Wondering if vet med is right

[Sundome]

Hello,

I graduated last Fall from college and have been working at a chain vet hospital for a few months now. I've done shadowing at small animal hospitals before and done some other internships as well and I've had lots of fun doing it. I'm working through some post bacc classes and getting good grades which is nice, but I've also realized over the course of this year how much I despise being a vet assistant. Is this normal? Is my job supposed to be this... uninteresting? I've read a few threads so far about how shadowing and working in the field will let you know whether being a vet is right for you, and based on my previous experiences I've felt it was right for me. However, now that I'm actually working I absolutely hate it. I won't get into too much because I don't want this post to become too ranty and say too much, but I was just curious if anyone else has felt something similar: just an unnatural hatred for your job as a vet assistant.

Thanks.

Edit: sorry the title should say wondering if vet med is right for me.

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[Caia]

What specifically do you hate about being an assistant?

I mean...it's ok to not enjoy cleaning up poop and doing laundry all the time. Being a vet and being an assistant is obviously not the same thing.

You need to put yourself in the shoes of the vet(s) you work with. Even then, there are so many areas, if you hate all of SA even, it still doesn't apply to vet med as a whole necessarily.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

Hello,

I graduated last Fall from college and have been working at a chain vet hospital for a few months now. I've done shadowing at small animal hospitals before and done some other internships as well and I've had lots of fun doing it. I'm working through some post bacc classes and getting good grades which is nice, but I've also realized over the course of this year how much I despise being a vet assistant. Is this normal? Is my job supposed to be this... uninteresting? I've read a few threads so far about how shadowing and working in the field will let you know whether being a vet is right for you, and based on my previous experiences I've felt it was right for me. However, now that I'm actually working I absolutely hate it. I won't get into too much because I don't want this post to become too ranty and say too much, but I was just curious if anyone else has felt something similar: just an unnatural hatred for your job as a vet assistant.

Thanks.

Edit: sorry the title should say wondering if vet med is right for me.

Like @Caia said, part of this depends on what specifically you dislike about being an assistant...

The other thing to remember is that vet med is large and diverse and you can do a lot with a DVM. There is so much more out there than SA general practice. If you have the chance to explore a little I highly recommend doing so because you might discover you have interests where you never imagined.

 

[that redhead]

but I've also realized over the course of this year how much I despise being a vet assistant. Is this normal? Is my job supposed to be this... uninteresting?

I never wanted to do SA GP after being a tech for a bit because it seemed pretty darn boring. I kind of ended up here unexpectedly, and yes, there is a lot of repetition- vaccines, heartworm tests, fecal samples. Even the illness/problems can be routine - allergies, injuries, GI upset. But at least for the moment I'm finding it to be fulfilling in ways I hadn't really thought: I enjoy communicating with owners (most of the time) and helping their animals feel better. It would be a lot more exciting to see weird diseases and such, but then I would be less successful in treating problems because there would be no template for fixing it and I'm a template kind of person. That being said, I can't say if I'll stay in SA GP forever. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, the relative monotony of the job outweighs the satisfaction I feel with the small victories - no more diarrhea, dog not peeing in the house anymore, guinea pig eating again, etc.

You may find that you're the sort of person who enjoys a different environment. I'd consider looking at other niches for DVMs - zoo, aquaculture, emergency medicine, research, etc. But I would say that you can still enjoy being a SA GP vet even if you don't particular love the mundane tasks as a vet assistant.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Hello,

I graduated last Fall from college and have been working at a chain vet hospital for a few months now. I've done shadowing at small animal hospitals before and done some other internships as well and I've had lots of fun doing it. I'm working through some post bacc classes and getting good grades which is nice, but I've also realized over the course of this year how much I despise being a vet assistant. Is this normal? Is my job supposed to be this... uninteresting? I've read a few threads so far about how shadowing and working in the field will let you know whether being a vet is right for you, and based on my previous experiences I've felt it was right for me. However, now that I'm actually working I absolutely hate it. I won't get into too much because I don't want this post to become too ranty and say too much, but I was just curious if anyone else has felt something similar: just an unnatural hatred for your job as a vet assistant.

Thanks.

Edit: sorry the title should say wondering if vet med is right for me.

I hated certain assistant duties, too, but those duties can vary hospital by hospital. At my last job, we did everything from boarders, grooming, to surgery assistance. I despise grooming, really and truly. I'm fine with nails and ears, but anything more than that...yeah. Not for me. As an assistant, I've even done things like re-paint the entire clinic and re-finish floors. That certainly isn't going to give me a good picture of veterinary medicine (except it does show you what it takes to maintain a practice!). I totally understand where you're coming from and I would say you shouldn't abandon your DVM goals because you don't like assistant work.

The right vet may give you more medicine-related tasks or let you be his/her shadow a bit more than another. I was lucky in that, in my jobs, all I had to do was show initiative and intelligence. I was quickly doing tech work including dentals and being a sterile assistant in surgery. If you feel you aren't learning much (although I say that there's always something worth learning in every task you have), it can't hurt to ask to be more included in the medicine side of things or if you can watch some surgeries. Even asking the tech/vet to show you the egg they see in a fecal or the bacteria they see on a cytology can really brighten things up for you. If there's time in the day, you could be taught to read them too. If you don't feel you're getting a good look at what it's like to be a vet, you should definitely try to get closer with the vet. You can't make a good decision on your future without it imo.

I never wanted to do SA GP after being a tech for a bit because it seemed pretty darn boring. I kind of ended up here unexpectedly, and yes, there is a lot of repetition- vaccines, heartworm tests, fecal samples. Even the illness/problems can be routine - allergies, injuries, GI upset. But at least for the moment I'm finding it to be fulfilling in ways I hadn't really thought: I enjoy communicating with owners (most of the time) and helping their animals feel better. It would be a lot more exciting to see weird diseases and such, but then I would be less successful in treating problems because there would be no template for fixing it and I'm a template kind of person. That being said, I can't say if I'll stay in SA GP forever. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, the relative monotony of the job outweighs the satisfaction I feel with the small victories - no more diarrhea, dog not peeing in the house anymore, guinea pig eating again, etc.

You may find that you're the sort of person who enjoys a different environment. I'd consider looking at other niches for DVMs - zoo, aquaculture, emergency medicine, research, etc. But I would say that you can still enjoy being a SA GP vet even if you don't particular love the mundane tasks as a vet assistant.

I feel the same way now. I never intended on GP at any point in my pre-vet years, and once I was exposed to zoo med, I decided that was my goal. It still is, but I'm very well aware that I may end up in GP even if it's just a few years. I'm glad to see that someone already practicing felt that way at one point too-sometimes I worry I'm being too picky or something. I truly haven't enjoyed my time in SA, ignoring the fact that a chunk of it was in a toxic practice.

 

[SocialStigma]

I don't think anyone really enjoys cleaning kennels, setting up cages, picking up poop, etc. I found most vet assistant tasks boring (except doing laundry and inventory - for some reason I highly enjoyed those tasks lol). A vet assistant's job is very different from what a vet does. Shadowing at SA GP clinics also made me realize that I never wanted to be a GP, which is ok too. I'm pursuing a specialty field now and I love what I do.

 

[Coquette22]

Being an assistant made me want to be a vet. I found I loved the medicine and always wanted to know more ("Why do you think that dog has pancreatitis?" "Why are you using this drug?" " What's this spot on the x-ray?") But I hated the assistant part - cleaning kennels, wrapping packs, etc. To get a sense of what vets do and if you enjoy it, you need to shadow the vets, being an assistant won't give you an accurate picture.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

I never intended to be a GP, and now I love it and take great pride in being a good GP. Boring? Sometimes. Every job (even ER) has its boring times.

Every clinic is different, and there are different types of clinical practice, even within small animal (emerg, specializing, housecalls, relief work, shelter med).....and then there are non clinical jobs, such as in industry or research.

What did you hate so much, and what do you find uninteresting?

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Being an assistant made me want to be a vet. I found I loved the medicine and always wanted to know more ("Why do you think that dog has pancreatitis?" "Why are you using this drug?" " What's this spot on the x-ray?") But I hated the assistant part - cleaning kennels, wrapping packs, etc. To get a sense of what vets do and if you enjoy it, you need to shadow the vets, being an assistant won't give you an accurate picture.

Sterilizing is my favorite!!

 

[vetmedhead]

Sterilizing is my favorite!!

I personally love wrapping packs because I always used to write jokes on the tape for the vet to read lol

 

[Trilt]

Pack wrapping followed fruit/vegetable chopping as my favourite mundane task as a vet assistant... surgical burrito time! Just something so nice about when they look all neat and tidy.

 

[EngrSC]

I personally love wrapping packs because I always used to write jokes on the tape for the vet to read lol

We had a [doctor's name] Pretty Pretty Princess Pack for a while

My favorite task is putting caps on pill bottles then stocking and organizing the pharmacy. I'm also the only person that does it haha

 

[vetmedhead]

We had a [doctor's name] Pretty Pretty Princess Pack for a while

My favorite task is putting caps on pill bottles then stocking and organizing the pharmacy. I'm also the only person that does it haha

I would always put funny quotes from our day or comments about how totally super sterile everything was. Or I would trash talk her chihuahua haha

 

[alohacat319]

My favorite task is putting caps on pill bottles then stocking and organizing the pharmacy. I'm also the only person that does it haha

Yes! I really like filling prescriptions! Wrapping packs is my own personal hell though.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I love wrapping packs and cleaning up messes (blood, stool, anything!). You all are weirdos.

I tend to go through periods of love/hating my job. I'm the most senior employee now (which is crazy) and I have more responsibilities on the stocking/ordering side of things than I did before. I'm full-time now, too, since graduation, and I love it. I get to see almost all of the patients that come in and know what's going on with who, and I've never had that consistency before as a part-time person. These things have made a huge difference in my job satisfaction. I feel like I'm an important part of the business, and I can look around and see the effect my being there has - whether that's the neatly organized food room, the clean office, whatever.

There were some semesters I hated my job. Hated it. I felt like I came in every day and did the same chores (cleaning sinks, noooooooo) over and over and over again. I hated going to work and watched the clock the entire time I was there. Part of that was the people I was working with - I've had some really great co-workers and some really frustrating ones, and they have definitely influenced my stress levels and unhappiness at work.