like this? Any advice?

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[rexosaurus]

Don't freak out!!!! I think nearly all of us have been in the self doubting mode at one time or another. Sure, there are some VERY smart people in vet school. There are also the people that have some brains and have to study to get good grades. Trust me, it runs the whole gamut. Also, there's kind of a secret about vet school classes... they aren't actually harder than undergrad, there's just more at one time! It's volume that makes it hard, not the actual material itself. Oh, and surgery... yah, most vets have to do surgery at one point or another, but nobody said you have to be a surgeon. There are going to be things that some vets are great at, and others not so much. Don't worry too much, just try and see where it takes you! Good luck!

 

[ZooNose]

A sidenote for Future OSU Vet - Great avatar! Spaghetti Cat was the funniest thing I've ever seen! I laughed for days over that Soup episode.

 

[No Imagination]

To OP. Gonna let you in on a little secret. All but the absolute smartest and gifted people feel inadequate and insecure. That goes for Undergrad, graduate school (esp.) and I am sure professional students as well. Most people think they don't belong were they are, and have been 'fooling' everyone else.

It took me a long time to come to grasp with my own insecurities, I'd suggest you do the same. You may not be the smartest, most coordinated, or even disciplined person. But, and I know this is a cliché, but determination and hard work makes up for those other attributes.

Make your intentions clear to everyone around you, feed on the pressure not to let yourself and others down, and you will succeed.

At least thats what I tell myself every night when I cry myself to sleep for being such an idiot...

Really, If vet school is what you want, go for it!

 

[Catnapper]

Spaghetti Cat? I must check that out!
And when it comes to self-doubt...get ready to have me and a LOT of others in your club! I also have to add to the comment above about geniuses not having self-doubt: whenever that's the case, I think arrogance becomes their downfall. I suspect that the truly wise are the most humble people in all respects.
I have a quote over my desk at work:
"Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty."
--Mark Twain

 

[twelvetigers]

LOL @ spaghetti cat.

So by OSU, you mean... Ohio State? OKstate? Oregon?

 

[Bill59]

I
I feel like my hands aren't steady enough for surgery. All vets perform surgery, right? What can you do about that? Not go to vet school?

Most general practitioners do at least some surgery. But there are specialists that don't get anywhere near a knife -- internal medicine, radiology, oncology, behavior, pathology (OK they use knives but their patients don't seem to mind).

But how unsteady are we talking about? Everyone had a tremor, some more than others. This usually improves with practice. As long as your hands will do what you want them to, you can learn basic surgery. I've seen a few students who's hands wouldn't do what they wanted, but not many.

I think you're worrying more than necessary about this.

 

[zpinkpanther]

If vet school is what you want, I think you should go for it! Like Rex said, vet school classes are more of a volume issue than a difficulty issue. To be honest, vet school classes are "easier" for me in some ways- not that they're really easy, but it's easier for me to actually care about what we're learning about. In undergrad, I was terrible in physics because I just sat there thinking, what does this have to do with anything? But here it's all vet med, all the time. Pretty awesome, no?

And about the surgery thing, in my experience, most GP vets don't often do surgeries besides spays, neuters, and declaws unless they want to. Most cases other than those basic ones would be sent to a surgeon unless the client specifically wanted that vet to do it, at least at the clinic where I worked. Once in a while we'd have a crazy extreme surgery, but very rare. I'm not a big fan of surgery either, and if my dissection skills are any indication, the only time I should be wielding a scalpel is during a necropsy. I'm actually thinking about doing internal med as a specialty, but it's only my first semester, so I have plenty of time to decide...

 

[Badger Girl]

If vet school is what you want, I think you should go for it! Like Rex said, vet school classes are more of a volume issue than a difficulty issue. To be honest, vet school classes are "easier" for me in some ways- not that they're really easy, but it's easier for me to actually care about what we're learning about. In undergrad, I was terrible in physics because I just sat there thinking, what does this have to do with anything? But here it's all vet med, all the time. Pretty awesome, no?

Ahhhh! I'm in physics this semester and feel the same way!! I have that class for four grueling hours once per week until 9:30 pm. I have learned that later evening is NOT the time that my brain is equipped to learn such things. Sorry, I digress from the OP.

 

[InfiniVet]

There's a huge misconception that all vets do surgery. And that all vets practice small animal medicine.

The opportunities in veterinary medicine are nearly boundless. You can work in public health at the CDC, you can go into the military, do necropsies all day, look through microscopes all day, design new vaccines/drugs, teach at the vet school, work with beef producers to optimize their breeding programs (i.e. sit on a computer all day), work at a grocery chain corporate office...the list really goes on and on.