Volunteering soon; anything I should know first?

[AllAnimalsDeserveLove]

Hi, I am a freshmen in high school and I am wanting to volunteer at a vet clinic soon.

I've always wanted to be a vet or a photographer. I have decided to be a vet and make photography a hobby.
This is why ( skip to next paragraph for the moral of my story if you don't want to read it )
My 10 year old dog Bones ran off in the woods and came back with blood all over him. I checked him over and found a big gash in his paw. It looked like he got caught on fallen barbed wire and it ripped some webbing between his toes along with his toe. My mom went and got some stuff to clean it and wrap it up, she also gave me some pain killers to give him.
Then my mom and I took our 11 year old healer mix to the vet yesterday because she was gone for 2-3 days and came back stiff legged and it didn't get any better. He took a x-ray and felt her leg and said it was probably soft tissue related as there was no "obvious injury's ". All she needed was a week of rest.

moral of the story
I really enjoyed helping them and seeing the joy on their happy little faces once they felt better.
I enjoyed cleaning the blood off of Bones and wrapping his paw. The vet aloud me to follow him and explained what he was doing, and that was very interesting.

My mom asked him how old you had to be to volunteer. He said he didn't know but he will find out soon and we can call him and arrange something if im old enough although I probably will be.
He also said I could go on farm calls our just help around the clinic. I told him I will like to do both, and he said okay cool. So I will be doing both farm and small animals.

I understand that I am very likely to just sweep floors clean up or do laundry. ( while we where at the vet I heard someone scream someone needs to start laundry ) and that I might even just stand back and watch.




Sorry for the long post I just wanted to be thorough.
So is there any thing I will need to or want to know before I go?

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[sheltermed]

Please don't give your dog (or any animal) pain killers without the direction of a veterinarian. Depending on what it is, that can be so, so dangerous.

It's great that you can find some vet experience this early (I found it at your age as well). Just do your best, be sure to ask questions (genuinely--don't make them up just for the sake of asking questions), and stay as engaged as you are allowed to. You will most likely be starting out doing kennel tasks like the ones you mentioned. That's normal, and the longer you work there the more likely it will be that you get to do more things. Farm calls are really interesting and fun, at least to me. Good luck! And again, please no pain killers unless your vet directs you to a specific drug and dosage to give.

Also--don't forget that if you end up applying to veterinary school this could be one of your letter of recommendation writers. Be on your best behavior, and don't burn any bridges!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Sounds like a good opportunity to get to do both ambulatory and in-clinic stuff.

Like sheltermed said, don't be afraid to ask questions - however make sure it's the right time for it. E.g. when two techs are struggling to hold down a spitting cat and the vet is trying to find a vein, that might not be the best time. Let them finish what they are doing, and then ask. Be helpful and humble, and not just to the vet but also to the techs and/or assistants. If there is downtime, always ask if there is anything extra you can do.

 

[AllAnimalsDeserveLove]

Thanks you guys.
oh and also a vet recommended the meds for him

 

[katashark]

Keep in mind that you are a freshman in high school. Get good grades in high school, and also try things outside of vet med! Have a diverse application for undergrad. Explore new things. Don't feel that you are locked into this path. Ask questions, Keep an open mind, and study hard!


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[Glammyre]

Keep in mind that you are a freshman in high school. Get good grades in high school, and also try things outside of vet med! Have a diverse application for undergrad. Explore new things. Don't feel that you are locked into this path. Ask questions, Keep an open mind, and study hard!


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Agreed. Another thing to consider is that some veterinary schools post advice about what you can do in high school to help. Check with your in-state veterinary college. If you don't have an in-state college or their website doesn't have information for high school students, try looking at other schools. Oklahoma State's page is here

High-school grades are important to get into undergraduate college, but no one in veterinary school is going to look at what classes you took in high school. The recommended courses are so that you start to get a good background in the sciences needed for veterinary medicine. If you can take them, great, but don't worry if they're not available.

Last, don't lock yourself in. As a freshman in high school, you have 8 years until you're probably planning to start veterinary school. Get veterinary experience to learn about the field, ask questions, and have fun!

 

[katashark]

Agreed. Another thing to consider is that some veterinary schools post advice about what you can do in high school to help. Check with your in-state veterinary college. If you don't have an in-state college or their website doesn't have information for high school students, try looking at other schools. Oklahoma State's page is here

High-school grades are important to get into undergraduate college, but no one in veterinary school is going to look at what classes you took in high school. The recommended courses are so that you start to get a good background in the sciences needed for veterinary medicine. If you can take them, great, but don't worry if they're not available.

Last, don't lock yourself in. As a freshman in high school, you have 8 years until you're probably planning to start veterinary school. Get veterinary experience to learn about the field, ask questions, and have fun!

It's also a good time to start to develop some study habits. See what is working, what isn't, how you like sciences/math, etc. I mean the exact study methods from hs won't necessarily work later on, but the discipline and focus can still be there! But also have fun OP! It's high school, you can make mistakes and have a good time and see what you like. You've got so much time to decide.


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[AllAnimalsDeserveLove]

Thanks to all of you

I really do like helping animals and photography.....and art and music

Do you guys think my electives should include science and math?
I didn't really like those two subject before but I am starting to now..funny how things change!

Well I will explore all things I enjoy and see what happens like you've said i have a while

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Thanks to all of you

I really do like helping animals and photography.....and art and music

Do you guys think my electives should include science and math?
I didn't really like those two subject before but I am starting to now..funny how things change!

Well I will explore all things I enjoy and see what happens like you've said i have a while

Oof. Well I'm glad you are starting to because science is 100000% indispensible for vet med, and math is relatively important as well. Veterinary medicine IS science.

However, you most certainly do not need to box yourself in now, as others have said. Explore many career options. Take what you want to, get good grades, focus on college. THEN, if you still want to do vet med at that point, you can start focusing in more on specific courses/experience.

 

[AllAnimalsDeserveLove]

Oof. Well I'm glad you are starting to because science is 100000% indispensible for vet med, and math is relatively important as well. Veterinary medicine IS science.

However, you most certainly do not need to box yourself in now, as others have said. Explore many career options. Take what you want to, get good grades, focus on college. THEN, if you still want to do vet med at that point, you can start focusing in more on specific courses/experience.

I think I didn't like it before because I didn't understand it now that i can understand its interesting